Mass layoffs highest since 9/11

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of layoff announcements involving at least 50 workers rose in September to the highest level since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks seven years ago, the government said Wednesday.

There were 2,269 mass layoff actions, up 497 from August, according to statistics released by the Labor Department. That was the most mass layoffs since the 2,407 in September 2001.

At large firms, basically what I see is an across-the-board, shotgun approach," said Paul Sarvadi, chairman and CEO of human resources outsourcing firm Administaff in Houston. "If they anticipate revenues going down, then they see how much they need to cut to reach operating targets, and equate that cost to a number of people."

Overall, the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits related to mass layoffs rose by 61,726 to 235,681. That was the highest level since September 2005, after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, resulting in 297,544 claims.

The manufacturing industry pulled the most devastating numbers, accounting for 28% of all mass layoffs and 36% of unemployment insurance claims in September. More specifically, 19,278 of the 46,391 claims in that industry came from the transportation equipment sector.

"Most manufacturers are pretty secure," said Chris Kuehl, economic analyst for the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association. "But there's been a lot of action in the auto and aerospace sectors, such as the Boeing strikes and the low demand for cars due to the credit crunch."

Kuehl believes that layoffs at auto and aerospace companies, a large segment of the manufacturing industry, don't tell the whole story. "After all, the medical manufacturing and energy segments are gangbusters," he said.

But the overall situation is grim, and the worst may not be over, according to some experts.

Sue Murphy, manager for National Human Resources Association in Nashua, N.H., believes that there will be an increase in layoffs as the practice of scrutinizing employee count continues.

She said companies will accelerate the trend of cutting hours, replacing jobs with technology and outsourcing labor during tough times like these, when their priorities are protecting costs and market share.

"The companies look at the nice-to-haves and the must-haves, and the employees that are not essential will be up for review," Murphy said. "A lot of quality people will be out of work."

Wall Street layoffs could surge past 200,000

This is according to a survey from Challenger, Gray and Christmas

Mo. sees biggest employment gains in Sept.

Last month, Missouri saw the largest over-the-month gains in the level of employment in the nation, new data show.

Missouri gained 3,800 workers, from 2,783,800 employees in August to 2,787,600 in September, according to statistics released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Unemployment in Missouri dropped from 6.7 to 6.4 percent, which still higher than September 2007’s rate of 5.3 percent.

In September, Rhode Island and Michigan posted the highest jobless rates, 8.8 and 8.7 percent, respectively.

The national unemployment rate was unchanged in September at 6.1 percent but was up from 4.7 percent a year earlier.

A record 107,000 jobs added in Canada

A record 107,000 jobs added in Canada Tuesday, 21 October 2008 Last month, Canada experienced the biggest increase in job growth in the last 30 years, and defied economists' expectations for an actual decline in employment. Canada's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.1 per cent, as a record 107,000 jobs were added to the economy in September, Statistics Canada said. "Five provinces accounted for the overallemployment increase this September: Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia," Statistics Canada said. "There were widespread gains by industry in September. "The largest increase in employment came from health care and social assistance, followed by business, building and other support services, and manufacturing. Employment also increased in transportation and warehousing, agriculture and construction." Although economists had expected job losses of between 5,000 and 10,000 in September, there were 96,600 part-time jobs added in September and 10,300 full- time positions. Statistics Canada said that it has never recorded such a large one-month gain since it first began collecting this data in 1976. "Manufacturing employment increased by 20,000 in September, bringing the industry back to a level similar to the end of 2007," the agency said. "Avery Shenfeld, senior economist at CIBC World Markets, said: "It seems like everyone has a paper route these days. How else to explain how Canada created 97,000 part-time jobs in a single month, during a period of severe economic strain across the country?"

Kentucky’s Jobless Rate Rises

Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary unemployment rate for September 2008 rose to 7.1 percent from August 2008’s revised 6.8 percent, according to the Office of Employment and Training (OET), an agency of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. September 2007’s jobless rate was 5.4 percent.

The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate stayed at 6.1 percent from August 2008 to September 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.

"Nearly every sector of Kentucky's economy experienced job losses in September 2008, showcasing widespread economic weakness. Employment declines reflect government cutbacks in the face of austere budgets, a prolonged manufacturing slump reverberating throughout the economy, and retailers and accommodations and food services enterprises suffering as financially strained consumers clamp down on discretionary spending," said Justine Detzel, OET chief labor market analyst.

Three of the 11 major nonfarm North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) job sectors reported employment increases in September 2008, while eight decreased, according to OET. A decrease of 13,200 jobs in September 2008 brought Kentucky’s nonfarm employment to a seasonally adjusted total of 1,864,200. Since September 2007, Kentucky’s nonfarm employment has dropped by 6,600.

According to the seasonally adjusted employment data, between August 2008 and September 2008, the number of positions in the natural resources and mining sector rose by 200 jobs. The sector has gained 500 jobs since September 2007.

The information sector rose by 100 jobs in September 2008. This segment, which includes firms involved in publishing, Internet activities, data processing, broadcasting and news syndication, has lost 600 positions since September 2007.

The number of jobs in the financial activities sector increased by 100 in September 2008. This segment, which includes businesses involved in finance, insurance, real estate and property leasing or rental, has lost 600 positions over the past 12 months.

Kentucky’s leisure and hospitality sector reported an employment decrease of 3,100 jobs in September 2008. Since September 2007, employment in the sector has declined by 800 positions. The leisure and hospitality sector includes arts, entertainment and recreation, accommodations and food services and drinking places industries.

