Layoffs, contract news create double whammy for BIW

whammy for BIW
news@TimesRecord.Com
09/29/2008
BATH — Bath Iron Works spokesman Jim DeMartini confirmed late Friday that the shipyard plans to lay off 90 workers Oct. 10, a list that includes 40 electricians, 35 preservation technicians and 15 welders.

U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, responded to the news in a statement Friday.

"I will continue to work with the company, the workers, the Navy, the rest of the Maine delegation and others in Congress to make sure that BIW has the workload it needs to sustain the work force and protect this strategically important shipyard and the men and women who make Bath built, best built," he said.

The layoff announcement came on the heels of the news that BIW missed out on a Coast Guard contract it sought, as the Lockport, La.-based Bollinger Shipyard announced it had won the deal to design and build up to 34 cutters for the service. Bath Iron Works was considered a finalist in the competition for the Coast Guard work, which could be worth up to $1.5 billion over six to eight years.

In May, when it was announced that BIW was a finalist for the contract, Navy analyst Jay Korman said the 160-foot-long Coast Guard boats could open doors to the small ship market. Korman, who watches the Navy and shipbuilding for the Washington D.C.-based consulting firm The Avascent Group, noted the stark difference between the cutters and BIW's usual products, 500-foot-long destroyers.

Not all news was bad for the shipyard over the weekend, however. On Saturday, the Senate, as expected, approved a continuing resolution that includes fiscal year 2009 appropriations of $1.5 billion for a new DDG-1000 destroyer and $200 million for additional DDG-51 modernization. The Senate approval came just three days after the House gave those same appropriations the nod.

"This week, I discussed the DDG-1000 with both Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and with Defense Secretary Robert Gates," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in a Saturday statement. "I have been assured of the Pentagon's continued support for the program and for Bath Iron Works. I will continue to work with the Department of Defense to ensure that the Navy gets the ships that it needs, while maintaining a workload sufficient to keep the skilled men and women of BIW engaged in building the finest ships in the fleet."

Life for Wall Street unemployed

Executive Job Market Remains Robust

Halliburton Is Hiring...

700 DISD Teachers Face Layoffs

Large Time-Share Company Plans Hundreds of Layoffs

By The Associated Press

Published: Sunday, September 28, 2008 at 7:15 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, September 28, 2008 at 7:17 a.m.

ORLANDO | One of America's largest time-share companies is getting ready to lay off hundreds of workers and halt much of its sales.

Orlando-based Westgate Resorts is facing a sudden financing squeeze because of the nation's severe economic downturn.

Westgate's president told the Orlando Sentinel the cuts would affect all areas of business, from administration to marketing, sales and construction.

He says Westgate will be able to pay its bills, but has no money for new business until things get better.

Hawaii Medical Center will lay off 150 more at Ewa, Liliha hospitals

3rd round of cuts comes a month after company filed for bankruptcy

By Mary Vorsino
Advertiser Staff Writer

In its third round of layoffs in four months, Hawaii Medical Center announced yesterday that it will let go of at least 150 employees at its hospitals in Liliha and 'Ewa

Officials said the laid-off staff — who represent about 18 percent of HMC's workforce of 830 employees — would be given 60 days notice. Laid-off workers, none of whom provide direct patient care, will be notified starting next week and will receive help transitioning to new jobs.

The layoffs come nearly a month after the for-profit Hawaii Medical Center filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, spurring a restructuring plan meant to drastically trim expenses and increase efficiency.

Dr. Danelo Canete, HMC chief executive officer, said yesterday the reduction in staff will not mean reduced services.

"We will still have sufficient staffing to provide excellent patient care after the reduction," he said. "Our staff is too large for the number of patients in our hospitals."

The job losses are the latest in a string of layoffs in Hawai'i, and the company blamed them at least in part on the tough economic times and credit crunch.

Hawaii Medical Center LLC, which operates the former St. Francis hospitals in Liliha and 'Ewa, filed for bankruptcy protection on Aug. 28 in Delaware. At the time, HMC listed assets of between $10 million and $50 million, while it listed liabilities of between $50 million and $100 million.

Canete has said that the company was forced to file for bankruptcy protection after its lead creditor, Siemens Finance, was unwilling to extend an existing loan agreement. Siemens was owed about $5.5 million.

Hawaii Medical Center LLC, the state's only for-profit hospital operator, has struggled since it purchased the two financially strapped medical centers from St. Francis Health Care System in January 2007.

The company is a partnership of CHA Hawaii, an affiliate of Cardiovascular Hospitals of America, and about 130 Hawai'i-based doctors.

Salim Hasham, HMC's director of implementation, said the tough economic times and credit crunch in Hawai'i and nationwide are at least partly to blame for the layoffs, since Siemens' unwillingness to extend its loans was because of the tight market.

"We were actually caught in it from that standpoint," he said.

Hasham, who was hired five months ago to help orchestrate an HMC turnaround, also said he hasn't ruled out the possibility of more layoffs. But at this point, he said, he doesn't see the need for more staff reductions.

This is the third major layoff at Hawaii Medical Center this year.

In June, HMC let go of 89 employees in its business and information management departments and outsourced the positions to a Tennessee-based firm. Then, in August, HMC laid off 80 employees at its two facilities.

The most recent layoff will save HMC about $10 million annually.

Richard Meiers, Healthcare Association of Hawaii president and chief executive officer, said though hospitals are not the first entities affected in an economic downturn, they are starting to see the effects of the tough market.

For one, he said, more laid-off workers means more people without insurance who need care. Even before the economic downturn, he added, hospitals were already struggling with low Medicaid reimbursements, nurse and doctor shortages and other problems.

"It's part of a bigger picture," Meiers said of the issues facing hospitals amid the economic crisis. "There's going to be a lot more grief over the next couple years."

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.

HSBC to lay off 1,100 employees

The worldwide credit crisis has hit Europe’s largest bank, HSBC Holdings PLC, which today announced plans to slash 1,100 jobs in its global banking and markets division.

The job cuts at London-based HSBC will comprise 4% of its global banking and markets division's unit and include both front- and back-office operations.

The bank will lay off 650 full-time employees and 450 temporary, or contractor, positions.

Five hundred of the cuts will be in HSBC's England offices.

"We're doing it because of market conditions and the economic environment and our cautious outlook for 2009," HSBC spokesman Gareth Hewett said in published reports.

HSBC has been hard hit by the subprime meltdown: Its net income for the first six months of 2008 was down 29% to $7.7 billion, or 65 cents a share, compared with $10.9 billion, or 95 cents a share, in the first half of 2007 (InvestmentNews, date).

An HSBC spokeswoman declined to comment.

FedEx Office announces 200 U.S. layoffs, 100 in DFW

FedEx Office, a division of FedEx Corp., announced Friday it’s laying off 200 people nationwide — 100 of which are located in the company’s North Texas offices.

Jenny Robertson, a spokesperson for FedEx Office, says the printing store operator initiated the cuts to increase the overall customer experience and increase the company’s long-term success. The impacted employees work at the company’s Galleria headquarters in Dallas and at its Plano office.

Affected staff members were released Friday. Robertson says impacted employees will receive benefits for a few months, as well as severance packages.

The reductions are part of a companywide realignment, which also includes the closing of 20 to 21 stores nationwide. At the moment, FedEx Office is evaluating every store's profitability to determine which locations will be closed.

FedEx Office has 2,000 stores worldwide. As part of its strategic realignment, FedEx also is closing 17 locations in other countries. The move will essentially eliminate all FedEx Office stores in Mexico, Australia and the Netherlands.

Robertson’s stresses the closings are related specifically to FedEx Office printing stores. FedEx’s shipping and mailing operations will not be impacted by the restructuring.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), the parent company of FedEx Office, is based in Memphis, Tennessee.

Lydall To Close Vermont Plant, Lay Off 190

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (AP) -- Lydall Inc., one of St. Johnsbury's largest employers, is closing its plant and laying off 190 workers.

The Connecticut-based company, which produces heat shields for cars at its Vermont manufacturing plant, blamed the move on a downturn in the domestic car market. The company plans to move the operations to its North Carolina facility late next year.

"The reason we're doing this is to cut costs and reduce fixed overhead," said Tom Smith, chief financial officer. "When we looked at the possibility of moving the St. Johnsbury operation down to (North Carolina), the economics were just better."

The affected workers were notified Tuesday. It's unknown when the layoffs will take place, said Smith.

Some Vermont employees may have a chance to relocate to the company's Hamptonville, N.C., plant, where 100 jobs have opened up due to the consolidation, he said.

State and local officials said Tuesday's announcement is one the biggest layoff to hit the area in some time.

Labor Commissioner Patricia Moulton Powden, said the state will meet with employees to help them file for unemployment, apply for subsidized health insurance and get new jobs.

"We try to do that fairly quickly so we can manage folks' anxiety about losing their jobs," Moulton Powden said.

The plant closing will have a significant short-term impact on the economy but is not a harbinger of the future, said Mike Quinn, commissioner of the Department of Economic Development.

"I don't think you can draw conclusions about doing business in Vermont because of Lydall's decision," he said. "They had to make some basic business decisions about where they could operate most efficiently, and regrettably for us they chose North Carolina."

Laredo National Bank to lay off 170 in South Texas

About 170 employees will be laid off at the Laredo National Bank (LNB) headquarters in Laredo.

According to a letter sent to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), the bank’s merger with Birmingham, Ala.-based Compass Bank is the catalyst behind the layoffs.

In 2005, Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA) purchased Laredo National Bancshares Inc. for $850 million, which at the time had six locations in San Antonio as well as branches in place in the Rio Grande Valley, Dallas and Houston.

BBVA later purchased regional bank company Compass Bank in 2007. Compass alone has total assets of $61.2 billion and 579 branches throughout its six-state region. Compass has 25 locations in San Antonio.

Last year, BBVA decided to merge LNB and two other banks it purchased — McAllen-based Texas Regional Bancshares Inc. and Fort Worth-based State National Bancshares — under the Compass Bank brand.

The letter to the TWC states that this merger “creates duplicate staffing in some technical and back office departments in the Laredo area.” The company adds, however, that about 400 people will continue to be employed in Laredo.

