The Job Market: A View from The Big Game Hunter, Jeff Altman

Toledo plans to layoff 300, including 75 officers

2009-04-18T08:09:00.001-04:00

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- Toledo is planning to layoff about 300 city workers to deal with a $20 million budget deficit.

Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner announced the cuts Friday. They include 75 police officers on top of the 75 officers the city already planned to let go.

Finkbeiner says some of the job losses could be avoided if union leaders agree to contract changes, such as pay cuts, or if city council took action to increase revenue.

The city also plans to force nonunion employees to take a 20 percent pay cut by going to a 32-hour work week.

Boeing issues 300 layoff notices

2009-04-18T08:07:00.000-04:00

read article under copyright at link above

Qantas slashes profit estimate, plans mass job cuts

2009-04-14T10:49:00.001-04:00

By Myra P. Saefong, MarketWatch

TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- Qantas Airways said Tuesday it is cutting its fiscal 2009 earnings expectation by as much as 80% and plans to lower its flying capacity, reduce spending and eliminate up to 1,750 jobs in response to a major slump across the air travel industry.

"Market conditions have deteriorated, especially in our international business," said Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce. "We are experiencing significantly lower demand, particularly in premium classes, and considerable price pressures with extensive sales and discounting by all carriers."

The Australian flag carrier said it now expects its profit before taxes to fall to a range of A$100 million to A$200 million ($72 million to $145 million), compared to its previous forecast of A$500 million.

In the year ending June 2008, Qantas earned A$1.41 billion.

The new outlook "is subject to no further changes in market conditions, fuel prices, and volatility in hedge accounting results," Qantas said in a statement.
But Joyce added that, looking ahead, "Qantas expects the current volatility in operating conditions to continue for some time," and that "these volatile market conditions make it difficult to provide forecasts."

The company also said the capacity reductions and related restructuring will likely impact up to 1,250 full-time jobs, and it plans to remove an additional 500 management positions.

Qantas said it will minimize redundancies for the 1,750 positions by utilizing workforce initiatives, but "some redundancies will be unavoidable and will lead to additional restructuring costs in 2008/2009."

It said it also will reduce its flying capacity by around 5% and ground up to 10 aircraft.

Shares of Qantas (AU:QAN: news , chart , profile ) touched a low of A$1.74 before closing 2% higher at A$2, tracking the broader gains in Sydney, where Australia's S&P/ASX 200 finished with a gain of 2.2%.

Following the airlines' announcement Tuesday, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its corporate credit ratings on Qantas to BBB/A-3 from BBB+/A-2 and said its rating outlook on the company remains negative.

Moody's said its downgrade to Baa2 from Baa1 in February anticipated the reduced earnings outlook.

Myra P. Saefong is MarketWatch's assistant global markets editor, based in Tokyo.

Navistar to lay off final 345 employees in Chatham

2009-04-07T15:30:00.000-04:00

The Canadian Press

CHATHAM, Ont. — Layoff notices have been issued to the remaining 345 employees at the Navistar truck plant in Chatham, Ontario.

The layoffs are due to take effect June 27th -- three days before the workers' current contract expires.

The company is required by law to issue the notices.

Bargaining on a new contract is expected to start early next month.

Already this year, Navistar has had two rounds of layoffs covering almost 700 workers at the plant.

The heavy truck industry is being hit hard by the U-S recession and the slumping Canadian economy.

Last year, rival Stirling Truck announced the closing of its plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, resulting in the loss of about 2,000 jobs.

CMS announces 107 more layoffs

2009-04-07T14:52:00.001-04:00

The cuts, including math and science coordinators and ESL assistants, save $4.3 million, bring total job loss to 213.
By Eric Frazier

CMS Superintendent, Dr. Peter Gorman speaks to the 24-member Athletic Eligibility Advisory Committee Thursday afternoon. TODD SUMLIN - tsumlin@charlotteobserver.com
To purchase this photo | Browse our store

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has added 107 more employees to its layoff list, this time including math and science coordinators and English as a Second Language assistants.

The cuts, announced Friday afternoon by Superintendent Peter Gorman, will save the district $4.3 million.

“The economic downturn is forcing the district to make some very hard decisions about trimming our expenses,” Gorman said in a statement. “And because so much of our budget is tied up in people, these cuts are necessary.”

Officials have said they need to cut as many as 534 jobs from the 2009-10 budget to make up for a multi-million dollar shortfall brought on by the recession. In all, CMS is considering cuts that could total more than $86 million.

“We've been meeting with people on an ongoing basis,” Gorman said earlier this week. “In some cases, we meet with groups. In some cases, the meetings are one-on-one. We are working hard to respect the integrity of our employees. This is a difficult time for them.”

Some educators with career status, more commonly known as tenure, are concerned that initial layoff letters from CMS didn't spell out their state-mandated rights, including the right to a hearing before the school board.

Chief Operating Officer Hugh Hattabaugh said Gorman was sending letters Friday to employees clarifying how the layoffs could affect them and informing them of their legal rights.

Charlotte attorney John Gresham said he's been contacted by “five or six” affected educators, and is waiting to see what the latest letter says. But so far, he said, “the message that's been coming out has left a number of employees very concerned.”

Classroom teachers were again spared, but more than 300 could find themselves among later rounds of cuts if money from the federal stimulus or other sources doesn't alter the budget picture.