"Accommodation and food services enterprises accounted for the month-to-month employment declines in the leisure and hospitality sector. Stagnant wages, rising food and energy costs, a plummeting stock market, declining home equity and mounting job losses are causing households to splurge less on nights out," Detzel said.

The manufacturing sector lost 3,000 jobs in September 2008. Compared to September 2007, jobs in the sector were down by 12,400 in September 2008.

"The durable goods subsector comprised the lion’s share of these job losses in manufacturing, reflecting layoffs at multiple automobile parts manufacturers and layoffs at another major manufacturer. The impact of the automobile slump is rippling 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 non-durable goods subsector also exhibited employment declines, which is indicative of the closings of a plastic and rubber manufacturer and a rubber product manufacturer," said Detzel.

The government sector, which includes public education, public administration agencies and state-owned hospitals, lost 2,500 positions in September 2008. Since September 2007, this sector has risen by 9,500 jobs.

"This is the first decline in employment in the government sector since January 2008. The majority of these job losses are attributed to the local government subsector, which reflects positions eliminated at Kentucky schools in response to budget cuts," said Detzel.

Kentucky’s trade, transportation and utilities sector dropped by 2,100 jobs from August 2008 to September 2008. This area includes retail and wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing businesses and utilities. It is the largest sector in Kentucky with 391,000 employees. Since September 2007, the number of jobs in this sector has jumped by 4,100.

"Retail trade businesses accounted for the decline in the number of jobs in September 2008, which is indicative of multiple retail store closings. Yet, the transportation industry experienced an increase of 100 professionals, reflecting the opening of a ground-package sorting hub," said Detzel. "Most of the year-over-year job gains of 4,100 occurred in retail trade enterprises. However, transportation, warehousing and utilities companies also exhibited sizable year-over-year employment gains."

The educational and health services sector lost 1,500 jobs in September 2008. Since last September, the number of jobs in this sector has fallen by 1,800 jobs. This sector includes private and nonprofit establishments that provide either education and training or health care and social assistance to their clients.

The number of jobs in the professional and business services sector dropped by 600 in September 2008. This area had 2,200 fewer employees in September 2008 than in September 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 construction sector recorded 400 fewer positions in September 2008. Since September 2007, employment in the construction sector has decreased by 1,600 positions.

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, fell by 400 jobs in September 2008. This sector had 700 fewer jobs in September 2008 than in September 2007.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly estimate of the number of employed Kentuckians for September 2008 was 1,901,763 on a seasonally adjusted basis. This figure is up 941 from the 1,900,822 employed in August 2008, but down 31,037 from the 1,932,800 employed in September 2007.

The monthly estimate of the number of unemployed Kentuckians for September 2008 was 145,843, up 6,790 from the 139,053 Kentuckians unemployed in August 2008, and up 35,400 from the 110,443 unemployed in September 2007.

The monthly estimate of the number of Kentuckians in the civilian labor force for September 2008 was 2,047,606. This figure is up 7,731 from the 2,039,875 recorded in August 2008, and up 4,363 from the 2,043,243 recorded for September 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.

Merrill Lynch plans massive layoffs with Bank of America merger

Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) CEO John Thain told Bloomberg that thousands of the company's employees will lose their jobs as part of the deal to be acquired by Bank of America (NYSE: BAC).

Information technology, operations and corporate functions will be the hardest hit, with commodities and fixed income unaffected. Merrill has already cut more than 5,000 positions over the past year and a half. Merrill currently has about 60,000 workers.

"We haven't mapped it out in terms of actual number of people, but we are committed to saving $7 billion across the combined platforms, and that will be a challenge,'' Thain said. "Between our two companies it will be clearly thousands of jobs.'

Given that Bank of America is paying about $28 billion for Merrill -- the closing price depends on where shares of Bank America close when the deal is finalized -- saving $7 billion per year will create substantial value: and possibly silence the huge number of critics who fear that Bank of America is overpaying given the valuations the market is currently applying to so many other banks.

But the huge job cuts signal that Bank of America is planning to integrate a good chunk of Merrill's operations, and that a post-merger Merrill Lynch will look very different from the company that has been built over the past 90-plus years.

Whirlpool to lay off 440

By Mitch Traphagen Oct 16, 2008 - 11:37:22 PM

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The Whirlpool plant in Middle Amana produces bottom freezer refrigerators sold under Whirlpool, Amana, Maytag and other brand names. The plant employs approximately 2,000 people. On Thursday, Whirlpool announced 440 employees will be laid off by Oct. 20, with some layoffs occuring as early as this week. Mitch Traphagen Photo

AMANA - A Whirlpool Corp. spokeswoman said Thursday that the company will lay off 440 workers at its Middle Amana plant.

Spokeswoman Jill Saletta says the layoffs are the result of sagging market conditions. The company informed workers of its plans Thursday.

The layoffs will comprise more than 20 percent of the more than 2,000 workers at the plant, which was part of Whirlpool's acquisition of Newton-based Maytag in 2006.

The majority of the cuts will be effective Oct. 20, with some coming a week earlier.

``It's a really tough time,'' Saletta said. ``I'm fairly confident we're not the only ones.''

The Associated Press initially reported the move comes just five months after the Benton Harbor, Mich.-based company hired 120 workers to meet demand for new models and staffing issues caused by summer vacations and that total hiring for this year was approximately 300 employees. Whirlpool, however, could not confirm the additional employment numbers. Workers at the plant, however, did confirm that hiring was taking place as recently as the past few weeks.