The “displacements” are slated to begin within one week after LNB’s operations systems are converted to Compass Bank systems, which is projected to be on or about Nov. 13 and may continue for a couple of weeks after that.

Those affected by the layoffs will be offered alternative positions within the bank or will be offered outplacement assistance. Employees were notified about the layoffs on July 7.

Thomas Graham, executive vice president of communications for Compass Bank, says the company takes layoffs seriously and makes it a point to notify affected employees four months in advance.

"These decisions are never easy and we greatly appreciate the valuable contribution these employees have made," Graham says. "We continue to look for opportunities to place these employees in new positions within the organization and, of course, we're helping them transition to new opportunities through outplacement support services that include, among others, resume writing, job search skills and interview coaching skills."

Employees who are displaced, the letter says, will have a certain level of pay continuation following the layoff to assist them during the employment transition period. During the time that this severance pay continues, employees can continue health care coverage at the same rate they paid while employed.

BBVA is a financial services group with more than $740 billion in total assets, 47 million clients, 8,000 global branches and 112,000 employees in more than 35 countries.

The company provides commercial and consumer banking services, consumer loans, mortgages, credit cards, securities brokerage, wealth management, pension plan management and insurance.

Report: Mass job cuts double in Ohio during August

Large-scale job cutbacks in Ohio put more than twice the number of workers in line for unemployment benefits in August compared with a year ago, according to a federal report released Tuesday.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 62 dismissals of 50 workers or more in Ohio last month, up from 29 a year ago. First-time unemployment insurance claims hit 7,994, up from 3,064 in August 2007. That’s the fifth-highest number of unemployment insurance filings in the nation, according to bureau data.

Ohio in July also saw insurance claims sparked by mass job cuts more than double as they exceeded 19,400, nearly double the 10,435 seen in July 2007.

Ohio is one of 36 states nationwide that saw unemployment insurance claims increase since last year.

All four geographic regions in the nation saw cutbacks and claims increase, as well, though the Midwest had the most dramatic increase in insurance claims. Those jumped more than 80 percent to 33,238 in the 12-state region, versus 18,319 last year.

Nationwide, mass job cuts and unemployment insurance claims grew more than 40 percent each. The bureau reported 1,772 cutbacks during the month, up 44 percent from 1,228 a year ago. Initial claims grew 43 percent to 173,955 from 121,886, seasonally adjusted.

The bureau plans to release September data on Oct. 22.


E-mail dayton@bizjournals.com. Call (937) 528-4400.

Manufacturing accounts for 29% of August mass layoffs

In August, employers took 1,772 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported September 23. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer; the number of workers involved totaled 173,955, on a seasonally adjusted basis. Layoff events reached a program high for the month of August (with data available back to 1995), and associated initial claimants reached its highest level for the month since 2001. The number of mass layoff events this August increased by 260 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims rose by 22,784. In August, 599 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 72,244 initial claims. Over the month, mass layoff events in manufacturing increased by 156, and initial claims increased by 14,774.

From January through August 2008, the total number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted), at 12,542, and initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 1,274,765, were the highest for the January-August period since 2003.

The national unemployment rate was 6.1 percent in August, seasonally adjusted, up from 5.7 percent in the prior month and from 4.7 percent a year earlier. In August, total non-farm payroll employment decreased by 84,000 over the month and by 283,000 from a year earlier.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in August was 1,427 on a not-seasonally-adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was 139,999. Over the year, increases were recorded in both the number of layoff events (+464) and initial claims (+46,541). The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims occurred in transportation equipment manufacturing (+14,191) and in administrative and waste services (+4,524). The largest decrease in initial claims occurred in credit intermediation and related activities (-6,363).

The manufacturing sector accounted for 29 percent of all mass layoff events and 37 percent of initial claims filed in August; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 23 percent of events and 25 percent of initial claims. In August 2008, the number of manufacturing claimants was greatest in transportation equipment manufacturing (19,787), followed by machinery manufacturing (4,887). Administrative and waste services accounted for 15 percent of mass layoff events and 14 percent of associated initial claims, primarily from temporary help services.

Read the full report and view all of the data tables by clicking on the link below:

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/mmls.nr0.htm

Hawaii reports 4 'mass layoffs' in August

There were four “mass layoffs” in Hawaii in August, which resulted in the loss of 408 jobs for at least 31 days, according to the U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday.

In July, there were four mass layoff events that resulted in the loss of 271 jobs. In August 2007, there were five mass layoffs that resulted in the loss of 169 jobs.

A mass layoff is when there are 50 or more initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits from one employer during a five-week period, with at least 50 workers separated for more than 30 days.

Nationwide there were 1,772 mass layoffs in August that resulted in the separation of 173,955 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, seasonally adjusted.

Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and removing the effect of regularly recurring seasonal events such as changes in the weather, holidays and the beginning and ending of the school year.

The temporary-help services industry had the largest number of initial claims, followed by school and employee bus transportation.

Layoff numbers decline in Colorado

The number and size of mass layoffs in Colorado dropped in August from the month before, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.

Three companies cut jobs through mass layoffs, defined as the elimination of at least 50 jobs at a single site. That’s down from four in July.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance in Colorado fell to 258 from 343 during the same period.

Nationally, the number of mass layoffs reached a high of 1,772, and initial claims involved 173,955 people, with the manufacturing sector particularly hard hit. Of the four census regions, the West had the highest number of initial claims — 45,837 — because of mass layoffs in August. But most of those, or 41,149, were from the Pacific states in the West, instead of from Colorado and other mountain states.

Kansas mass layoffs lower in August

BY JERRY SIEBENMARK
The Wichita Eagle

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The number of mass layoffs in Kansas fell in August compared to June and July, but was slightly higher than the same month a year ago.

That's according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, which said Kansas mass layoff events in August totaled four, down from eight in July and 12 in June.

In August 2007, there were three mass layoff events in Kansas.

The BLS defines a mass layoff as the lay off of at least 50 people by a single employer.

Nationwide there were 1,427 mass layoffs in August compared to 963 in the same month a year ago.

Mass Layoffs soared in August

August mass layoff events, at 1,772 seasonally adjusted, reached a program high for the month, while associated initial claims, at 173,955, were the highest for August since 2001. Year-to-date totals of layoff events (12,542) and related initial claims (1,274,765) in 2008 were the highest January-August totals since 2003.

Kingfisher Lay off Job Cut: Kingfisher Fires 300 employees

he most glamourous and the most news making Airline company of India, Kingfisher Airlines, has decided to go for a job cut or employee layoff or firing.
Along with the IT & Financial companies across the globe going for a massive lay off, Kingfisher Airlines is the latest on to join the bandwagon. It was Wipro Layoffs followed by Satyam Layoff, then Hewlett packard HP, and now the most talked about Indian Airline Company has decided to give Pink Slips or decided to fire Employees.

The most happening airline company of India, Kingfisher Airlines, has decided to go for a massive layoff. Due to volatile fuel prices burining a hole in the pocket of Airline companies, they are forced to go for cost cutting measures. In the aviation industry, Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines is cutting 300 jobs, besides returning surplus aircrafts.
As per the news, the developments are a part of a concerted company-wide effort aimed at minimising the impact of the ongoing turbulence faced by the aviation industry, Kingfisher Airlines has, over the last six months, embarked on a series of restructuring measures designed to achieve cost savings and rationalisation and operational efficiencies - a company spokesperson said.

These Kingfisher Layoffs Job Cuts are a step in implementing of these guidelines. These 300 employees have chosen to move on and have parted ways with the company and/or put in their resignations," he added.

The carrier is also returning surplus aircrafts to lessors, which are now redundant consequent upon route rationalisation.

"We have already returned two aircraft and are closely monitoring aircraft utilisation," the spokesperson said.

This move was expected from the in the aviation inductry by the Kingfisher Airline Company. Recent takeover of Deccan Airways which is now known as Simplifly Deccan, and the volatile ATF prices were bound to have its effect on the aviation companies. Elaborating the reasons behind downsizing of staff, he said as the process of integration of the two entities (Kingfisher and Simplifly Deccan) nears completion, the carrier examined the complete organisation structure of the airline and mapped the skill sets of the existing talent pool with the projected talent requirements of the company.

"Many employees were counselled on their career path progression and best utilisation of their individual skill sets," he said.

As a token of goodwill, the carrier is offering all these employees a severance package equal to two months gross salary for every completed year of service (subject to a minimum of 3 months pay-out), the spokesperson said.

Kingfisher Airlines currently operates 424 domestic flights and two international flights with a total of 86 aircrafts.

Pink Slips Coming to Wall Street, but Other Sectors May Avoid Layoffs, UBS Strategists Say

Outside the financial sector, employment at large companies may hold up better than some expect, UBS strategists are suggesting.

Based on a survey of industry sector analysts at UBS, more than half of large companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index are not likely to reduce staff.

Companies in the energy, materials, nuclear utilities, engineering and construction sectors are even understaffed—and have aging workforces to boot. Thus, those businesses may need to hire people, UBS strategists including Thomas Doerflinger and David Bianco wrote Wednesday, September 24.

The strategists noted one important caveat: Employees of the S&P 500 companies make up only 13 percent of the American workforce, and smaller businesses may indeed be hurt by the credit crunch. Still, the strategists wrote, “to the extent analysts are correct … this is positive for profit margins because it implies companies do not have headcounts that are out of line with future revenues.”

The U.S. unemployment rate has been rising and hit 6.1 percent in August, and UBS economists expect it to reach 6.9 percent in the second quarter of next year. If unemployment were to go much higher, though, to the “harrowing highs” of 9 percent seen in the early 1970s and 10.8 percent from 1981 to 1982, they said, “this would depress GDP and severely compound the woes of the financial sector.”

Judging from the analysts’ responses to the survey, only larger companies in 15 industries—including financials, restaurants, autos, machinery, paper and tobacco—may have to downsize soon.

Other companies, those that analysts say have just the right number of employees, have already taken steps to trim the ranks. Home builders and airlines top that list.

Indeed, years of restructuring and downsizing by U.S. businesses may help mitigate unemployment during the latest economic downturn. “Corporate America is much leaner and meaner after 25 years of intense foreign competition,” Doerflinger and his associates wrote, citing higher productivity growth. That leanness is a “key difference from 1974 and 1982.”