Gorman said in an e-mail to all employees that some information about the stimulus money is starting to trickle down from the federal government, but “it's still impossible to be sure what relief, if any, CMS will get.”

Other positions cut this week and announced Friday include career and technical education coordinators and “behavior modification technicians” who help deal with disruptive students. Friday's cuts also include jobs from finance, curriculum and instruction and family services, as well as schools.

Last week, CMS cut 106 jobs from the superintendent's office, communications, accountability, curriculum and instruction, the six “learning community” offices scattered around the county and the Achievement Zone, which oversees 11 struggling schools.

Taken with the cuts announced Friday, CMS has eliminated 213 jobs and saved $11.9 million. Only 30 of the jobs were vacant.

CMS has about 19,000 full-time employees serving its 174 schools. Last year's budget totaled $1.2 billion. Gorman will present his 2009-10 budget proposal to the school board later this month. The county commission will give final approval.

600-plus get layoff alerts from TUSD

2009-04-07T14:01:00.000-04:00

More than 600 employees were notified Friday that they are part of a massive layoff in the Tucson Unified School District.
Of the district's 3,800 certified employees, including teachers, librarians and counselors, 560 received notice that they'll be getting their pink slips if the Governing Board approves the list Tuesday.
Sixty-five of the district's 182 administrators, from principals to department directors, also were given notice.

While the layoffs were anticipated given the potential for deep state budget cuts, slipping student enrollment and the fact that employees needed to be notified by April 15 if they were going to receive a contract for the next school year, the list went deeper than many had expected.
All teachers in their first, second and third years with the district were given notice, with the exception of teachers in alternative education, special education and hard-to-fill positions such as highly qualified math and science teachers.
Last year at this time, only 40 elementary teachers were put on notice. But this year, the district is reacting to a worst-case scenario of a $63 million hit.
The pink slips might not be permanent, though. Alyson Nielson, TUSD's director of employment services, said the district will begin hiring employees back as soon as more information becomes available on the budget.
"We are trying to be conservative, but once we become a little more confident as the budget takes shape, we can start getting teachers back into positions. I expect we'll be in a situation to begin to recall staff before the school year is even out."
That doesn't mean it won't be disruptive.
Many principals have made conscious hiring decisions and have invested time in training teachers to match their own expectations. And because staff callbacks will be done largely by seniority and certification, schools won't necessarily get back their original staffers.
And some schools will be more profoundly impacted than others.
Dodge Middle School, which has a mature teaching stable, doesn't have teachers on the list, although like all of the other schools it has to make plans to cut its budget by 18 percent. Those plans are due to the district April 30. Principal Cathy Comstock said she expects in the worst case to lose an assistant principal and a librarian, but her staff otherwise wasn't immediately affected by the layoffs.
John Bellisario, the principal at Valencia Middle School, meanwhile, is losing 30 percent of his teachers. The far Southwest Side school is in a high-poverty area, has struggled with an "underperforming" label for two years and has high teacher turnover.
Bellisario, in his first year at the school, said it's a different campus already under his leadership. But he's worried about the impact the cuts will have.
"I'm really concerned because we have done a lot of work with professional development with our staff," he said. Getting a new staff, he said, "will be like starting from scratch. We've made a lot of progress and come a long ways, so this is a setback."
Nielson said the human-resources staff is trying to be sensitive to such concerns. Teachers who are part of the layoffs are filling out forms listing school preferences and credentials.
"Somebody at Broadway and Houghton, for example, would have a hard time getting to a school on the other side of town," she said. "We're going to try to work within those preferences."
Same with teaching philosophy. Teachers at Drachman Montessori Magnet, for example, have to be comfortable with Montessori methods, while teachers at Cholla High Magnet School should have some familiarity with its focus on International Baccalaureate programs.
"We might be biting off more than we can chew," Nielson acknowledged, given the scope of the layoffs, "but we're going to work really hard to make sure we find the best fit possible."
Contact reporter Rhonda Bodfield at 806-7754 or rbodfield@azstarnet.com.

UNEMPLOYMENT SKYROCKETS TO 8.5%

2009-04-04T06:20:00.001-04:00

HIGHEST RATE SINCE 1983

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 8.5 percent in March, the highest since late 1983, as a wide swath of employers eliminated 663,000 jobs. It is fresh evidence of the toll the recession has inflicted on America's workers, and economists say there's no relief in sight.

If part-time and discouraged workers are factored in, the unemployment rate would have been 15.6 percent in March, the highest on records dating to 1994, according to Labor Department data released Friday.

The average work week in March dropped to 33.2 hours, a new record low.

"It's an ugly report and April is going to be equally as bad," predicted Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.

Last month's tally of job losses was slightly higher than the 654,000 that economists expected. The rise in the unemployment rate matched expectations.

Employers cut 651,000 jobs in February when the jobless rate was 8.1 percent, the same as initially estimated. January's job losses, however, were revised much higher, to 741,000 from 655,000.

Since the recession began in December 2007, the U.S. economy has lost a net total of 5.1 million jobs, with almost two-thirds of the losses occurring in the last five months.

The number of unemployed people climbed to 13.2 million in March. In addition, the number of people forced to work part time for "economic reasons" rose by 423,000 to 9 million. Those are people who would like to work full time but whose hours were cut back or were unable to find full-time work.

Looking forward, economists expect monthly job losses continuing for most -- if not all of -- this year.

However, they are hoping that payroll reductions in the current quarter won't be as deep as the roughly 685,000 average monthly job losses in the January-March period.