One manager within the plant, who requested anonymity, suggested the layoffs have more to due with the global credit crisis rather than the East Iowa economy specifically. The manager believed that consumers are increasingly having difficulty obtaining credit for appliance purchases.

In 2006 upon Whirlpool’s acquisition of the plant from Newtown-based Maytag Corp., Iowa made available nearly $5 million in loans to the company as part of an effort to expand the plant. At the time, company officials expected employment to near 2,900 by the end of this year. According to the Iowa Department of Economic Development, the company has not yet taken advantage of those funds. They have until next year to meet the required employment requirements.

According to Whirlpool, 110 of the employees will be laid off voluntarily, with 60 expected to have taken place earlier this week. The 330 remaining lay-offs will be involuntary.

Last month, Whirlpool announced plans to layoff 700 workers from their Ft. Smith, Arkansas facility. River Bend Industries, based in Ft. Smith, has been a supplier to Whirlpool. According to Bill Collins, General Manager of Iowa’s two River Bend operations, the situation with Whirlpool should not have an impact at either Victor or North Liberty facilities.

“The two Iowa plants do not currently mold for Whirlpool,” Collins said. “We have won some new business and the tools for these new projects are currently being built which should impact us later this year or the first part of 2009 - which would be an increase in production for us.”

According to Collins, there have been a total of 18 layoffs at the Riverbend facilities in Iowa but that is mainly due to the increased flexibility created by changing production over to a 12-hour, seven day per week schedule. With projected increases in new business, Collins said the company is looking forward to bringing those employees back on board soon.

“Overall things are going really good for River Bend,” he said.

Collins went on to say that he is not aware of any cutbacks in Ft. Smith due to the Whirlpool layoffs there.

The Whirlpool Middle Amana plant produces bottom-freezer refrigerators sold under Whirlpool, Amana, Maytag and other brand names.

GM to lay off 1,200 in metro Detroit, 1,600 total

General Motors Corp. will lay off about 1,600 hourly workers at assembly plants in Detroit, Pontiac and Wilmington, Del., as it responds to decreasing demand for trucks, large cars and luxury cars, the company said today.

The company will lay off 500 workers at its Detroit Hamtramck Assembly plant on Dec. 23 due to reduced demand for the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS, the company reported to the state today.

GM Spokesman Tony Sapienza said the Detroit Hamtramck layoffs are effective Jan. 12.

It will lay off 700 workers at GM’s Pontiac truck assembly, where it assembles the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups beginning Feb. 1.

The automaker will lay off 400 workers at its Wilmington, Del., assembly plant beginning Dec. 8. The Wilmington plant assembles the Saturn Sky, Pontiac Solstice and Opel GT roadsters.

GM spokeswoman Sherrie Childers Arb said the layoffs in Detroit and Pontiac are the result of planned line-speed reductions. The action at Wilmington, she said, is the result of plans to reduce production from two shifts to one.

The notice of pending December layoffs is just the latest in a cascade of layoff announcements from the struggling automaker. GM announced on Monday plans to close its Janesville plant on Dec. 23 — more than a year before originally scheduled — and new plans to close its Grand Rapids stamping plant by December of next year. Earlier this month, the company announced plans to accelerate the closure of its Moraine, Ohio, assembly plant by more than a year. That plant will also close on Dec. 23.

Analysts expect GM to announce more production cuts and plant closures.

The company is in the midst of cutting costs to increase its operating cash amid the worst auto market in more than a decade and a global economic slowdown that economists believe still could worsen.

Contact KATIE MERX at 313-222-8762 or kmerx@freepress.com

California unemployment holds steady at 7.7%

The September number does not reflect the more recent financial crisis. Economists predict that unemployment will rise.

By Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 18, 2008

SACRAMENTO -- California's unemployment rate held steady at 7.7% in September, remaining at its highest level in 12 years. Economists warned Friday that joblessness is likely to jump once October numbers are tallied.

The new data from the California Employment Development Department reflect a continually weakening state economy buffeted by falling home prices, little construction activity, declining consumer demand and government belt-tightening.

The paralysis in housing and lending has been particularly tough on Kathleen Thompson-Boons, 59, of Watts. She lost her job as a loan funder a year ago. "Every day I'm on the Internet, sending out my resume," she said. "But nothing comes out of it. I've only had one interview."

Now she says she'd be satisfied to land a $10-an-hour job doing medical billing or retail sales, if she could find one.

What the new state numbers did not show was the effect of a global financial crisis that froze credit and panicked stock markets beginning in mid-September, just after the monthly employment surveys were conducted.

"The economic situation has deteriorated dramatically in the last month, and, unfortunately, I think the snowball is gaining momentum," said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at Cal State Channel Islands. "It's going to get worse."

Sohn, who also is vice chairman of clothing-store chain Forever 21 Inc., predicted that October's figures would show "significant layoffs" in financial services and retail trade. "Most retailers expect this holiday shopping season to be at best flat in dollar terms and be down in volume terms," he said.

One major retailer, the Mervyns department-store chain, announced Friday that it would mark the upcoming holidays with a going-out-of-business sale. The Hayward company is closing 149 stores, mainly in California, and eliminating more than 10,000 jobs.

Perhaps heralding a grim sales season, a Reuters/University of Michigan survey, released Friday, showed a record single-month drop in consumer confidence in October.