Filed by Hillary Johnson of Financial Week, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.

Spancrete layoffs tied to financial crisis

VALDERS, Wis. - A Manitowoc County company that serves the construction industry cites the meltdown on Wall Street in its plans to lay off about a quarter of its workforce.

In a letter notifying state officials of the layoffs, Spancrete employee relations manager Gary Noel says projects scheduled for production have been canceled or delayed.

Noel says developers have been unable to get financing to go ahead with residential condominiums and other projects, and that it's been made much worse this past week because of the crisis in the financial markets.

Spancrete expects to lay off about 125 workers in Valders by mid-November. Another 105 employees are facing layoffs at Spancrete's Waukesha plant by mid-December.

Spancrete manufactures precast concrete for the construction industry.

Manpower Employment Outlook Survey Reveals Employers Expect a Positive Hiring Climate for the Fourth Quarter of 2008

(Toronto, ON, September 9, 2008) – Canadian employers expect a positive hiring climate for the October to December period of 2008 according to the latest results of the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, the most extensive, forward-looking employment survey in the world.

The survey of more than 1,700 Canadian employers reveals that 20 per cent expect to increase their payrolls in the next three months while seven per cent of employers anticipate cutbacks, for a Net Employment Outlook of 13 per cent. Of those polled, 70 per cent expect no change and three per cent are unsure of their staffing intentions for the upcoming quarter.

With seasonal variations removed from the survey data, the Net Employment Outlook is 14 per cent. This is a one percentage point increase from the previous quarter, indicating hopeful hiring intentions for the final quarter of 2008.

“This quarter’s Net Employment Outlook suggests that Canadian employers anticipate a steady hiring pace for the upcoming quarter” says Byrne Luft, Vice President, Marketing for Manpower Canada. “Employers are indicating that they will continue to increase their payrolls, but at a slightly slower rate than last year at this time.”

“The hiring climates in Western and Atlantic Canada are ahead of the national forecast,” adds Luft. Employers in Western Canada report an active hiring climate with a Net Employment Outlook of 25 per cent. In Atlantic Canada employers project a steady quarter with a Net Employment Outlook of 16 per cent. Employers in Quebec expect a weaker, yet still moderate fourth quarter projecting a hiring pace of nine per cent. Ontario employers report a modest quarter, projecting a Net Employment Outlook of eight per cent.

Strengthened by robust projections in Western Canada, employers in the Mining sector project a solid hiring pace with a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of 28 per cent. In the Public Administration and Construction sectors employers expect healthy hiring climates both reporting seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlooks of 22 per cent. Employers in the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate as well as employers in the Transportation and Public Utilities sectors expect upbeat markets for job seekers reporting Net Employment Outlooks of 20 and 17 per cent, respectively.


Mining

Reporting a five percentage point increase from the previous quarter, employers in the Mining sector project a solid fourth quarter with a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of 28 per cent. When compared to the fourth quarter of 2007, the Outlook has decreased by ten percentage points.

Public Administration

Employers in the Public Administration sector anticipate a steady hiring climate with a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of 22 per cent. Hiring projections have increased by eight percentage points from the previous quarter. However, this quarter’s forecast remains the same as last year’s fourth quarter.

Construction

Reporting a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of 22 per cent, employers in the Construction sector project an active staffing period for the final quarter of 2008. The Outlook has increased 11 percentage points from the previous quarter but has decreased six percentage points since the same time last year.


Finance, Insurance and Real Estate

With a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of 20 per cent, employers in the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate sector anticipate a favourable hiring pace. This quarter’s forecast is six percentage points stronger than the Outlook reported in third quarter. However, the Outlook is four percentage points weaker when compared to the same time last year.


Transportation and Public Utilities

In the Transportation and Public Utilities sector employers predict a positive hiring climate for the upcoming October to December period, reporting a Net Employment Outlook of 17 per cent once seasonal variations are removed from the data – two percentage points weaker than the previous quarter when the seasonally adjusted outlook was 19 per cent. When compared to the fourth quarter of 2007, the Net Employment Outlook improves by two percentage points.

Services

Employers in the Services sector also expect a positive hiring climate for the final quarter of 2008, reporting a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of 17 per cent. This is on par with the Outlook reported last quarter and is a slight decrease from the same time last year when the seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook was 20 per cent.


Wholesale and Retail Trade

In the Wholesale and Retail Trade sector employers report a Net Employment Outlook of 15 per cent once seasonally adjustments are made. This is a five percentage point increase from the previous quarter. However, this sector has experienced a ten percentage point decrease from the same time last year. Despite these fluctuations employers expect an upbeat quarter for the October to December period of 2008.


Manufacturing – Durable Goods

Employers in the Manufacturing – Durable Goods sector report a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of 13 per cent, indicating a respectable hiring climate. This is a seven percentage point increase from the previous quarter when the seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook was six per cent and is a one percentage point increase from the same time last year.


Manufacturing – Non-Durable Goods

Reporting a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of ten per cent, employers in the Manufacturing – Non-Durable Goods sector employers anticipate a hopeful hiring climate for the upcoming quarter. This is a ten percentage point increase from the previous quarter when the sector experienced a flat hiring climate. It is, however, a slight decrease from the same time last year when the Net Employment Outlook was 11 per cent.


Education

Employers in the Education sector expect a mild hiring climate for the upcoming quarter, reporting a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of four per cent. Employer optimism is declining when compared to the previous quarter, when the Net Employment Outlook was eight per cent, and also by nine percentage points from the same time last year.

Unemployment statistics for August released

The Bureau of Labor Market Information, Office of Workforce Development, released the August unemployment rates by county on Tuesday. Once again, the rate creeped up in Adams County from 9.1 percent in July to 9.3 percent last month. The monthly increase was the third straight for Adams County.

Interestingly, the number of unemployed (1,300) in Adams County in August, matches the average number of unemployed 10 years ago. However, in 1998, with a lower average number for the year (12,600) in the civilian labor force, the average of 1,300 unemployed for the year amounted to an 11.1 percent unemployment rate.

Looking at the employment figures from a different perspective, we have 2,400 more people in Adams County employed now than we did in 1998. The figures: an average of 10,000 employed in 1998 compared to 12,400 employed in August of this year.

The following is a press release from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services:

Ohio's unemployment rate was 7.4 percent in August, up from 7.2 percent in July, according to data released this morning by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Ohio's nonfarm wage and salary employment decreased 3,700 over the month, from 5,410,500 in July, to 5,406,800 in August.

"Ohio's labor market continued to mirror the national trend by showing signs of decline in August," ODJFS Director Helen Jones-Kelley said. "Larger decreases in the goods-producing sectors resulted from continued losses in manufacturing and durable goods."

The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in August was 445,000, up from 432,000 in July. The number of unemployed has increased by 106,000 in the past 12 months from 339,000. The August unemployment rate for Ohio was up from 5.7 percent in August 2007.

The U.S. unemployment rate for August was 6.1 percent, up from 5.7 percent in July.

Total Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment (Seasonally Adjusted): Ohio's nonfarm payroll employment fell 3,700 over the month, from 5,410,500 in July to 5,406,800 in August, according to the latest business establishment survey conducted by ODJFS.

Goods-producing industries, at 985,700, declined 6,500 from July. The loss was concentrated in manufacturing (-6,200) as reductions in durable goods (-6,400) were partially offset by small gains in nondurable goods (+200).

Construction employment was down by 400. Natural resources and mining advanced 100. Service-providing employment rose 2,800 to 4,421,100. Educational and health services was up 2,300 due to growth in health care and social assistance (+1,600) and educational services (+700). Also up were leisure and hospitality (+800) and government (+700).

Declines occurred in financial activities (-600), information (-200), and professional and business services (200). Trade, transportation, and utilities and other services were virtually unchanged over the month.

Over the past 12 months, nonagricultural wage and salary employment fell 19,300. Goods-producing employment was down 20,500 as losses in durable goods helped reduce manufacturing 15,000. Construction dropped 5,900, while natural resources and mining added 400 jobs.

Service-providing industries advanced 1,200 over the year. Sectors with increased employment were educational and health services (+10,700) and leisure and hospitality (+2,100). Employment was down in trade, transportation, and utilities (-3,200), government (-2,600), information ( 2,000), financial activities ( 1,900) and other services (-1,900). There was little change in professional and business services.

Tennessee reports 17 mass layoffs in August

Tennessee reported 17 mass layoffs in August resulting in 1,496 initial claims for unemployment insurance, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.

That was up from nine mass layoffs and 574 unemployment claims in August 2007.

In July this year there were 18 mass layoffs with 1,412 unemployment claims.

A mass-layoff occurs when there are 50 or more initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits from an employer in five-week period, with at least 50 workers separated for more than 30 days.

Nationwide, there were 1,772 mass layoff actions in August affecting 173,995 workers, the bureau reports. The number of actions was the highest since 1995 and the number of affected workers was the highest since August 2001.

The number of mass layoffs increased in August nationally by 260 compared to July and the number of affected workers rose by 22,784.

At 38,188 in August, the South had the second-largest number of initial claims among the nations four regions.

Tennessee's unemployment rate for August was 6.6 percent, up from 4.7 percent a year ago.

Immigration Slows in Face of Economic Downturn

The economic downturn, coupled with a government crackdown on illegal immigration, is dramatically slowing immigration to the U.S., according to new data from the Census Bureau.

The data, and additional analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center, provide the first solid evidence that fewer foreigners are entering the U.S -- and some illegal immigrants who are already here may be returning home because of decreased opportunity.

The data, part of the Census Bureau's annual American Community Survey, shows that the country's foreign-born population grew by about 500,000 last year, about half the annual average between 2000 and 2007.

"Immigrants are much more attuned to the economy's ups and down in the U.S. than we thought before," said William Frey, a senior demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

The collapse of the housing market and the broader economic malaise that has followed have reduced the number of low-skilled jobs in construction and other sectors that are the mainstay of low-skilled Latin Americans, in particular. As opportunity in the U.S. dries up, fewer immigrants are coming, and those already here are struggling.

At the same time, the Bush Administration has been conducting high-profile raids at meatpacking plants and other worksites believed to employ undocumented workers, leading to a record number of arrests and deportations. Several states, such as Arizona, Oklahoma and Rhode Island, have introduced laws that seek to punish employers of illegal immigrants.