In the best-case scenario, employment losses in the present quarter would be about half that pace, some economists said. That scenario partly assumes the economy won't be shrinking nearly as much in the present quarter.

The deterioration in the jobs market comes despite a few hopeful signs recently that the recession -- now the longest since World War II -- could be easing.

Orders placed with U.S. factories actually rose in February, ending a six straight months of declines, the government reported Thursday. Earlier in the week, there was better-than-expected reports on construction spending and pending home sales. And last week a report showed that consumer spending -- an engine of the economy -- rose in February for the second month in a row -- after a half-year of declines.

But as the economic downturn eats into their sales and profits, companies are laying off workers and resorting to other cost-saving measures. Those include holding down hours, and freezing or cutting pay, to survive the storm.

Job losses were widespread last month. Construction companies cut 126,000 jobs. Factories axed 161,000. Retailers got rid of nearly 50,000. Professional and business services eliminated 133,000. Leisure and hospitality reduced employment by 40,000. Even the government cut jobs -- 5,000 of them.

Education and health care were the few industries showing any job gains.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession could end later this year, setting the stage for a recovery next year, if the government is successful in bolstering the banking system. Banks have been clobbered by the worst housing, credit and financial crises to hit the country since the 1930s.

Even if the recession ends this year, the economy will remain frail, analysts said. Companies will have little appetite to ramp up hiring until they feel the economy is truly out of the woods and any recovery has staying power.

Given that, many economists predict the unemployment rate will hit 10 percent at the end of this year. The Fed says unemployment will remain elevated into 2011.

Economists say the job market may not get back to normal -- meaning a 5 percent unemployment rate -- until 2013.

"There's going to quite a long haul before you see the jobless rate head down," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services.

To brace the economy, the Fed has slashed a key bank lending rate to an all-time low and has embarked on a series of radical programs to inject billions of dollars into the financial system.

And the Obama administration had launched a multi-pronged strategy to turn the economy around. Its $787 billion stimulus package includes money that will flow to states for public works projects, help them defray budget cuts, extend unemployment benefits and boost food stamp benefits.

The administration also is counting on programs to prop up financial companies and reduce home foreclosures to help turn the economy around.

Still, skittish employers announced more job layoffs this week.

3M Co., the maker of Scotch tape, Post-It Notes and other products, said it's cutting another 1,200 jobs, or 1.5 percent of its work force, because of the global economic slump. Fewer than half the jobs will be in the U.S., but include hundreds in its home state of Minnesota. The 1,200 figure includes cuts made earlier in the first quarter.

Elsewhere, healthcare products distributor Cardinal Health Inc. said it would eliminate 1,300 positions, or about 3 percent of its work force, and semiconductor equipment maker KLA-Tencor Corp. said it will cut about 600 jobs, or 10 percent of its employees.

The Job Market: April 2009

2009-04-03T18:13:00.003-04:00

I didn't make the time to blog about the job market last month instead making time to talk to job hunters and work on a new site (www.freejobsearchtips.info) and the re-launch of TheResumeUniverse.com.

So I have a little bit of catching up to do.

The State of The Job Market (sounds like a Presidential address) is pretty well known:

Job cuts in January were over 740000
Job cuts in February were over 640000
In March, another 633000 workers lost their jobs (ADP believes the number was over 700000; we'll see if the government revises the figures further downward in the next few months

All told, unemployment is reported at 8.5%. That does not include people who are no longer collecting benefits or small business owners who are no longer paying themselves.

Unemployment rates were higher in February than a year earlier in all 372 metropolitan areas surveyed by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics

In summary, more than 13 million people are counted as being out of work and there is little that I am seeing to indicate that the employment picture is improving. Understand that, although my office is hubbed in the Northeast, the work that our firm is doing in recruiting is national in scope. Every part of the country is being severely impacted in every almost every field except one--health care.

Clearly, the health care industry has enormous labor shortages. Positions available are not simply for physicians but nurse practitioners, people to work in hospital administration, pharmacists . . . the list is long and seemingly endless.

Professionals in the energy industry is another high demand area currently.

I think the next demand area is going to be consultants . . . temps . . . people working on a temp-to-perm basis.

You see, comes the summer, companies will be dealing with vacation schedules and work slippages (we have a project due by January and we're already behind on it. Let's get some people in to help). If we sat and one other thing, I think we will have turned the corner. If not, like Punxsutawney Phil (for my overseas readers who may not follow this uniquely American tradition--Phil is a groundhop used to predict whether winter will be short or long), we will be in for a cold winter this year and a tough year next, too.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2009 all rights reserved.

Nokia to Layoff 1700 Worldwide

2009-03-23T07:19:00.000-04:00

Nokia Corp. said Tuesday it will lay off 1,700 people worldwide to cut costs, as the global economic downturn strikes deeper into the mobile phone sector.

The world’s top mobile phone maker said the job cuts will affect several sectors, including its devices and markets units, the corporate development office and global support functions.

“The number of employees we have to reduce is 1,700,” Nokia spokeswoman Arja Suominen said, adding that details would be announced after the company begins negotiations with employees.

Nokia shares fell 2 percent in Helsinki to close at euro8.65 ($11.25) after the announcement, which came as the industry bellwether continues to struggle with falling demand and handset prices.