The index buttressed a report Thursday from the federal government that retail sales fell 1.2% in September, the most severe decline in three years.

Retail's poor prospects could further weaken a state economy that lost 77,200 jobs between September 2007 and September 2008, according to the Employment Development Department. The biggest declines were in construction; financial activities, including the mortgage industry; and manufacturing.

Economists credited much of last month's leveling-off to the seasonal return of thousands of teachers to school and university classrooms.

The jump in education work contributed to a statistically insignificant drop in unemployment in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, to 7.8% in September from 7.9% in August.

One sure sign that consumers might be acting a little Scrooge-like at Christmas is a slowdown in container traffic in September at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. Although volume jumped from August to September, reflecting the arrival of imports for the holidays, it was 12% below September 2007's totals.

"If the stores were honest, they would tell you they wish they hadn't placed a lot of those orders," Kyser said.

The bad news out of the shopping malls is evidence that "California is moving from a housing-driven slowdown to a consumer-driven recession," said Stephen Levy, director and chief economist at the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto.

Consumers, he said, "are being hit with a triple whammy of rising job losses, sharp drops in their housing and stock-market wealth and tightening access to credit."

As a result, California could wallow in the economic mud for much of next year, with unemployment possibly hitting 9%, Levy said.

California's economy can't grow without credit and people eager to buy new cars, home furnishings and high-end electronic equipment, said Howard Roth, chief economist for the state Department of Finance.

"It's worrisome," he said. "If you lose the consumer, there's not enough there to keep the rest of the economy going."

marc.lifsher@latimes.com

State data show more than 143,000 jobs lost in past year

Consumer-driven recession cited

By Dean Calbreath

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

October 18, 2008

Over the past couple years, many economists have said the California economy would not experience a true recession until job losses spread from the real estate and construction industries into other segments of the economy.

Graphic: San Diego County jobs

That day has arrived.

Retailers – hard hit by economic jitters and a sharp decline in consumers'spending power – have cut thousands of jobs over the past year, according to data released yesterday by the California Employment Development Department.

“California is moving from a housing-driven slowdown to a consumer-driven recession,” said Steve Levy, who heads the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto.

California lost a total of 35,700 jobs in retail stores between September 2007 and September 2008, as well as 76,700 in construction, 31,400 in financial services and 6,900 in the information industry.

During the same time, San Diego County lost 3,000 retail jobs, in addition to 6,800 jobs in construction and 4,100 in financial activities. During the past month alone, there were 1,000 retail job losses, although part of that decline may have been seasonal fluctuations from the end of the summer tourism season.

Although many of those job losses were offset by job growth at bars, restaurants, hospitals and education services, the county lost a net total of 5,100 jobs. That helped push the unemployment rate to 6.4 percent in September from 4.8 percent a year ago. The state also adjusted the August unemployment rate to 6.5 percent – the highest point since October 1995 – from an earlier reported 6.1 percent.

Statewide, unemployment was at a 12-year high of 7.7 percent in August and September. During the same period, the national jobless rate hovered at 6.1 percent.

Since retail sales make up about two-thirds of the gross domestic product, Levy said the drop in retail business is evidence that the economy is slowing down.

Levy said consumers are being hit with a “triple whammy of rising job losses, sharp drops in their housing and stock market wealth and tightening access to credit.” He said the state's jobless rate could surge as high as 9 percent – approaching the highs of the post-Cold War recession – within the next year.

The job cuts in retail come after a sharp cutback in consumer spending. The latest sales figures from the state Department of Finance show that retail sales in San Diego County declined 1.3 percent during the second quarter of last year and 4.5 percent during the third quarter.

“It takes about a year for the state to produce the sales figures, but I'm sure the fourth quarter of last year wasn't very good either,” said Kelly Cunningham, economist with the San Diego Institute for Policy Research.

Cunningham said the retail slowdown is directly related to the mortgage crisis.

“A lot of people are upside-down in their mortgages (meaning they owe more on their house than its current market value) or are so heavily indebted that they have to cut back on spending,” Cunningham said. “That's going to impact retail stores that are going to start laying off people or shutting their doors.”

Just yesterday, the Mervyn's department store chain announced that it was going out of business – which Cunningham said could be the shape of things to come.

The job losses hit a wide variety of retailers. Over the past year in San Diego County, 1,000 jobs were lost in garden and home supply stores, 900 in auto lots, 600 in furniture showrooms, 400 in general merchandise stores, 300 in health boutiques and beauty salons and 100 in clothing stores.

The only retail segments that saw any growth were food and liquor stores, which added 500 workers, and sports, hobby, book and music stores, which added 100.

Christa Shapiro, who oversees San Diego County for the Adecco employment agency, said the employment scene isn't totally bleak.

“We're actually more fortunate than some regions, since we do have a couple of area that is improving: bioscientific and health care,” she said.

Scientific research firms added 1,100 workers over the past year and local hospitals added 1,000 positions, according to the state government data.

---

Dean Calbreath: (619) 293-1891; dean.calbreath@uniontrib.com

N.C. jobless rate climbs to 7 percent

By John Murawski
(Raleigh) News & Observer

Posted: Friday, Oct. 17, 2008

Statewide unemployment hit 7 percent in September, the highest since January 2002, as the fallout from the national economic downturn seeps deeper.

September was the ninth consecutive month in which state joblessness increased, rising from 6.9 percent in August. And statewide unemployment is higher than the national average, which stood at 6.1 percent last month.