Driven by an economic expansion that leaned heavily on home building and service industries, the foreign-born population grew an average of about one million a year between 2000 and 2007. Roughly 56% of that total were foreign-born Hispanics. Last year, the number of foreign-born Hispanics who entered the U.S. dropped to about 358,000, compared with an average of roughly 558,000 a year between 2000 and 2007.

"There is a constant cost-benefit analysis that people who are thinking of coming to the U.S. are making," says Roberto Suro, a University of Southern California journalism professor who specializes in immigration. Given the current environment, "it makes sense that fewer people are coming," he says.

The foreign-born worker data only covers 2007, when the economy was much stronger than it is today. The country has shed 600,000 jobs through August, and unemployment has risen to 6.1%.

According to preliminary analysis of the data, the Pew Hispanic Center estimates that annual arrivals from Mexico and Central America are down as much as 50% this year relative to 2007, to fewer than 150,000 and 75,000 a year, respectively. Undocumented immigrants represent about 80% of all Latin Americans who have arrived in the U.S. in the past decade.

"It could be the case that there are more people leaving than coming," says Jeff Passel, a demographer at the Pew Hispanic Center, an independent think tank in Washington.

About 12 million illegal immigrants are believed to live in the U.S., but this number could also begin to shrink. According to Mr. Passel's analysis of government data, the flow of unauthorized migrants is about half what it was at its peak. There is no official tracking of illegal immigrants leaving the country, but immigrant-advocacy groups report that some are returning home.

"Many friends of mine are thinking of going back in December," says Braulio Gonzalez, a day-laborer organizer in Redondo Beach, Calif. "They are asking themselves, 'Why stay here: there are no jobs and we don't have legal papers.' "

Over the past year, thousands of lower-skilled jobs once held by immigrants have been lost, or the gains were much slower. About 77,000 construction jobs were shed between 2006 and 2007, compared with a gain of almost 359,000 in the year earlier period, according to Moody's Economy.com. Sectors including repair and maintenance and animal slaughtering added far fewer jobs in 2007 than in the year earlier. More than 20% of foreign born Hispanics are employed in construction. Foreign-born workers represented about 23% of workers in service jobs, such as restaurant and cleaning work, according to the Department of Labor.

Historical data indicate that arrivals from Latin America ebb and flow. The last time migrant flows to the U.S. slackened was during the 2001-2002 recession.

For immigrants already here, the picture is bleak: The Census Bureau reported last month that the income of households headed by a foreigner who is also not a U.S. citizen dropped 7.3% compared with a 4.1% rise between 2005 and 2006. Preliminary analysis by Pew Hispanic Center researchers indicates that Hispanic households have suffered an even greater decrease in income between 2006 and 2007.

"This drop in income is consistent with employment trends for Latino workers showing a sharp increase in unemployment beginning in late 2006," says Rakesh Kochhar, economist at the Pew Hispanic Center.

Meanwhile, immigrant advocates say they've observed a surge in the number of immigrants soliciting work outside convenience stores and home-improvement retailers. "More people are turning to day labor as they get laid off in other sectors of the economy," says Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network that has 41 affiliated groups across the country.

Fourteen states saw their foreign-born population decrease last year. In half of those states, a decline in the foreign-born Hispanic population contributed to the overall decline. The largest decline was in New Jersey, which saw its foreign-born population decrease by 23,000 last year, largely due to losses of Latin American immigrants. New Mexico, Colorado Montana and Nebraska also saw their foreign-born populations decline largely because of a loss of foreign-born Hispanics.

"From the business point of view, it has been an entirely contingent and disposable labor force," says Mr. Suro, the USC professor.

Indeed, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Latino workers -- many believed to be in the country illegally -- rushed to New Orleans for cleanup and reconstruction work. The scene is being replayed in Galveston and Houston, where hundreds of immigrants are welcome hands in the massive effort to return to normalcy after Hurricane Ike.

Write to Miriam Jordan at miriam.jordan@wsj.com and Conor Dougherty at conor.dougherty@wsj.com

Kentucky’s jobless rate increases to 6.8 percent in August

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary unemployment rate for August 2008 rose to 6.8 percent from July 2008’s revised 6.7 percent, according to the Office of Employment and Training (OET), an agency of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. August 2007’s jobless rate was 5.5 percent.

The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose to 6.1 percent in August 2008 from 5.7 percent in July 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Unemployment statistics are based on estimates and are compiled to measure trends rather than actually to count people working.

“The unemployment rate in Kentucky continued to rise amid tighter credit, mounting jobs losses, and caution among businesses and consumers. Non-farm employment declined by 5,800 positions as retailers shuttered doors, governments suffered severe budget cuts, and the impact of the manufacturing slump rippled through Kentucky's economy,” said Justine Detzel, OET chief labor market analyst.

Five of the 11 major nonfarm North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) job sectors reported employment increases in August 2008, while six decreased, according to OET. A decrease of 5,800 jobs in August 2008 brought Kentucky’s nonfarm employment to a seasonally adjusted total of 1,878,800. Since August 2007, Kentucky’s nonfarm employment has risen by 10,400.

According to the seasonally adjusted employment data, the government sector, which includes public education, public administration agencies, and state-owned hospitals, added 1,500 positions in August 2008. Since August 2007, this sector has risen by 11,700 jobs.

The state’s other services sector, which includes such establishments as repair and maintenance businesses, personal and laundry services, religious organizations, and civic and professional organizations, increased by 1,400 jobs in August 2008. This sector had 100 more jobs in August 2008 than in August 2007.

Kentucky’s leisure and hospitality sector reported an employment gain of 400 jobs in August 2008. Since August 2007, employment in the sector has increased by 2,000 positions. The leisure and hospitality sector includes arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodations; and food services and drinking places industries.

“The month-to-month employment gains in the leisure and hospitality sector were evenly distributed between accommodation and food services enterprises, and arts, entertainment and recreation businesses,” Detzel said.

Between July 2008 and August 2008, the number of positions in the natural resources and mining sector rose by 200 jobs. The sector has gained 100 jobs since August 2007.

The educational and health services sector added 200 jobs in August 2008. Since last August, this segment has lost 200 jobs. This sector includes private and nonprofit establishments that provide either education and training, or health care and social assistance to their clients.

The manufacturing sector lost 7,000 jobs in August 2008. Compared to August 2007, jobs in the sector were down by 7,500 in August 2008.

“From July 2008 to August 2008, the durable goods subsector accounted for the lion’s share of these job losses, reflecting layoffs at multiple automobile parts manufacturers, the closing of a truck trailer manufacturer, and layoffs at another major manufacturer. The impact of the automobile slump is reverberating through Kentucky’s economy with shock waves felt by employees, automobile parts suppliers, and non-manufacturing enterprises such as railroads and trucking companies faced with a reduction of cargo. The nondurable goods subsector also exhibited employment declines, which is indicative of the closing of a plastic and rubber manufacturer,” Detzel said.

The number of jobs in the professional and business services sector fell by 1,900 in August 2008. This area had 2,100 fewer employees in August 2008 than in August 2007. The professional and business services sector includes professional, scientific and technical services; management of companies; and administrative and support management, including temporary help agencies.

The number of jobs in the financial activities sector decreased by 200 in August 2008. This segment, which includes businesses involved in finance, insurance, real estate and property leasing or rental, has lost 500 positions over the past 12 months.

Kentucky’s trade, transportation and utilities sector fell by 200 jobs in August 2008. This area includes retail and wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing businesses, and utilities, and it is the largest sector in Kentucky with 392,900 employees. Since August 2007, the number of jobs in this sector has jumped by 6,700. Detzel said that most of the year-over-year job gains occurred in retail trade.

The information sector dropped by 100 jobs in August 2008. This segment, which includes firms involved in publishing, Internet activities, data processing, broadcasting, and news syndication, has lost 700 positions since August 2007.

The construction sector recorded 100 fewer positions in August 2008. Since August 2007, employment in the construction sector has increased by 800 positions.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly estimate of the number of employed Kentuckians for August 2008 was 1,900,871 on a seasonally adjusted basis. This figure is up 1,132 from the 1,899,739 employed in July 2008, but down 30,856 from the 1,931,727 employed in August 2007.

The monthly estimate of the number of unemployed Kentuckians for August 2008 was 138,603, up 1,260 from the 137,343 Kentuckians unemployed in July 2008, and up 27,015 from the 111,588 unemployed in August 2007.

The monthly estimate of the number of Kentuckians in the civilian labor force for August 2008 was 2,039,474. This figure is up 2,392 from the 2,037,082 recorded in July 2008, but down 3,841 from the 2,043,315 recorded for August 2007.

Civilian labor force statistics include non-military workers and unemployed Kentuckians who are actively seeking work. They do not include unemployed Kentuckians who have not looked for employment within the past four weeks.

Kentucky’s statewide unemployment rate and employment levels are seasonally adjusted. Employment statistics undergo sharp fluctuations due to seasonal events, such as weather changes, harvests, holidays and school openings and closings. Seasonal adjustments eliminate these influences and make it easier to observe statistical trends. However, because of the small sample size, county unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.

Learn more about the Office of Employment and Training at http://www.workforce.ky.gov.

Mass layoffs down in Kansas

Kansas saw a dip in its mass layoffs in August, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Tuesday.

After eight mass layoffs in July put 731 people out of work, the total fell to four layoffs, which affected 291 workers. In August 2007, three mass layoffs — defined as an action that involves at least 50 people from a single employer — put 538 people out of work.

The numbers go against the national trend that saw August mass layoff events, at 1,772 seasonally adjusted, reach a program high for the month, while associated initial claims, at 173,955, were the highest for August since 2001.

Nationwide, there have been 12,542 mass layoffs this year, which resulted in more than one million initial unemployment claims. At 1,274,765, the total is the highest January to August totals since 2003, the labor department reports.

The number of mass layoffs this August increased by 260 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims rose by 22,784.

The national unemployment rate was 6.1 percent in August, seasonally adjusted, up from 5.7 percent in the previous month and from 4.7 percent a year earlier.

Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia registered over-the-year increases in initial claims associated with mass layoffs, led by California (+5,054), Ohio (+4,930), and Florida (+4,674). States with the largest over-the-year decreases in claims were Arizona (-704) and Washington (-461).

Hart County Layoffs

The Hart County School System employs more than 500 people. All of them…the teachers, janitors, counselors, bus drivers, and principals do a great job but now up to 25 of them will be jobless in the next few weeks.

“Unfortunately, this has to take place now.”

Dr. David Hicks, superintendant of Hart County Schools says this is their last resort. Earlier this year, Governor Sonny Perdue mandated statewide budget cuts for all districts. Those cuts have forced many systems to increase their school property taxes to fill that hole…but not Hart County’s Board members.

“The economy isn’t doing well. People have lost jobs and they didn’t want to shift the burden to local tax payers,” Hicks tells NewsChannel 32.

The board voted 3 to 2 not to raise the school millage rate by 1.6 mills. Hicks recommended an increase to slightly more than 15 mills to cover the gap in the system’s budget.

That gap of more than $1.2 million is the result of state mandated pay raises for teachers and increases for fuel and energy.

Now it’s up to Dr. Hicks to fill that shortfall and right now his options are limited.

Before it came down to this, School officials tried cutting corners by buying fewer supplies and doing without. But it wasn’t enough. That only cut about $100,000 from the budget.

“This is an accumulation of years and years of cutting and why a lot of systems are in this situation.”

Hicks, says he’s looked at all the possibilities and as things stand, the only thing left to cut are employees. But this system’s superintendant says things shouldn’t have come to this.

“If I have to shift blame, I would say a lot of responsibility falls on the state because they haven’t met their constitutional obligation of educating our students.”
He adds you can’t do that without sufficient funding from the state government.
The Hart County School System’s budget is around $32 million.

The board will know in the next two weeks exactly how many and which employees they’ll have to lay off.

Job losses 'hitting older men hardest'

The rise in unemployment and redundancies has hit older workers hardest, new figures show.

Data released by the Office of National Statistics reveals the number of people aged between 50 and state pension age in employment fell by 20,000 in the last quarter, with 17,000 of these being men.

According to the Age & Employment Network (TAEN), men in this age group account for 25 per cent of all men of working age, but 38 per cent of the fall in employment numbers for the last three months.

Chris Ball, chief executive of TAEN, believes firms who layoff older workers in troubled times are actually making things harder for themselves.

"When older workers disappear, organisations lose their talent and knowledge which they may need to kick-start revival," he said.

Companies should also be careful as making a worker redundant on the grounds of age could see their former employee taking them to a tribunal over discriminatory practises, Mr Ball adds.

Recently, David Blanchflower, a member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee, warned 60,000 people a month could find themselves out of work from October as the economy worsens.

Report: CNY manufacturing employment falls 2.4 percent in one year

By: Eric Reinhardt
09/22/08 03:35 PM
Industrial employment in Central New York fell 2.4 percent between July 2007 and July 2008, according to new data from Manufacturers' News, Inc.

The region is home to more than 114,000 industrial workers, down nearly 3,000 or 2.4 percent during the time period, according to the company's 2009 New York Manufacturers Register directory. Syracuse accounts for 11,399 of those jobs, down 3.7 percent from 2007.

Statewide, New York has more than 813,000 industrial workers, a decline of nearly 15,000 or 1.8 percent, during the past year. The latest data shows a continuation of the decline the state has seen over the past several years, the report says.

Earlier reports indicated New York's industrial employment fell 3 percent between July 2006 and July 2007 and by 2.5 percent between July 2005 and July 2006.

New York's losses are in line with those seen across the Mid-Atlantic and New England states, with New Jersey's industrial jobs down 2 percent, Connecticut's down 1.3 percent, and Pennsylvania's down 1.2 percent.

"As with the entire nation, New York's industrial employment is suffering due to automation, mergers, and outsourcing," said Tom Dubin, president of Manufacturers' News, Inc, in a news release.

New York ranks second in the U.S. for number of industrial jobs, the directory says.

Most sectors lost jobs over the year. Electronics manufacturing accounts for 78,391 jobs in New York and is down the most at 5.1 percent. The closure of Ramp Industries, Inc. in Binghamton this past summer contributed to those losses, the directory says.

Manufacturers' News, Inc., a publisher of manufacturing directories and databases, has been surveying industry since 1912.



Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Alcoa begins lay-offs of nearly one-third of workforce at Mattawan

Alcoa announced Tuesday, Sept. 16, that its Alcoa Electrical and Electronic Systems (AEES) business has initiated a restructuring of its United States operations serving the North American auto market as a result of continued decrease in customer demand.
In total, the workforce reduction across the US operations will impact approximately 165 jobs as AEES adjusts capacity to economic and structural changes in the North America light truck and SUV market demand.
AEES employs approximately 340 associates at its Mattawan manufacturing facility. Approximately 70 associates will be laid starting this week, with another 30 anticipated over the course of the next two quarters, should no turnaround in the market occur. The plant has been rotating voluntary layoffs throughout the summer in an effort to weather the downturn without having to make permanent reductions.
"The conditions in the North American automotive market remain extremely challenging," said Jon A. Jensen, AEES president for Light Vehicle Market and Operations-Americas. "This action is a result of our customers' significant volume reduction for several vehicle platforms and in no way is a reflection on our workforce, which has done an incredible job under very trying circumstances," Jensen continued. "Unfortunately, in order to align our manufacturing and structural capacity with this redefined market demand and to improve overall efficiency and competitiveness, we have had to make this very difficult decision. We will work with the community and stakeholders to try to minimize the impact as much as possible.
"We recognize the impact that this workforce reduction will have on the lives of our employees, their families, and the community," said Jensen. "Full severance, in addition to a combination of outplacement and transition support services, will be made available to all affected employees."

Furniture store plans to layoff some Mississippians

ECRU, Miss. - --
Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., one of the nation's largest furniture manufacturers and retailers, says it is cutting about 200 jobs - 5 percent of its Mississippi work force - at plants in Ecru and Ripley.

Brent Koslo, Ashley's vice president of upholstery operations, made the announcement Friday. He said the layoffs were needed in order to keep the company competitive.

He says 3,500 people are still working for Ashley, which is based in Arcadia, Wis.

The housing industry slowdown has meant less demand for furniture, at the same time that rising gas and food prices have cut household budgets.

Furniture Today” reported this month that Ashley Furniture's sales rose from $594 in 2003 to $3.05 billion last year, more than any other company in the country.

IT Workers Cushioned From US Economic Downturn

"According to the AP, technology has been the least hardest hit by the U.S.'s recent economic downturn. Quote: '"Overall technology employment is up in America and the wages associated with it are up," said John McCarthy, a vice president with Forrester Research.' The article goes on to say that companies realize the worth of their [IT] staff. This paired along with a recent article regarding the value of data centers when selling a company leads one to believe that the business world, while historically not fond of IT workers, is showing its true opinion of the sector."

Layoffs in Mattawan

MATTAWAN, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Layoffs announced for Mattawan on Friday by a major automotive parts maker.



Close to 200 employees at the Alcoa company were told Thursday that they're being laid off. The company is a leading producer of aluminum products and components for the auto industry.



Alcoa confirmed on Friday that they are laying off hundreds of workers, at their Mattawan plant, 200 will be facing a temporary layoff of one week, possibly more for some.



The Mattawan plant supplies parts for electrical systems in cars and light trucks. Because of all the upheaval in the auto industry, and demand for light trucks going way down, Alcoa is putting workers on temporary layoff.



Alcoa says that some employees actually did take voluntary layoffs before this announcement, and the company was trying to encourage more employees to take voluntary time off, but as the company looked ahead, it became clear that it wasn't going to be enough.



Mike Belwood, an Alcoa spokesperson, said that "as we get into September we expect to call most people back to work and we will continue to monitor our labor levels because of the type of markets we're in are slow, and we'll continue to work through this as best we can. We do appreciate the cooperation and help we've gotten from our employees in this difficult period.



The Mattawan plant employs over 400 people, so some operations could keep running, although the spokesperson said he wasn't clear on what exactly would be going on at the plant.

O.C.'s Largest Land Developer Makes Major Layoffs

NEWPORT BEACH -- Citing a weak economy and declining land sales, The Irvine Co., one of the major players in Orange County's recent economic leap forward, has laid off 100 employees.

The layoffs are the first for The Irvine Co., Orange County's largest land developer, in 15 years. The cuts represent 3 percent of the firm's 3,800 workers.
They come as the Orange County unemployment rate hit 5.8 percent in figures released Friday. The California unemployment rate is one of the highest in the nation at 7.7 percent.

John Christensen, a company vice president, called the decision "painful," but noted the cutbacks were needed because of "dormant land sales to home builders."
Donald Bren, The Irvine Co.'s major owner, has lost more than $1 billion in the last
year, according to Forbes magazine. He nonetheless remains one of the 400 richest
Americans with a net worth of about $12 billion.

Deloitte Mum On Layoffs

Big Four accounting firm won’t explain impact on Connecticut

By Greg Bordonaro
gbordonaro@HartfordBusiness.com09/22/08

Deloitte & Touche, the Big Four accounting firm, sidestepped questions last week about how its reported layoff of about 800 professionals and staff members nationwide affects its Connecticut operations.

Carl R. Johnson, managing partner, Blum Shapiro
Deloitte has the third largest accounting staff in Greater Hartford, with 71 local CPAs and 321 staffers as of January. It also has offices in Stamford and Wilton.
The firm recently confirmed to the trade publication Compliance Week that it was dismissing about 800 of its 45,000 employees across the country, mainly in its audit and risk consulting services.

When asked by The Hartford Business Journal to confirm that national number and provide fresh details about the impact in Connecticut, Deborah Harrington, a spokeswoman for Deloitte, issued the following in a written statement:

“In a move to align its work force to better reflect business and client needs, Deloitte is taking a number of steps to reduce costs in some of its businesses affected by the overall slowdown in the economy, including adjustments to our work force levels in the United States.

“Overall, we continue to grow and expect a net increase in personnel in [2009],” she said.

Experts said the Deloitte layoffs could be matched by similar moves by the other Big Four accounting firms, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Ernst and Young and KPMG.
“I would imagine that there might be other reductions,” said Mohamed E. Hussein, a department head and professor of accounting at the University of Connecticut. “But I don’t think it will last that long.