In January, Nokia warned of major cost-cutting measures after its fourth-quarter net profit crashed 70 percent to euro576 million ($744 million). It also lost market share, which fell to 37 percent from 38 percent in the previous quarter and 40 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Nokia said it would aim for annual savings of euro700 million at its handset unit, but gave no details at the time.

Last month, Nokia said it will close a research center, ax up to 320 jobs and temporarily lay off 2,500 workers in Finland. It also announced a global voluntary resignation program, open to employees until May 31, in a move aimed at cutting personnel by 1,000.

It has also said it plans to increase short-term unpaid leaves and sabbaticals, and has appealed to employees to accept holiday time as payments, instead of cash, for overtime work in 2009.

Based in Espoo near Helsinki, Nokia last year remained the No.1 cell phone maker selling 468 million handsets, up 7 percent on 2008. It employs 128,400 people worldwide.

Toro Co. to lay off about 235 from Tomah site

2009-03-23T07:16:00.000-04:00

MADISON, Wis. - The Toro Co. has told Wisconsin officials it will lay off about 235 workers from its Tomah site next month.

The Bloomington, Minn., company makes products for landscape maintenance.

A Toro executive told Wisconsin officials in a letter last week the layoffs are expected to occur on or about April 20.

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development released Toro's letter on Tuesday, as well as notices from three other companies.

Potash Corp. extends layoff of 940 workers

2009-03-23T07:14:00.000-04:00

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan plans to extend the temporary layoff of 940 workers who were let go in January.

The layoff covers workers at Potash’s Saskatchewan plants in Rocanville, Lanigan and Allan.

Workers at those fertilizer sites were initially laid off for eight weeks.

The extended layoffs come one day after Potash said it is reducing its 2009 potash production by an additional 1.5 million tonnes, bringing the total expected cut of its capacity to at least 3.5 million tonnes this year.

With inventories in its key markets expected to be mostly depleted in the second quarter of this year, the company said it is expecting a strong rebound in potash demand in the second half of 2009 that should continue into 2010.

“Farmers, like other consumers, have been on a buying hiatus but they cannot remain on the sidelines indefinitely,? said PotashCorp CEO Bill Doyle.

?People need to eat, farmers need to grow and sell crops, and maintaining soil fertility is essential for those things to happen,” he said in a release.

With files from Canadian Press

Bellevue Center developer asks for year delay for overhaul
Sask. legislative sitting expected to be all about the economy
Autoworkers feel stuck between buyouts, possible future cuts

CAT Announces More Layoffs

2009-03-23T07:10:00.000-04:00

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) plans to lay off 2,454 employees across 5 plants in Illinois, Indiana and Georgia to cut costs amid recessionary conditions.

The stock is trading marginally down 0.5% while volumes are at lower-than-average levels. The world’s largest manufacturer of mining and construction equipment said the layoff will impact 2,365 support and management workers for 6 months, while 89 will be let go permanently.

CAT had announced the elimination of 22,000 positions in January coupled with an up to 50% reduction in executive compensation.

Analysts have already slashed fiscal 2009 earnings estimates by 8 cents over the past month and by $2.22 over the past 60 days.

CAT is currently a Zacks #5 Rank ("Strong Sell") stock.

Caterpillar To Layoff Hundreds In Indiana

2009-03-23T07:09:00.000-04:00

Follow link to article under copywright

March 6: Stocks end mixed after jobs report

2009-03-07T08:38:00.000-05:00

Employees: Halliburton Layoffs in the Hundreds

2009-03-07T08:37:00.000-05:00

Layoffs Announced at Northrop Grumman

2009-03-07T08:36:00.000-05:00

Spansion Layoffs 3,000

2009-03-07T08:35:00.001-05:00

Layoff Worries 02-27-09

2009-03-07T08:34:00.000-05:00

HSBC CLOSES LENDING UNITS; 6,100 CUT

2009-03-03T06:12:00.000-05:00

By KAJA WHITEHOUSE

Last updated: 4:20 am
March 3, 2009
Posted: 4:20 am
March 3, 2009

Getting a loan just got a lot tougher.

British bank HSBC, often referred to as the nation's second-largest provider of US consumer loans, announced yesterday that it's shuttering two units dedicated to consumer lending.

The closure of the two units - HFC and Beneficial - will result in 6,100 job losses and the closing of 800 branches that provide mortgage refinancing and personal loans, among other forms of debt financing.

Beneficial has three branches in the New York area, including one in Brooklyn and another in Sunnyside, Queens, according to the firm's Web site. HFC also has three branches in the region, including one in Bayside, Queens.

HSBC's bank branches, which are scattered throughout Manhattan and the boroughs, won't be affected. HSBC will continue to underwrite residential mortgages through the bank branches, said a spokeswoman for the company.

The move comes as the parent company, HSBC Holdings, reported a 70 percent drop in 2008 net profit amid losses tied to the US mortgage and subprime loans.

The company, one of the few to have avoided a government bailout, is seeking to raise $17.7 billion from shareholders through a share sale.

JPMORGAN TO AX 12K

2009-02-27T07:43:00.000-05:00

By PAUL THARP

Last updated: 11:54 pm
February 26, 2009
Posted: 12:00 am
February 27, 2009

JPMorgan Chase plans to eliminate 12,000 jobs as it swallows failed bank Washington Mutual.

The financial giant said it expects to save about $2 billion by combining operations of the two firms, with about $1.35 billion saved in payroll alone.