The September data was released this morning by the N.C. Employment Security Commission. Data for the Triangle will be released next week. This region traditionally performs better than the statewide and national averages.

Though it's one of the strongest regional economies in the country, North Carolina is not immune to the forces that are roiling the global economy, even as far as Iceland. As the worldwide economy cools, local businesses produce fewer goods and services and lay off employees.

The state statistics also show that even as joblessness increased, the number of people employed also rose. Last month, 4.26 million people in the state had jobs, which is 6,668 more than in August. But it's still down from the total number of people employed a year ago in September.

The week in tech layoffs

With financial troubles taking their toll on every sector of the economy, an increasing number of companies are laying off employees to stay afloat. And the technology industry is no different.

The long and growing list of tech companies planning staff cuts ranges fromPandora to Tesla Motors, leaving a slew of highly trained workers looking for new opportunities:

• Appcelerator, an open-source software company that develops products and services for rapid rich Internet application development, was forced to close its Atlanta office Wednesday and lay off its remaining six employees working in the city.
• Pandora, the online music streaming service, announced Thursday that it was forced to lay off 20 employees because, as its founder pointed out, it's simply "not immune to the challenges presented by the current economic turmoil."
• Hi5, the third-largest social network, confirmed Thursday that it laid off "10 to 15 percent" of its staff in a restructuring plan that will see some go, but others hired in different areas of the company. Like other companies in the market, Hi5 wants to be prepared for any economic troubles it may face.
• Business social-software maker Jive Software reportedly laid off one-third of its workforce Tuesday to, you guessed it, stay ahead of what it perceives will be a tumultuous economic environment in coming months.
• Sirius XM announced Thursday that it laid off 50 on-air and off-air employees in its Washington, D.C., office. The layoffs were the result of a companywide belt tightening on the part of Sirius XM to help it eventually turn a profit and grow its free cash flow.
• Redfin, an online brokerage for residential real estate, laid off 20 percent of its employees earlier this week in a move that it claims had more to do with the current economic conditions than its business model. There are 75 to 80 employees remaining at the company.
• Tesla Motors announced Wednesday that it will lay off its entire Detroit office staff to adapt to the changing economic conditions. The company claims the layoffs will help it achieve its goal of becoming cash-flow-positive within the next six to nine months.
• AdBrite, the "Web's online ad marketplace," announced that it laid off 40 percent of its staff. The company's CEO, Iggy Fanlo, claims the move has nothing to do with performance and everything to do with his desire to make AdBrite profitable immediately.
• Zivity, the start-up that specializes in letting people vote on the best adult pictures on its service, has laid off one-third of its staff over concern about future economic troubles.
• Last Friday, Seesmic, a video microblog, announced that it laid off one-third of its workforce due to uncertainty and the company's desire to be prepared if the economy gets worse.

Although each company has its own rationale for the layoffs, they all seem concerned about staying competitive and maintaining a sound financial structure to weather tough times.

We'll be updating this list. Perhaps it will help bridge those companies looking to hire experienced employees with those seeking new opportunities.

Layoffs at Zillow, Redfin: 'We're headed for a big dip.'

Zillow.com and Redfin.com, rapidly growing web-based real estate companies, both announced major layoffs this week amid a weakening housing market and what Zillow says could be a "prolonged recession."

Zillow, the Seattle-based website that estimates home values, said it will slash its workforce by 25% in hopes of surviving what it calls "a major economic storm." From a blog post by Zillow CEO Rich Barton:

The unprecedented economic events that are playing out on a global stage began in our own industry and have made a prolonged recession likely, in our judgment. We are a young company that is not yet making a profit. Despite having sizeable cash reserves, we deemed the responsible course was to meaningfully reduce expenses, so that Zillow emerges from the other side of the recession in a very strong position, even if the recession lasts many years.

Earlier in the week, Redfin, the discount brokerage and listings website featured frequently on this blog as a source of information, announced it was laying off roughly 20% of its employees. From a blog post by Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman:

Today Redfin laid off roughly 20% of our employees.

Unlike other startups, our industry’s recession started a year ago, when home prices first plunged.

Since then, we’ve fought like starving animals, and with some success: while industry-wide transaction volumes dropped 33%, we grew revenues by nearly 50%. Traffic grew more than 300%.

Even a month ago, we were raising 2009 revenue projections. All our markets, now including Chicago, contributed profits.

But the past few weeks have seen a major reversal. As the stock market wiped out prospective down-payments, tours and offers dropped 30%.Transactions that were done came undone. October will still be pretty good, then we’re headed for a big dip.

Two cents: I'm disappointed to hear news like this. I'm a fan of the web-based real estate companies like Zillow, Trulia and Redfin. I think they provide a valuable service to nonprofessionals trying to better understand the real estate market. I hope they succeed.

Secondly, it's worth taking a step back and placing this in context: No one yet knows the true extent of the economic fallout from the collapse of the real estate and credit bubbles in this country. It's quite likely that, at Dow 14,000, we had a stock market bubble as well. What Redfin is saying is that an already weak housing market worsened dramatically in the past few weeks.

3,600 job losses feared by year's end

The global financial crisis will cause a worsening of unemployment here, with an estimated 3,600 jobs expected to be lost by the end of the year and a further wave of job losses in 2009, the Israel National Employment Service warned Thursday.

"The Israeli job market is not immune to the global economic crisis, and the growing signs of an economic slowdown are starting to show," Yossi Farhi, director-general of theEmployment Service, told The Jerusalem Post. "Over the last couple of months we are seeing a slight increase in the number of people losing their jobs. Over the next few months until the end of the year we expect this trend to continue, leading to an estimated 3,600 people losing their jobs based on a monthly average of 1,200 people."