Blum Shapiro & Co. of West Hartford, a leading regional firm, reported an uptick in interest from former Big Four employees. “In the last 18 months, there have been more inquiries from Big Four employees,” said Carl R. Johnson, Blum Shapiro’s managing partner.

Hussein said turnover at public accounting firms isn’t uncommon, but during good economic times people tend to leave on their own, taking higher positions at smaller companies. But as the economy sputters, smaller firms don’t hire as freely, which means Big Four staffs don’t turn over as quickly.

“That natural attrition isn’t taking place right now,” Hussein said.

Sarbanes Oxley
One likely factor in the Deloitte layoffs is the recent relaxation of compliance standards called for in the Sarbanes Oxley Act, said Barry Epstein, a partner at the Chicago accounting firm Russell Novak and Co.

The law was enacted in 2002 in response to major corporate and accounting scandals. It created intricate compliance rules for public companies, requiring them to upgrade internal controls over their financial reporting.

“The big firms had a feast on this, charging large extra fees as the clients had no choice,” Epstein said.

But now, a lot of the basic compliance work has been completed and federal regulators have adopted simpler rules that require less work by outside accountants, Epstein said.

Recent extreme turbulence on Wall Street could emerge as another factor leading to Big Four layoffs.

“If two large companies merge, you need one less auditor,” Hussein said.

Bear Sterns was bought by JP Morgan Chase, and Merrill Lynch was recently purchased by Bank of America. Bear Stearns and Merrill were Deloitte clients.

On the positive side for accounting firms, regulators have moved to require U.S. businesses to adopt global accounting rules. That could create significant new work for accounting firms and stimulate hiring, Hussein said.

Rubber hits the road at Henniges

Local plant bleeding jobs to Mexico, 235 get layoff notices

Posted By MARK TAYTI/Tribune Staff

Posted 4 days ago

WELLAND

Henniges Automotive is shedding more than 200 jobs before the end of November and remaining unionized employees will face a three-week shutdown at Christmas time.

"It’s just disgusting how bad it is getting – we’re turning into a Third World country before our eyes," Joe Buote, president of United Steelworkers of America Local 455, said yesterday.

Buote said Henniges, formerly GDX Automotive, laid off 50 workers on Aug. 26. It has also issued 125 layoff notices to take effect Oct. 5. He anticipates another 60 workers will be laid off on Nov. 15 – bringing the layoff total to 235.

About 600 people currently work at the Welland-based auto parts plant, which makes rubber sealing products almost exclusively for General Motors. The layoffs affect one-third of the workforce.

Buote said some of the jobs – about 100 – will be heading to the company’s production facilities in Guadalajara, Mexico. The balance of the layoffs are being blamed on slowdowns at GM.

Employees were told the news last week.

He said the plant shutdown at Christmas is expected to begin on Dec. 15 and last until Jan. 5.

"Moral is absolutely terrible," he told The Tribune in a telephone interview. "We’re not happy with management's decision to shut down for three weeks. We have been meeting continuously to discuss how to minimize the repercussion on the workforce."

Buote said jobs being lost to Mexico are never coming back. It’s a scenario Buote said continues to repeat itself across the country.

"It’s going to be terrible for the city," he said, agreeing that more layoffs in a city still reeling from the announced closure of John Deere Welland Works and its 800 lost jobs is the last thing Welland needs.

"I hope people realize that we are in the middle of a federal election," he said. "We have been totally abandoned by the Tory government. They have been allowing manufacturing to die. It is disgusting what the government has not only allowed to happen but has endorsed. This area is being devastated."

Buote said workers have given up much in the form of concessions and provide top-quality work to Henniges Automotive.

"We have helped the new owners turn the corner. We have given up a lot of seniority rights to give the company flexibility."

He said news of layoffs and plant shutdowns could not have come at a worse time of year.

"It makes it more difficult," he said. "There is never a good time."

Buote said unionized workers earn an average $20.82 an hour and have benefits and pensions. Those jobs are not easily replaced, he added.

Despite numerous attempts to contact management at Henniges Automotive, calls were not returned to The Tribune yesterday.

Lehman layoff fears wash ashore Mumbai staff polish CVs

Mumbai, Sept. 16: The dream job has turned into a nightmare.

Lehman Brothers’ staff in Mumbai, the largest in Asia, spent Tuesday clearing their desks and calling headhunters as they brooded over a horrific week that turned their lives upside down.

The nail-biting wait for the inevitable pink slip has begun.

At their tony Ceejay House office in Mumbai’s posh Worli area, employees have been asked to carry on work as usual even though email and telephone connections have been suspended.

“In reality, there is no work to speak of as our London office, with which we work closely, has suspended trading. The management is trying hard to maintain a semblance of corporate discipline. But yesterday at an internal meeting, we were told to polish up our CVs and look for jobs. People were told the company would not be able to offer any clarity on their roles at work,” said an employee at the investment banking service office of Lehman at Worli where 180 people work.

Lehman’s second set-up in Mumbai’s Powai area — a back office that employs nearly 2,000 people — is expected to fold up this week. Last month, the company fired over 200 employees from its back office.

“The fear of a job loss is now real. The most difficult part will be to explain things to family and friends. A job loss in this country is a social disgrace — nobody cares if it is because of a global meltdown,” said an employee at the Lehman back office.

Employees at both the Worli and Powai offices have been told that if they are asked to leave, it is unlikely that they will be paid the three-month severance package as is customary.


“We have been told we may have to do with just a three-week to a month’s pay in lieu of notice. The atmosphere here is tense,” said an employee at the Powai office. “I tried approaching a recruiter today. I was told Lehman staff CVs were floating all over,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India tightened its vigil on the domestic arms of Lehman. It directed Lehman Brothers Capital Pvt Ltd — a non-banking finance company — not to remit dollars abroad without its approval.

The central bank also asked Lehman Brothers Fixed Income Securities — a primary market dealer — not to declare an interim dividend or make any remittances to either its holding company or a group company without getting its clearance. It has also been ordered to stop trading in government securities.

In Delhi, commerce minister Kamal Nath couldn’t resist taking a swipe at the US financial sector, which has been blaming India for over-regulating its financial markets. “Those who preached to us about adopting best practices didn’t follow it themselves,” Nath said about the turmoil in the US financial markets.

“We will be assessing its impact on India over the next few weeks,” Nath said.

Lehman Brothers tried to soften the blow for its Indian employees by trying to hire counsellors who would help them through a difficult phase.

An Indian agent of an Australian firm dealing with outplacement and transition services, told The Telegraph that her company’s New York office was approached by Lehman Brothers’ head office last month to counsel retrenched employees. However, that deal did not work out in the end.

Corporate outplacement firms plan for workforce reductions and help former employees in finding new positions.

“With the markets down and brokerages scaling back operations, the retrenchment could not have come at a worse time for Lehman staff,” said the employee at the investment banking division.

Lehman’s Indian operation is the largest in Asia in terms of workforce. The bank employs 3,000 people in Asia Pacific excluding the 2,000 people at its Mumbai back office.

“Management and engineering graduates like me who get placed with Lehman Brothers draw opening annual salaries of Rs 10 to 18 lakh. It is unlikely that after being retrenched, we will get similar jobs,” said a fresh IIM graduate at the capital markets division in Worli.

Schering-Plough to Shrink U.S. Sales Force by About 20%

Schering-Plough Corp. plans to eliminate about 1,000 U.S. sales representatives, or about 20% of its field force, in a move to cut costs.

State's 6.4% jobless rate is the highest since '87

Layoffs and slower construction offset slight uptick in jobs

Indiana's unemployment rate inched up in August to 6.4 percent, the highest level in 21 years.

The state's jobless rate now has exceeded the nation's -- 6.1 percent -- for three straight months, although Indiana continued to post smaller jobless numbers than its industrial neighbors, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Layoffs in the automotive and recreation vehicle industries have pushed up unemployment in Indiana, along with a construction slowdown spawned by flooding. More than 2,500 jobs have been lost this year because of motor coach and trailer company layoffs.

In nearby states, the August unemployment rate reached 8.9 percent in Michigan, 7.4 percent in Ohio and 7.3 percent in Illinois.

Indiana is suffering the effects of a national economic slowdown, according to Gov. Mitch Daniels' spokeswoman.

"We're being affected by what's happening with the national economy but holding up better than our neighbors," said Jane Jankowski.

Indiana's jobless rate already has surpassed the highs set during the downturns that began in 1991 and 2001. During those periods, regarded as mild recessions, the unemployment rate peaked at 6.3 percent in June 1992 and 5.4 percent in April 2002.
Jill Long Thompson, Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said Indiana's economy is in serious trouble.
In August, the number of people holding jobs totaled 3.04 million in Indiana. This was about 7,000 more statewide than in July, but the jobless rate still rose, driven by wider job losses and a larger labor force. The number of unemployed rose to 207,000 from 204,000 the month before.

The jobless rate is computed using a formula that divides the number of people unemployed by the number of people in the labor force. The labor force includes people employed, unemployed and looking for work.

August layoffs included 200 ice cream plant workers from Driggs Farms in Decatur and the first of what will total 412 employees to be laid off by Parsons, which is completing a cleanup of a nerve agent depot at Newport.

Layoffs pushed the jobless rate up slightly from 6.3 percent in July, which in turn had climbed 0.5 of a percentage point from June.

Indiana's unemployment rate hasn't been this high since 1987. Climbing out of the severe 1981-82 recession, the unemployment rate registered 6.4 percent in February 1987, on its way down from the modern peak, 12.8 percent in November 1982.
The job losses come at a time when businesses are also expanding, particularly in the Indianapolis metropolitan area.

Indianapolis Economic Development said expansions disclosed in August in Marion County will bring 690 new jobs, 986 retained jobs and $101.9 million in capital investment. Most of the new work is scheduled to appear within two years.
The average hourly wage for the new jobs created in August is $27.50, and the average hourly wage for the retained jobs is about $24.90, IED said, noting the expansions, all previously announced, include EnerDel, McGowan Insurance, Polaris Laboratories and Charles Schwab.