Shares of JPMorgan jumped nearly 10 percent on the moves before settling at $23.05, a 6 percent rise.

Most of the cuts will come from Washington Mutual, with as many as 2,000 from JPMorgan's investment banking arm, officials said.

Jobless claims spike to 26-year high

2009-02-26T20:44:00.000-05:00

Number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits rises to 667,000. Continuing claims top 5 million for the first time.

By Lara Moscrip, CNNMoney.com contributing writer

Last Updated: February 26, 2009: 9:12 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment insurance spiked, and those living on unemployment benefits hit a record high, according to a government report released Thursday.

For the week ended Feb. 21, 667,000 Americans filed initial jobless claims, up 36,000 from a revised 631,000 the previous week. That's the highest figure since October 1982.

Economists polled by Briefing.com were expecting claims to drop to 625,000.

In a sign that more jobless Americans are having trouble finding work, 5,112,000 continued on unemployment for the week ended Feb. 14, the most recent data available. That's the highest number since the Labor Department began keeping records since 1967.

Initial claims are expected to sharply increase, and it's likely they will reach 750,000 per week in the upcoming months, according to Ian Shepherdson, economist at High Frequency Economics in New York.

He noted that weekly filings, adjusted for population growth, would have to exceed the 1 million mark in order to break the jobless claims reported from the mid-1970s and early 1980s.

"We fervently hope that does not happen but we are not confident. Companies are throwing in the towel as they recognize that no sector is safe," Shepherdson wrote in a note.

The 4-week moving average of initial claims was 639,000, an increase of 19,000 from the preceding week. The average is used to smooth fluctuations in data.

The 4-week moving average for people continuing on unemployment was 4,932,250, an increase of 89,250 from 4,843,000 in the previous week.

The insured unemployment rate is 3.8%, nearly double the 2.1% rate from a year ago.

Stimulus: The stimulus bill that President Obama signed into law has several provisions that help those living on unemployment benefits.

The weekly unemployment benefit will temporarily increase by $25 on top of the roughly $300 jobless workers currently receive.

In addition, the first $2,400 of benefits in 2009 would be exempt from federal income taxes.

The stimulus also provides jobless workers with an additional 20 weeks in unemployment benefits, and 13 weeks on top of that if they live in what's deemed a high unemployment state.

Nokia seeks 1,000 voluntary layoffs

2009-02-25T19:44:00.000-05:00

Read article by following link to article under copywright

Washington jobless rate jumps to 7.8%

2009-02-25T19:43:00.001-05:00

Washington’s unemployment rate jumped to 7.8 percent in January from 7.1 percent in December, the state’s Employment Security Department reported Tuesday, in another sign of the deepening recession.

In January, an estimated 303,570 people were jobless and looking for work in Washington – the largest number ever in the state.

“These are rough times for the unemployed, but it’s also an opportunity to get some training for a new career,” said Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee.

The biggest declines were seen in manufacturing, information services, construction, motor vehicles and parts dealers, and truck transportation.

Washington's January unemployment rate of 7.8 percent was higher than the national unemployment rate of 7.6 percent. Washington's jobless rate was up significantly from a year ago, when it was 4.5 percent.

In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett area, the unemployment rate was 6.8 percent, up from 6.2 percent in December. In January 2008, the Seattle area's jobless rate was 3.7 percent.

Pierce County had 9.1 percent unemployment rate in January, Snohomish County was 8.5 percent, and King County was 6.7 percent. Spokane County had 9.6 percent unemployment rate.

The state lost an estimated 7,000 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs in January.

The Employment Security Department characterized the January unemployment numbers as a preliminary estimate. The department normally receives unemployment data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the January data was delayed due to a computer project. Employment Security said it generated its own January data using a “computer model that historically has closely matched the official number.”

Canada loses record 129,000 jobs

2009-02-25T19:41:00.000-05:00

Unemployment rate hits 7.2 per cent

BY PAUL VIEIRA, FINANCIAL POST

Read article under copywright by following link

Suozzi proceeding with cuts, layoffs despite stimulus

2009-02-25T19:39:00.000-05:00

Suozzi proceeding with cuts, layoffs despite stimulus

BY SID CASSESE | sid.cassese@newsday.com

9:10 PM EST, February 17, 2009

Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi (Photo by Howard Schnapp / February 3, 2009)

Despite the expectation of up to $127 million in federal stimulus cash over 27 months, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi said Tuesday he will proceed with painful cuts and layoffs if he can't get the union concessions he wants this week.

But leaders of county employee unions shot back that Nassau should direct more stimulus money to ameliorate service cuts and layoffs. The leaders are scheduled to continue negotiations tomorrow with Suozzi administration officials.

Suozzi already has budgeted $50 million in increased federal Medicaid aid to help fill an estimated deficit of $130 million to $150 million this year. He is pushing state lawmakers to approve another $30 million in new taxes and fees.

But even if Nassau ends up getting somewhat more in Medicaid aid than anticipated, Suozzi argued yesterday that the unions still will have to agree to salary cuts or layoffs to close the budget gap.

Suozzi proceeding with cuts, layoffs despite stimulus

BY SID CASSESE | sid.cassese@newsday.com

9:10 PM EST, February 17, 2009

Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi (Photo by Howard Schnapp / February 3, 2009)

GM, Chrysler Restructure with Layoffs, Plant Closures

2009-02-25T19:38:00.000-05:00

Detroit

DETROIT-Tuesday, General Motors and Chrysler submitted the first part of their plan for viability to the federal government. The companies requested an additional $14 billion to bail them out of their financial crisis and vowed to cut jobs and close plants.