Figures by the Central Bureau of Statistics showed that unemployment fell to a 24-year low in the second quarter of 2008, to 5.9 percent (some 174,000 people). In the first quarter, unemployment had been running at 6.1%.

Farhi added that the plans would be discussed after Succot with the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry and the Finance Ministry.

"The government has the tools to support businesses, especially small and medium-sized businesses, and encourage employment," said Farhi. "The government needs to invest in infrastructure and support professional work retraining programs in times of crisis, so that people who lose their jobs - for example, in the high-tech industry - can seek employment in traditional industry."

Commenting on the impact of the global economic crisis on industry, Avi Barak, director of the labor division of the Israel Manufacturers Association, said that local companies and factories were under pressure to take efficiency measures.

"There is much talk about a wave of layoffs starting after the holidays, and we could see more job losses in the textile industry," said Barak.

In August, the number of jobseekers rose by 0.9 percent in seasonal terms compared with the previous quarter, following a gradual decline in previous quarters, according to Employment Service figures.

The Employment Service noted that after four years of a continued decline in unemployment data, the August figures pointed to an increase in unemployment figures over the last six months, at an average monthly rate of 0.7%.

Back in the first quarter of this year, the Employment Service reported a 7.9% drop in the number of jobseekers compared with the corresponding quarter of 2007, and a 1.8% drop compared with the fourth quarter of 2007.

Furthermore, demand for workers in the first quarter was 10.6% higher than in the corresponding quarter of last year, and 3.5% higher compared with the preceding quarter.

India's state airlines mulls temporary layoff 15,000 staff

Barely one days have gone when India's biggest private sector Airlines Jet Airways annouced large scale sacking of its employees due to continuing lossess, now India's government run airlines Air India is mulling to lay off 15,000 employees for 5 years. In the meantime sacked employees of Jet air lines have been protesting at the Jet Airways office in India. They have got some political support as well but Jet management has refused to budge from its position and have clearly said they can't take the employees back.

Facing the heat of the financial crisis that has hit the aviation sector, state-owned Air India on Thursday said it is considering a plan to give 3-5 years leave without pay to about 15,000 of its staff.
"We are planning to offer leave without pay for three to five years. We can consider it for about 15,000 employees," Air India CMD Raghu Menon said.

He, however, said those who take up the offer to go on leave would be taken back if they desire so at the same seniority and last drawn pay.

Menon's statement comes at a time when the country's leading private carrier Jet Airways has laid off 1,900 jobs as the financial crunch in the aviation sector worsens.

An official of Air India, who did not want to be named, said that a proposal for leave without pay could be brought before the company's board soon.

The government yesterday had, however, ruled out any job cuts in Air India with the civil aviation minister Praful Patel assuring employees that there were no plans to prune staff strength immediately.

"No...Air India is not going to have any job cuts. Certainly it (the aviation crisis) will affect the growth plans, it will affect the future employment opportunities which would have come the way of Air India in case the aviation industry was in a much better financial health," Patel said.

"But as of now I do not have the luxury to say beyond the fact that those who are working for the Air India shall continue to do so and we shall not have any issue of people being laid off," he said.

The 77-year-old state carrier, which initiated a fleet renewal programme three years ago and merged with its sister airline Indian last year, has proposed infusion of Rs 1,000-1,500 crore of equity capital.

It is also looking at soft loans of Rs 1,000 crore from government that can be repaid over a period of time.

According to industry experts the coming together of Jet and Kingfisher could further mount the problems for Air India.

Menon, however, disagreed with the views and said it would only lead to a reduction in competition. "There are a number of routes and there are a number of airlines. All the airlines will be evenly poised in the market," he said.

Volvo to lay off 3,000 staff in Sweden

On the back of a previous announcement to lay off 2,900 staff earlier this year, Volvo has revealed it plans to make an additional 3,000 employees redundant. The latest round of cutbacks will affect 2,000 factory workers and 700 office staff in Sweden.

Stephen Odell, Volvo’s chief executive, insists the layoffs are necessary to the survival of the beleaguered Swedish auto manufacturer. In a press release, Odell stated: “These are difficult times for the car industry in general, including Volvo. These actions are necessary to create a new and sustainable Volvo Car Corporation, a company with more focused operations and structure. The unstable economic environment has resulted in a very unpredictable situation, and the downturn in the global car industry is more drastic than expected.”

The Local newspaper reported that outside Sweden, a further 600 employees will be terminated along with about 700 contracts with consultants. This is the second layoff announcement from Volvo since June, when it originally forecast lower layoff numbers. But the global financial crisis has changed everything, and the automaker has been forced to significantly increase its redundancies.

“Given the turbulence in the world economy over the last few weeks … it is clear that further costs saving actions are necessary for the company to manage the difficult market situation. The new organisation is expected to be in place by the end of the year,” Volvo said in an official statement.

Pepsi-Cola Layoffs, NBA Layoffs, Man Layoffs, Philips Layoffs, Qimonda Layoffs, Cisco Layoffs

Pepsi-Cola lays off 3300 Employees and closes 6 Factories because of Poor economy
As the financial crisis sweeps the globe, second-largest beverage maker Pepsi-Cola announced to lay off 3300 employees and close 6 factories to save the cost. In addition, PEP claimed the third-quarter profit fell 9.5% and the company would lower the earnings expectations in the fourth quarter.