"Indianapolis is a city that's working," Mayor Greg Ballard said in a prepared statement. "Our successes keep piling higher, and these latest job numbers show that we are continuing to create employment while many big cities continue to struggle."
Across Indiana, businesses receiving incentives from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. have committed to creating more than 15,000 jobs this year, the agency said.

Call Star reporter Ted Evanoff at (317) 444-6019

Jobs data turn worse

Unemployment expected to rise well into 2009

By Richard Craver | Journal Reporter
Published: September 20, 2008

North Carolina's chances of posting any kind of economic recovery the rest of this year are growing dimmer, economists said yesterday.

The state's unemployment rate reached a 61/2-year high of 6.9 percent in August, the N.C. Employment Security Commission reported. The unemployment rate was 6.6 percent in July.

And unlike most years, when the jobless rate falls during the fall months as teachers go back to work and holiday-season hiring begins, economists say that the rate is likely to keep rising well into 2009.

"It's now a lock that the state unemployment rate will go above 7 percent," said Michael Walden, an economics professor at N.C. State University.

"I forecast a very slow holiday spending and hiring season," Walden said.
That could mean that the Triad's rate, which recently has been a half-percent higher than the state's rate, could approach 8 percent by year's end as the recent 570 job cuts at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. are felt locally. The Triad unemployment rate was 7.1 percent in July.

The employment security commission will report the local unemployment rate for August on Friday.

Walden predicted in early January -- when the state's unemployment rate was 4.7 percent -- that the state's rate would exceed 6 percent this year.

Since then, the financial and housing crises have combined to squeeze the local economy harder than was initially thought, Walden said.

"Money is hard to get and standards are high," he said. "This is impacting both commercial and household borrowing.

"The credit market is the lifeblood of the economy. Without flows of credit, the economy locks up."

Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wachovia Securities, said that most of the recent surge in the state's jobless rate is more a factor of a slowdown in hiring rather than a dramatic increase in layoffs.

But because more layoffs are likely as companies try to do more with fewer employees, Vitner also believes that the state unemployment rate will remain on an upward path into 2009.

"We may see the jobless rate fall back a few tenths of a percentage point in September and October," he said.

"Layoffs are rising, however. We look for the unemployment rate to top out at 7.2 percent by year end and to average around 7.5 percent next year," Vitner said.
The decline in the national economy is having an effect on North Carolina's employment picture, said Harry Payne Jr., the chairman of the employment-security commission.

"We are experiencing a very tight job market and we have a lot of job seekers," Payne said.

North Carolina is not alone in having increased competition for job vacancies.
A report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that there were 2.6 job seekers for every available job in the nation during July, or 8.8 million unemployed Americans and 3.4 million job openings. By comparison, there were 1.6 job seekers for every job opening in December 2006.

"The number of job seekers per job openings is now firmly in recessionary territory -- at a higher level than during any month of the official 2001 recession -- and it shows no signs of leveling off," said Heidi Shierholz, an economist with Economic Policy Institute, a research group based in Washington.

"Millions of dedicated, productive American workers are experiencing the hardship and insecurity of unemployment with little hope of finding a job," Shierholz said. "The job-openings data represent one more strong indicator of the need for a second stimulus package that is targeted directly at job creation."

The employment-security commission reported that there were 35,247 fewer North Carolinians in the labor force, partly related to some public-school teachers going back to work and college students returning to campus. Both groups typically are considered as unemployed during the summer months.

A record 314,729 residents were considered as unemployed by the commission during August. The number of North Carolinians considered as unemployed has increased by 102,025 since August 2007.

The state lost 4,400 jobs in the professional and business services sector and 1,500 in the trade, transportation and utilities sector. It gained 2,700 in the leisure and hospitality services and 1,400 in educational and health services.

"While job orders have varied depending on the location around the state, we are still hearing from employers who need workers," Payne said.

■ Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at rcraver@wsjournal.com.

Warning: failure-driven IT layoffs ahead

Even under normal circumstances, IT failures impose a substantial drain on corporate resources. During this period of economic trouble and scarce resources, however, many organizations will show less tolerance for failure, making layoffs likely.

CIO blogger, Peter Birley, describes the downturn equation from a senior management perspective (emphasis added):

The position of the business is key and the CIO needs to be close to what is happening so that they can feel any pain and be able to react early…. Early intervention might even remove later difficulties or loss of the wrong projects. IT is often viewed as a money drain and there is not a great perception or realisation of the cost of keeping it running….CIO’s should also be wary that they don’t do something they may regret later.

Peter wisely advocates organizations adopt a balanced, levelheaded approach to examining IT costs. This means companies should prioritize their business initiatives, leaving the solid ones in place and dumping the others. That’s good news for high-performing people working in IT.

Although some IT workers may be safe, eWeek reports, the picture is hardly rosy:

The reason is that companies still rely heavily on technology to operate on a day-to-day basis…. Unfortunately, this offers little protection for software engineers and coders whose positions will continue to be outsourced domestically and internationally to the least costly providers,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Job seekers in the IT industry may also have a difficult time going into the new year, as companies scrap plans for adding or updating technology. Companies will not start expanding their IT departments until the economy rebounds.

What does this mean for folks working on IT projects? If your project is important to the company and provides real strategic or business value, then your job is likely safe. In times of downturn, companies avoid cutting strategic projects.

On the other hand, if your project provides marginal benefit to the company, then your job may be in jeopardy. To help determine whether you’re at risk, ask yourself five hard questions:

How important is my project to the company?
Does the organization see my project as success or failure?
Do I play a critical role on the project?
Are my skills easily replaced or outsourced?
If my project is troubled, how easily can I move to one that’s successful?
Projects the organization views as pointless and wasteful are prime candidates for termination, especially in today’s economy. If your project is late and over-budget, and particularly if it’s also based on a shaky business proposition, then perhaps you’d better polish up the old resume.

Eclipse Aviation Announces Job Cuts

Company Reduces Work Force By 38 Percent

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Several employees of Albuquerque-based Eclipse Aviation told Action 7 News they lost their jobs Friday morning in a mass firing at the jet maker.
Eclipse Aviation said it will lay off about 38 percent of its employees in an effort to achieve financial stability.

A former employee, who asked to remain anonymous, described the mood Friday morning as somber and said the company had security officials at the doors. The former employee said workers showed up Friday morning, were separated into groups and made to wait.

"Just waited, half an hour, 45 minutes until they gave us the whammy," the employee said.

The former employee said workers were told the cuts were based on the skill set of each worker.

The Albuquerque-based company said the layoffs of 650 employees include temporary workers and people employed less than six months.

The company said in a released statement it intends to increase production back to previous levels next year. But the former employee said if their job opens back up they won't get asked back, but will have to re-apply.

The layoffs come less than a month after a management shakeup that saw the ouster of founder and former chief executive officer Vern Raburn.

The new CEO, Roel Pieper, said the layoffs are needed to take the Albuquerque manufacturer to the next level of growth.

"In my effort to take Eclipse Aviation to the next level of growth and sustainability, I am 100 percent focused on operational excellence and a plan to achieve it," said Pieper in Friday's statement. "Financial stability is critical for this company and unfortunately, a reduction in workforce was necessary to achieve it. I am confident this action will set the company on the path to profitability so that we can continue to lead the very light jet category."

A conference planned next week to re-evaluate production plans for the company already had some people in business with Eclipse nervous.

Wall St layoffs topped 49,000 last month: NY Assembly Speaker

By Joan Gralla

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York's financial industry this year had already laid off 49,340 people by late August, a number doomed to rise in the wake of Lehman Brothers's bankruptcy and Bank of America's embrace of Merrill Lynch, the State Assembly speaker said on Wednesday.

This is one of the largest estimates of job losses so far for the banks and brokerages that pay one-fifth of the state's taxes and about one-third of city wages and salaries.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Comptroller William Thompson and Gov. David Paterson on Wednesday all said the profit-eating cyclone rocking banks and brokerages had not run its course.

The mayor, an independent and former Wall Street trader whose eponymous news agency has made him a billionaire, noted that even foreigners, whose visits and investments have buoyed the city economy, now could pull back. Citing huge drops in Chinese and Russian stock markets, he told reporters: "I don't know that I see that foreign money coming in here."

New York City has the lion's share of the state's financial workers, with 181,000 employees in July, down 11,000 from a year ago, according to the state labor department.

Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, whose district includes the World Trade Center complex, said its rebuilding now could falter because of the financial sector's losses.

"This entire chain of failures will also hamper our ability to rebuild my hometown of Lower Manhattan, to recover the jobs we lost after September 11th, and to regain our status as the nation's third largest central business district," he said.

Gov. Paterson told Albany radio WCBI that the "actions of the last 72 hours" may already have run through a $500 million cushion the state set aside for this year.

He was referring to the federal bailout of American International Group, Lehman's demise and Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

Predicting "similar plights" for more financial companies, the Democratic governor said the Treasury and Federal Reserve were finding it hard to decide which companies to help. This is a vital issue for other cities, including Detroit, whose automakers are now seeking government loans.

The regulators' approach is like an experiment that robs markets of assurance, he said. "If the rat hits the side of the cage and gets food, then it hits the side of the cage and gets electrocuted so you don't really know (what to expect.)"

The Republican-led State Senate, which on Wednesday unveiled job-creating credits and tax cuts, and the Democratic-controlled Assembly vowed to return if Paterson says the budget needs more adjustments despite more than $400 million of cuts made in August.

The city comptroller said an income tax hike or ending a 7 percent property tax cut were both "on the table," though the Democrat added more fat could be trimmed from the budget.

The mayor, who has said the city cannot close next year's $2.3 billion deficit just by making cuts, said it is too soon to identify other revenue-raisers.

(Additional reporting by John Crawley in Washington)

Amid Fears of Layoffs, Firms are Staffing up Global Wealth Management Groups

While fears of layoffs plague Wall Street, job seekers with experience in managing money for wealthy clients are poised to gain new opportunities. Executive search firm, A.E. Feldman, reports that banks are still recruiting in the high margin, wealth-management business, which has expanded to include service offerings such as trust advice, estate planning, and tax services. In today’s uncertain economic climate, wealthy clients are focused on maintaining and growing their wealth. Already, Bank of America is set to become the largest wealth management business in the world, overtaking Swiss bank UBS, following its takeover of Merrill Lynch, according to Dow Jones Financial News. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley, Wachovia and Barclays are just a few of the firms staffing up their global wealth-management groups.