GM’s plan involves the elimination of 47,000 additional jobs, from its current worldwide workforce of 244,000. Roughly, 21,000 US employees will lose their jobs in this round of layoffs. Between 2000 and 2008, GM shuttered 12 manufacturing facilities in the US. It has plans to close an additional 14 plants, which is five more than it planned to eliminated in December. When the closures complete by 2012, GM will own 33 North American plants. It is uncertain at this time which plants will be closing.

Additionally, GM plans to re-shape its dealer network with fewer and better located dealerships. From 2004 to 2008 dealerships declined from 7,367 to 6,246, a 15% reduction. Current plans will accelerate dealership reduction by an additional 25%. This will mean decreasing the total number of US dealerships from 6,246 to 4,700 by 2012. An additional 600 dealerships could be eliminated by 2014.

In December GM asked the federal government for $18 billion to help make the company viable again. It is now adjusting that number, requesting an additional $7.5 billion worth of government aid and a $4.5 billion US secured revolver credit facility. Repayment of the $30 billion worth of loans would begin in 2012, according to current plans.

"The U.S. and global auto industries are facing times of unprecedented challenge," says GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner, in a release. "These conditions dictate that we must take very tough actions to accelerate GM's restructuring efforts. The plan we delivered today to the US Treasury is aggressive but achievable. It provides a clear pathway for GM that continues to support American manufacturing and technology innovation, which are vital to the future of our nation's economy."

Chrysler has plans to eliminate an additional 3,000 jobs. At the end of 2008, Chrysler had already reduced its workforce by 37%, for a total of 32,000 layoffs. The company will also discontinue three vehicle models. For its part, Chrysler has requested an additional $2 billion government loan, on top of it’s original $7 billion request. The company is still working with Italy’s Fiat to bring the Italian automaker into the mix as a strategic alliance partner. The non-binding agreement gives Fiat a 33% control of the company, with the possibility of taking 55% control down the road.

“We believe the requested working capital loan is the least-costly alternative and will help provide an important stimulus to the U.S. economy and deliver positive results for American taxpayers,” Chrysler officials said in a statement. “This plan will ensure the continued provision of health care and pension benefits to our active employees and retirees, while continuing to protect hundreds of thousands of middle class, quality American jobs at Chrysler, our dealer network and our suppliers."

Tech Layoffs Surge to 300,000

2009-02-23T20:56:00.000-05:00

Layoffs in the tech sector are accelerating. It took exactly three weeks for tech layoffs to surge to 300,000, according to our Layoff Tracker. Since late January, when the tracker hit 200,000 layoffs, another 100,000 job eliminations have been announced or completed. In contrast, it took five weeks for layoffs in the tech industry to hit the 200,000 mark, and four months for layoffs to hit 100,000 last December. The total number of layoffs since we began tracking since the financial crisis began in late August is 300,093.

The past few weeks have particularly brutal for the technology space, with substantial layoffs announced by Pioneer (10,000), Cisco (3,000), Panasonic (15,000), NEC (20,000), Electronic Arts (1100) and AOL (700). Even Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, who both managed to avoid layoffs in the past few months, were forced to make cuts to their workforces. And Google, who was immune to layoffs until late January, continued giving pink-slips in the past three weeks with the company’s exit from radio. Sadly, a few start-ups weren’t able to weather the storm, with eBaum’s World cutting all of its workforce.

Obviously the tech industry is not immune to the current economic climate, and if the past three weeks are any indication, things could still get worse for the tech space before they get better. Maybe that economic stimulus plan will help turn the tide.

If you know of any layoffs at a tech company, please submit a tip with the name of the company and number of layoffs. If it’s been covered, also send a link to the blog post or news article. (For who is hiring, check out our job board).

Air France KLM to Layoff 1200 more Staff

2009-02-23T19:52:00.000-05:00

Air France KLM has admitted that they plan to axe another 1,200 jobs, which comes after their announcement of a sharp increase in losses for the 3rd quarter. A week following the announcement from British Airways of an £85 billion loss during the 3rd quarter, Air France KLM said that they fell victim to the crisis as well, which has hit cargo and passenger traffic both.

The Group revealed a reduction of €1.2 billion in costs, half of which are to be put into effect this year, and they plan to cut from 1,000 to 1,200 workers through a hiring freeze, retirement, and voluntary departures. Around 450 managers between the ages of 60 and 65 are being encouraged to retire from the company, even though there won’t be any compulsory redundancies. An airline spokeswoman said that Air France KLM is going to continue their cost reduction program, which showed a 2,000 job cut in their workforce for 2008.

The carrier says that they recorded an operating loss of €194 million for the 3 months leading to December 31st. Even though revenue continued to be stable and long-haul traffic was resilient, they witnessed a drop in overall passenger numbers by 1.9% during the month of January, which was due greatly to the decline in bookings for short-haul services. The freight traffic for the airline also fell 20% during last month for the second month.

Air France KLM says that they will cut capacity by 2% during the summer since the outlook of the economy is only growing worse by the day. However, they have maintained their forecast of ending in the black for the fiscal year ending March.