Financial Crisis shocks the Sports Field
NBA laid off 9% of employees, and Manchester United trapped in 760 debt, so the financial crisis has shocked the sports field.

European Third-largest Truck Manufacturer will lay off the Employees and reduce the Production
According to German media reports on the 10th, European third-largest truck manufacturer MAN Company plans to lay off the employees and reduce the production. However, the company will mainly lay off the temporary workers so as not to cause great influence on company. According to the report in second quarter, until June, there were 4000 temporary workers in the company.

Philips Layoff Planning
According to foreign media reports, Philips announced on Monday to lay off uncertain number of employees because of declining demand in European and new market.

Qimonda plans to reorganize and lay off 3 thousand people
Qimonda recently claimed a radical restructuring program. Except selling Inotera shares to Micron, Qimonda will change the product focus, reduce production capacity and close production lines. It is predicted that there 3000 employees will receive the layoff notice in Germany and the United States.

Cisco CEO Chambers eat his words and began to lay off
On Oct. 16, Cisco formally submitted the layoff plan of German factory to supervision institution, and the number of layoffs is 129 people.

Reliance Retail layoff 2500 employees15 Oct

After the layoff of 1000 employees by Jet Airways, the breaking news is that Reliance Retail , Mukesh Ambani has announced the layoff of 2500 employees. The retail industry is also not doing well.

The employees who are sent off are from the places where they are not performing well. These layoffs will really going to effect the youngsters in India. 15 Reliance stores in Noida and Ghaziabad have also been asked to shut down last week, on orders from the police, though staff there have not yet been given the pink slip last month.

Invista to lay off 400 people at Delaware nylon plant

SEAFORD, Del -- Invista plans to lay off 400 of the 500 workers at its nylon plant outside Seaford by the middle of next year, dealing a blow to the struggling economy of this western Sussex County town.

The company said Tuesday the job eliminations come as part of a restructuring at the 69-year-old plant -- opened by DuPont in 1939 -- to move away from making a type of carpet fiber that has fallen out of favor with consumers.

The company said it will instead focus on making a type of industrial fiber used in military apparel and for conveyer belts used in paper manufacturing, a part of the business that has been more successful.

Nikki Boone, a spokeswoman for the Delaware Economic Development Office, said her agency will work with the state Department of Labor to assist displaced workers.

The layoffs, which were announced to workers Tuesday, won't start until the first quarter of next year, said Roger Ramseyer, an Invista spokesman.

The company is making the announcement now "to give the employees that may be affected and the community as much notice as possible," he said.

Workers approached outside the plant Tuesday declined to comment. Most said they didn't know about the layoff plans or didn't want to discuss them.

At a city council meeting Tuesday night, Vice Mayor J. Rhea Shannon said city officials had not been briefed by the company and only heard the news as word trickled out of the plant at about 4:30 p.m.

"With the economy like it is, you just don't know," Shannon said, adding that the city will have more to say today.

Councilwoman Leanne Phillips-Lowe also knew few details.

"Everybody knows somebody who works there. Losing a business that size in your community is very troubling," she said.

"The historic part is kind of sad. It's been part of our community for so long."

Ironically, the city Tuesday night unveiled its new Web site that includes a video on economic development that touts Seaford as the "nylon capital of the world." It also includes the statement, "Business is good in Seaford."

The plant, one of the iconic sites of Delaware manufacturing, has a long history since DuPont opened it as the world's first nylon plant. In the 1980s, as many as 4,600 people worked there.

Employment had fallen to about 650 by the time privately held Koch Industries Inc. of Wichita, Kan., Invista's corporate parent, acquired the plant in 2004 in its purchase of DuPont's fibers and textile business for $4.2 billion.

Ramseyer said Invista plans to work with DEDO to try find a tenant to share the plant with Invista since the company won't need the entire space after it reduces its work force. The plant occupies 35 acres of the 648-acre property.

"It ought to be a very attractive location for a manufacturing business to co-locate with us," Ramseyer said.

The company plans to bargain with the Seaford Nylon Employees Council, which represents workers at the plant, over which of the 500 workers will lose their jobs, and over severance, Ramseyer said.

Company officials plan to move ahead with a planned conversion of the plant to natural gas from coal, which will cost more than $15 million when it is completed next year, Ramseyer said.

The company will drop plans to construct a new natural gas pipeline through the city of Seaford, and instead use an existing, smaller line.

Ramseyer said the layoffs in Seaford will have no impact on Invista's other Delaware operations -- a research and development lab in Newark and the corporate headquarters for Invista's apparel division and other corporate functions in Wilmington. Those two locations combined employ 280 people, excluding contractors, he said.

Higher energy and raw material costs, as well as changing consumer preferences, caused Invista to "reinvent the plant in order to make it successful for the long term," Ramseyer sai

Daimler closing Ontario truck plant

Daimler Trucks North America LLC said Tuesday its St. Thomas, Ont. plant will cease production early next year as it discontinues its Sterling brand "in response to continuing depressed demand."

The closing will result in the permanent layoff of 1,350 unionized workers by next March.

The St.Thomas location, approximately 200 kilometres southwest of Toronto, will cease "truck manufacturing operations in March 2009, concurrent with the expiration of the existing agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers members employed there," Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler said in a news release.

The plant manufactures Sterling medium and heavy-duty trucks for commercial use.