Bank of America hopes the “Merrill purchase will allow the bank to make its money management operations more competitive, appealing to what Bank of America’s Chief Executive, Kenneth D. Lewis, calls the ‘mass affluent’ - customers with more than $100,000 in investable assets who are looking for products like mortgages and college savings and retirement plans,” reports The Boston Globe.

Kenneth D. Lewis, Bank of America’s CEO, speaking on a recent conference call with analysts acknowledged the bank could have gotten a better deal by waiting until Merrill’s shares fell further, reports the Boston Globe. He went on to add, however that the strategic fit justified the bid. According to the Boston Globe, until now, Bank of America has lacked a powerful brokerage arm to draw in upper-income customers (unlike its rivals JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup.)

The report quotes Lewis as saying, “We will finally have enough financial advisers to take advantage of that opportunity.” The bank, he added, will hang on to the Merrill Lynch name “and keep their organization intact.” Combined, the Bank of America-Merrill money management operation will have $2.5 trillion in total assets under management, and give Bank of America access to Merrill’s investment channels in overseas emerging markets.

Right now, Morgan Stanley’s (MS) global wealth-management group is actively recruiting brokers, reports Dow Jones. The report states that Morgan Stanley is up several hundred financial advisors year-to-date, citing a source familiar with the firm.

Morgan Stanley is also staffing up its global operations. The firm recently announced a new appointment to further expand in the Latin American market. Juan Dibildox has joined its Private Wealth Management office in Miami as an Investment Representative. Reporting to Jon Mallon, Executive Director and Manager of the Private Wealth office in Miami, he will cater to high net worth clients in Mexico. Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management also announced that it has hired a team of four senior investment professionals to serve high net worth clients in the Latin American market. “Morgan Stanley has a significant footprint in this region and this team is a valued addition that brings a breadth of knowledge that will further support our efforts in this market,” commented Ernesto A. de la Fe, Managing Director and Head of Latin America. Additionally, Morgan Stanley is tapping India’s domestic wealth, with plans to hire 100 private bankers in a bid to manage $1 billion in assets by the end of 2010.

Meanwhile, Wachovia Wealth Management, a unit of Wachovia Corp. (WB), is also recruiting for nearly 100 jobs, 75% of which are producing positions, citing a company spokeswoman, reports Dow Jones.

Barclays’ president Bob Diamond has revealed his ambition to acquire a slice of the U.S. wealth management market, according to Global Investor Magazine as reported on emii.com. Diamond contends the current market turmoil in the U.S. presents an unprecedented opportunity to buy a U.S. wealth management company and so to launch its growth plans in the country.

The U.S. market is an attractive proposition. According to the report it counts 400 billionaires and three million others with more than $1 million in liquid assets. Still, the task ahead for Barclay’s is challenging. The report quotes Stuart Rutherford, Datamonitor Senior Financial Services Analyst, as saying, “While private banking may not be exposed to the risks and wild fluctuations of the investment banking and asset management businesses, it is not an easy area in which to make money.”

Rutherford adds that success may boil down to clear plans for mitigating the effects of the negative market cycle. Firms must understand that wealth management is a service business, and that they need to excel at the basics, like retaining staff and communicating with clients. Communication, he stresses, is particularly crucial in times of market volatility.

Barclays Wealth is also beefing up staff around the globe. The firm recently announced a series of high-profile appointments with the aim of further strengthening its senior leadership. The changes incorporate the appointments of Gerard Aquilina, into a business critical new role, and Emmanuel Fievet, as the new Head of its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) International Private Banking operation. “Our efforts to redefine the wealth management landscape and to service our clients must be led by the best talent in our industry…we have added both strength and depth to our leadership team at a time when we see great opportunities to expand our footprint across the globe,” says Thomas L. Kalaris, Chief Executive at Barclays Wealth.

Barclays Wealth also announced a strategic hire in response to wealth growth in Asia. The firm says it has appointed Pheabe Chau as Singapore Head of Investment Specialists effective today, in a move that demonstrates its commitment to further strengthening its client servicing and advisory capabilities.

Most recently, however, the firm announced the addition of Chokkalingam Gangatharan as Head of Equity Research as a part of its continued Indian expansion. In this newly created role, Chokkalingam G. will be responsible for Barclays Wealth’s team of equity research analysts in India and will work closely with the fund managers and relationship managers in India.

Drug industry jobs disappearing in N.J.

Companies say regulatory, patent issues driving hundreds of layoffs

One of several people at the Dover unemployment office last week from the pharmaceutical industry, David Stern worked for a small company when layoffs hit a few months ago and a manager called him into an office.

"You get that sinking feeling," Stern, 56, of Rockaway, said.

While looking for work, he has been volunteering as a counselor for others in the same predicament at the state Department of Labor's One-Stop Career Center. He said about one of every 10 workers he counsels for the center's Professional Services Group are from the pharmaceutical or health care industry in what appears to be a growing group of displaced workers.

A survey issued this past week detailed the pharmaceutical industry's impact on the New Jersey economy, saying the industry's positive impact was growing and companies had increased spending on research and development. But that same report, issued by the Healthcare Institute of New Jersey, a trade organization known as HINJ, also noted the industry had lost about 600 jobs, or about 1 percent of its work force, over the course of a year by the end of 2007.

Experts say the employment numbers are going to get worse -- with some large pharmaceutical companies announcing layoffs to offset anticipated declining profits as patents expire on drugs while they find it harder to get approval for new drugs. This year, pharmaceutical companies have informed the state Department of Labor about thousands of jobs to be cut in New Jersey.

"Our survey is a snapshot of the industry at the end of 2007," said Bill Healey, an executive vice president with HINJ. "Next year will be tougher."

Some pharmaceutical and health care companies with ties to Morris County, such as Pfizer, Novartis and Wyeth, are among those that have announced planned work force reductions. It remains unclear how much impact will be felt in Morris County. But, based on notices sent to the state this year, Morris will lose hundreds of pharmaceutical and health care product jobs over the next few months.

Johnson & Johnson officials informed the state in a letter last month that its manufacturing plant on Jefferson Road in Parsippany, which employs 296 people and makes Ben-Gay among other products, will be closed before the end of the year. The workers were told about the closing more than a year ago, said Chris Clark, a company spokesman.

The company purchased that plant a little more than a year ago as part of a larger acquisition of Pfizer's consumer products division, including four buildings in Morris Plains. One of those buildings never was completed and another remains vacant. Johnson & Johnson laid off about 350 workers there a year ago.

Abbott Laboratories has announced plans to close a manufacturing plant in Whippany where 134 people work by the end of this year. It also will close a Parsippany research facility with 83 employees by early next year.

The survey released this past week said that despite the loss of jobs last year, the overall payroll for members of HINJ increased slightly and the average annual compensation for workers came to a healthy $117,000. The industry's economic impact rose from $26 billion to more than $27 billion. And New Jersey companies spent $7.9 billion on research, $400 million more than the previous year.

"That's a significant investment toward future technologies and developing the next blockbuster drug," said Jeff Mraz, a partner with Deloitte & Touche, who was in charge of the survey.

Mraz said the survey indicated that the pharmaceutical industry remains strong -- although it also showed the first dip in employment since 2004. And it showed pharmaceutical companies spending less on capital projects, with new construction down by 18 percent.

Ramesh Agarwal, 66, of Randolph, had been working as an engineer with a company that designs facilities for pharmaceutical companies. He showed up at the unemployment office in Dover last week, saying he had been laid off earlier this month. He was told there was no work.

"They're not expanding anymore," he said of pharmaceutical companies, adding that he needs another job soon because his wife recently was told she is going to be laid off from her job, which is not in the pharmaceutical field.

Alison Thompson, 49, of Livingston also went to the unemployment office to get information on career training and tuition reimbursement. She worked until recently in customer services for Bradley Pharmaceuticals in Fairfield. Bradley was purchased by Nycomed, which informed the state earlier this year that it planned to close the Fairfield facility, where 196 people worked, and move some of those workers to a consolidated facility in Florham Park.

"I knew it was coming since April," Thompson said. "Before that, I had felt secure."

Stern said he just found a new job, months after being laid off from his quality assurance job for Elite Pharmaceuticals in Bergen County. He said his company had been talking about layoffs, but he was taken by surprise when he was among them. Some of the layoffs took place in the morning, and he still had a job in the afternoon.

"I thought I beat it because it was late," he said.

Healey said pharmaceutical companies have been hurt by "the regulatory climate," saying the Federal Drug Administration approved just 16 new drugs last year compared with 53 in one year a decade before. He also said some major drugs are about to go off patent and will be challenged by generic drugs.

The patent on Pfizer's anti-cholesterol drug Lipator, for example, reportedly expires in two years.

Those factors, Healey said, helped lead to a rash of layoff announcements.

He added that some companies -- such as Daiichi Sankyo, which has its U.S. headquarters in Parsippany -- have been growing.

Rich Salem, a spokesman for Daiichi Sankyo, said his company has doubled its sales force over the past two years, to 2,400, in preparation for the anticipated approval in September of a new anti-clotting drug for those who have had heart attacks, developed with Eli Lilly and Co. Sales for Daiichi Sankyo, which makes the blood pressure medication Benicar, increased 16 percent between 2006 and 2007 to exceed $1 billion, Salem said.

"Unlike some other companies, we don't face major patent expirations," he said, adding that none of the patents on his company's important drugs expire until 2014.

He and others in the field said it typically costs $1 billion to develop a drug and 10 years to bring it to market. With 20 years until a patent runs out, that means companies have about a decade to recoup their investments. Once drugs are challenged by generics, Healey said, they typically lose 90 percent of their market. And, according to other experts, about 95 percent of all drugs being developed never get to the marketplace.

"It's a highly risky venture," said James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

Hughes said that the pharmaceutical industry has been "relatively stable" over the past few years but that the expiration of patents and the failure to bring new drugs to market have combined to make the future uncertain.

"It looks like it could be very problematic," Hughes said. "If all those announcements (of layoffs) translate into layoffs, one of our key high-paying sectors is taking a major hit."