Learn more at: www.airfranceklm-finance.com

Record High Mass Layoffs

2009-02-21T18:52:00.000-05:00

By Steven Greenhouse

There’s more bad news on the layoff front.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that employers laid off a record 508,859 workers in the fourth quarter of 2008 in what the bureau calls extended mass layoff events — layoffs involving 50 or more workers for at least 31 days.

That is by far the highest number involved in mass layoffs since the bureau began collecting that data in 1995. The fourth-quarter number represents a 69 percent increase over the 301,592 workers involved in extended mass layoffs in the fourth quarter of 2007.

According to the bureau, employers initiated 3,140 extended mass layoff events in the fourth quarter of 2008 — also a record — compared with 1,814 in the year-earlier quarter.

Factory and construction workers were hit especially hard. Manufacturing accounted for 185,686 of the workers involved in the extended mass layoffs. That was a record and represented 35 percent of all workers involved in extended mass layoffs nationwide even though manufacturing represents less than 10 percent of all jobs in the United States.

Construction accounted for 100,922 of those involved in extended mass layoffs in the fourth quarter. Some of this is explained by the seasonal construction slowdown, but even so, the fourth quarter number was more than double the number for the year-earlier quarter.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 45 percent of employers reporting an extended layoff in the fourth quarter said they anticipated some type of recall of those workers. That was down from 56 percent in the year-earlier quarter.

The Midwest reported the highest number of workers involved in extended mass layoffs — 202,392 — followed by the West with 164,717.

California had the largest number of such layoffs of any state (103,470), followed by Illinois (55,229), Michigan (38,820) and Ohio (30,295).

Among 369 metropolitan areas surveyed, Chicago-Naperville-Joliet (a metropolitan area falling in Ill.-Ind.-Wis.), reported the highest number of workers involved in these layoffs in the fourth quarter (19,894). Next were Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., with 14,714 workers involved in mass layoffs, and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif., with 12,438.

Layoff Watch: Morgan Stanley, DLA Piper and more

2009-02-21T18:41:00.000-05:00

Layoffs continue to add up as illustrated by the Labor Department's announcement that the initial jobless benefit claims are around 623,000 for the season, bringing the total number of unemployment recipients to 6.3 million. Contributing to those figures are layoffs both in finance and law. Here are the latest rumors and reports.

The layoffs at Morgan Stanley apparently began Tuesday in the equity derivatives department, according to Dealbreaker.

Rumors continue that Goldman, Sachs & Co. may lay off 10% of its global work force.

Putnam Investments laid off 260 people Thursday, according to The Boston Globe.

County Bank's 500 employees are in limbo. The bank was recently taken over by the FDIC and its assets acquired by Westamerica, which is making no job guarantees to employees.

Meanwhile, Thursday the legal world saw a massive bloodletting as eight major firms let go 800 staffers, according to the National Law Journal. Some of the notable firms include:

Goodwin Procter LLP laid off 38 associates and 36 staff.
DLA Piper cut 80 associates, primarily West Coast-based. The other 28 associates were based in New York and Chicago. DLA also let go of 100 staff members nationwide.
Holland & Knight LLP cut 70 lawyers and 173 support staff.
Dechert LLP laid off 19 attorneys.
Cozen O'Connor laid off 61 support staff.
Bryan Cave LLP cut 58 attorneys and 76 staff.

Another law firm not included in NLJ's list, but reducing staff, is Merchant & Gould PC, which is cutting 33 jobs.

It's a rough time, but there are jobs out there. Barclays plc is hiring in Asia. For the latest job postings, check out TheDeal.com's Career Center. For a roundup of all of the announced layoffs to date, check out The Deal's Pink slips on Wall Street Dealwatch. - Maria Woehr

Teva to Lay Off 1,000; Croatian Staff to Get Generous Severances

2009-02-21T18:37:00.000-05:00

Teva Pharmaceuticals is to lay off 1,000 or more employees worldwide as part of its acquisition of Barr Pharmaceuticals. Three hundred of those layoffs will be in at Teva’s IVAX plant in DOral, Fla., according to the Miami Herald.

Those workers may be wishing they were Croatian, however. At Teva’s Zagreb facility, 790 employees are to go. But check out the deal they get. Israel’s Globes Online:

The “Croatian Times” quotes Pliva chairman Matko Bolanca as saying that the employees will receive “huge severance payments”. Employees will less than 25 years seniority will receive €40,500 and employees with more than 25 years seniority will receive more than €50,000. Employees who have spent their entire working lives with the company will receive €270,000. Remaining employees will receive a pay hike.

In other words, the minimum payout in Croatia will be about $52,000! (And you thought only CEOs got paid for failing.)

The South Florida Business Journal says the Doral workers will also get “severance packages,” but there’s no detail on how generous they will be (or whether they will be paid in more-valuable euros …)

PIONEER LAYOFFs JOB CUT: PIONEER fires 10,000, EXITS FLAT TV

2009-02-21T18:34:00.000-05:00

Pioneer Layoffs News, Pioneer Job Cut announcement

Japanese electronics company Pioneer has decided to lay off 10,000 jobs. These 10000 job cuts are in addition to the 5,900 job layoffs by Pioneer in 2008. Of the 10,000 employees to be fired, 6,000 are full time employees while 4,000 are contract workers. All the job cuts will take place in Japan as well as abroad. Pioneer employes around 36,900 workers and hence 10000 job layoffs amounts to cutting its total workforce by a massive 27%. There is no specific news as to when these job layoffs will be implemented however these job layoffs are a result of Pioneer exiting the flat tv market (read below) and the report said that Pioneer plans to exit flat TV market by 2010.