400 county jobs could fall victim to $93 million shortfall

Cuts outlined in Sims' budget proposal

By AMY ROLPH
P-I REPORTER

More than 250 King County employees could find out Tuesday they won't have a job starting next year, and a long list of county-sponsored programs might also be cut soon because of ongoing budget woes.

The cuts were outlined in County Executive Ron Sims' 2009 general fund budget proposal, a contentious plan presented to the County Council on Monday in response to a $93 million budget deficit.

Sims, who said repeatedly Monday that his plan stems from "unconventional wisdom," wants to temporarily put $10.5 million worth of health and human services in a "lifeboat" until the end of June. In the meantime, he plans to lobby the Legislature for additional funding to support the dozens of services that would otherwise have to be cut.

As criticism of Sims' much-speculated-about plan started to fly Monday, the county executive was called on to defend the plan -- and, in turn, Sims called on "the entire government" to start acting like adults.

"We focused on solutions, not hot air, not blame, not rhetoric -- on solving problems," he said.

He said the county would eliminate as many 400 jobs this coming year, and expects that as many as 255 county workers will find out Tuesday that they will be laid off. Additional layoffs could happen halfway through 2009.

The so-called lifeboat is one of the more controversial aspects of Sims' proposal, which calls for $60 million in permanent cuts. Those permanent reductions would primarily affect the county's public safety and justice departments, resulting in changes to -- among a long list of other things -- some drug and property crimes being prosecuted as misdemeanors.

"Business has to change, our priorities have to change, our belts have to get tighter" said King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg. "The lower priority cases, we have to deal with in a more efficient, cheaper way."

For the first six months, the lifeboat programs would be funded with the county's reserve funds. The county would seek help from the Legislature to sustain services such as a winter homeless shelter, the medical examiner's public health lab and a reduction in communicable disease investigations.

Critics pointed out that state lawmakers will face a potential $2.3 billion deficit this year, so money will be hard to come by there. And none criticized Sims' proposal more staunchly than the King County Council's budget committee chairman, Larry Phillips.

"I don't think you can set a budget for 2009 counting on a hope and a dream," said Phillips, who said the county executive failed to plan ahead and is instead prolonging the county's agony. Phillips is widely expected to challenge Sims for the executive job next year.

Sims countered, saying that his $4.9 billion overall budget is balanced and that he would not send the council "an incompetent document."

Sims said: "Why would you tell people you don't need help? That's pretty incredible to me. That's a huge step backward."

The council plans to have its version of the budget drafted by Thanksgiving. Phillips said he expects that council members will have to "start from scratch."

But though he and Sims disagree in their approach to designating funds, they agree when it comes to the need for a reduction in the county's labor force. While Phillips wouldn't name a number Monday, he said he agrees that that as many as 400 positions might have to be cut.

Sims plans to notify employees Tuesday who will be laid off. Though he said 400 positions have been identified, it wasn't clear how many of those cuts would result in actual losses of jobs and how many are already vacant.

He said meetings were taking place Monday afternoon to determine those details. The cuts would take effect Jan. 1.

Phillips said it is Sims' prerogative if he wants to notify employees of their impending termination, but stressed that the council would not have a budget drafted until late next month.

Last week, Sims said he would be cutting a "substantial number" of positions within the county, a prelude to the gravity of his budget proposal Monday.

In a memo last week to county employees, Sims announced that the budget had a $15 million gap to reconcile, making layoffs and wage freezes necessary.

Sims plans to reduce costs by limiting cost-of-living increases, something that would require renegotiations with unions.

Other county officials are skeptical that the process would be successful, but Sims said Monday he is "quite confident as to the outcome."

The county's deficit prediction, pegged at just $45 million in March, snowballed throughout this year. Last spring, estimates came in at about $60 million. A few weeks ago, the number was reported to be closer to $90 million.

Sims has blamed the county's deficit -- called unprecedented by many -- on a perfect storm of economic conditions. He said about $54 million of the deficit can be tied in some way to the slumping economy.

The plummeting stock market decreased county revenue from investments at the same time that sales tax revenue fell.

Cities have recently annexed a number of business districts that produce sales tax, and state law prohibits the county from increasing property tax by more than 1 percent per year without voter approval.

Sims said union-negotiated pay raises for county employees have made matters worse.

Others familiar with the situation say increased spending on new positions and higher pay have greatly contributed to the shortfall.

Sims predicted Monday a $40 million shortfall in 2010, and $60 million in 2011.

KING COUNTY BUDGET

King County Executive Ron Sims proposed Monday a $4.9 billion overall budget for 2009. It proposes $644 million for the general fund, which covers most of the day-to-day operations of county government. That compares with a $659 million general fund budget for 2008. Among the highlights of the budget:

$5.2 million in permanent cuts to the King County Sheriff's Office, and $2.3 million in pending cuts that could be reversed by the Legislature.

$3 million in cuts to the county's public health department, and $2.3 million in pending cuts that could be reversed by the Legislature.

$4 million cut permanently from Community and Human Services, and the department could see $2.4 million in additional cuts unless supported by the state.

$3 million in net reductions at the Prosecuting Attorney's Office, where 26 positions will be eliminated.

Sims has eliminated almost $1.5 million from his own office by moving from the Columbia Center to the nearby Chinook Building -- which is owned by the county -- and by cutting four staff positions.

For more information on Sims' proposed budget, visityour.kingcounty.gov/budget/.

P-I reporter Amy Rolph can be reached at 206-448-8223 oramyrolph@seattlepi.com.