Reasons for Pioneer Job Layoffs - Exiting flat TV market

Pioneer was once among the leader in flat TV market however its flat TV unit has been a highly loss making unit since the sharp fall in demand last year. As a result Pioneer has decided to exit the flat TV business completely. Pioneer has warned that it expects to make an annual loss of 130 billion yen or $1.4 billion.

Wal-Mart to layoff nearly 800 employees Arkansas HQ; to build fewer new stores

2009-02-21T18:28:00.000-05:00

Operational changes introduced for cost reduction at Wal-Mart Stores entail a layoff of at least 800 employees at the retailer's headquarters in Bentonville, northwestern Arkansas.

Informing the employees about the proposed job-cuts, Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke wrote in a memo that the layoffs will come in the real estate, merchandising, marketing, and support divisions of the company's US division, as well as in Sam's Club retail division. The memo said that the store and club operations of the company will remain unaffected by the announced cuts.

Duke said that unprecedented times mark the beginning of the new fiscal year. He added: "While the number of associates that will be impacted by the restructuring is very small compared to the 2.2 million associates we have worldwide, I can assure you that we will treat them with care and dignity and help support them during their transition, consistent with our basic beliefs and respect for the individual."

According to Wal-Mart spokesman, David Tovar, quite a few positions are being relocated rather than being eliminated. As a part of the company's expansion plan in general, Wal-Mart intends generating new jobs in its stores and clubs divisions.

In addition to the announced layoffs, the world's biggest retailer also plans to build fewer new stores this year - 125 to 140 - in comparison to the last year's 166 new stores last year.

GE Transportation to Cut 350 Jobs, Temporarily Lay Off 1,200 at Erie unit : Reports

2009-02-21T18:26:00.000-05:00

General Electric Co. (GE: News ) reportedly has announced plans on Tuesday to permanently cut 350 jobs and temporarily layoff 1,200 workers at its locomotive unit, due to a decrease in production volumes.

The job cuts are said to affect nearly 14%, or 11,400 employees of Erie, Pennsylvania-based GE Transportation, with the permanent layoffs set to take place in April and temporary furloughs beginning in May. The temporary cuts are noted to be "lack-of-work furloughs."

GE Transportation said it expects locomotive production volume to decrease about 40% from last year, and most of its backlog is slated for 2010 and 2011, the reports quoted the head of the division Lorenzo Simonelli as saying.

Fairfield, Connecticut-based General Electric had recently reported a 44% decline in fourth quarter net income to $3.72 billion and a 5% decline in revenues to to $46.21 billion.

GE Transportation, a part of the GE Technology Infrastructure unit, contributed about $5 billion of the parent's $182.5 billion in sales last year.

GE is currently trading at $11.62 on the NYSE.

Airlines see largest employment drop in five years

2009-02-21T18:20:00.001-05:00

Full-time employment at Frontier Airlines declined 15.7 percent between December 2007 and the same month on 2008, the steepest drop of 14 large and low-cost airlines, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported Wednesday.

The overall full-time employment decrease of seven low-cost airlines over that period, including Denver-based Frontier, was 3.3 percent, the BTS said in its monthly “Passenger Airline Employment Data.”

For seven larger, “network” airlines, the decrease was 6.3 percent.

Frontier had 4,397 full-time equivalent employees at the end of 2008, putting it in the middle of the seven low-cost carriers on the BTS list. Southwest Airlines (NSYE: LUV) was tops with 35,499 workers; Virgin America had the fewest, 1,259.

BTS counted two part-time employees as a single full-time worker.

Frontier is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Virgin America had the greatest increase of employees — 71.3 percent — between December 2007 and December 2008 of the seven low-cost airlines, followed by Allegiant (14.2 percent). AirTran was the only low-cost airline besides Frontier with a loss of employees (9.1 percent).

Among seven “network” airlines, United saw the biggest employee reduction, 12.7 percent, between the two Decembers, BTS said, followed by Northwest Airlines (6.9 percent) and Delta Air Lines (6.2 percent). Northwest and Delta (NYSE: DAL) are combining operations.

Overall — among large, low-cost and smaller regional airlines — employment levels experienced their largest year-to-year decrease since December 2003, BTS said.

Employment levels dropped 6.7 percent in December 2008 compared to the same month in 2007, the sixth straight decline in full-time equivalent rates compared to the same month the previous year.

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

More layoffs coming to Granite City Steel

2009-02-21T18:17:00.000-05:00

U.S. Steel Corp. plans to idle its coke operations at Granite City Works in Granite City, Ill., and lay off 390 workers.

This latest round of layoffs is in addition to the 1,600 workers who lost their jobs when U.S. Steel idled its mill in December.

The affected employees are 300 hourly workers and 90 managers, said John Armstrong, a spokesman for the Pittsburgh-based company.

The idling will occur in about three weeks, as demand for both steel and coke, which is used in the production of steel, has dropped, he said.

Granite City Works, the city's biggest employer, had more than 2,200 workers when it was fully operational.

Granite City Mayor Ed Hagnauer said he's still optimistic the idling won't turn into a permanent closure because U.S. Steel is continuing its $600 million upgrades on the mill.

"We're just crossing our fingers and saying our prayers," he said Thursday. "We're still hoping for a turnaround and we're going to wait and see if the economic stimulus will help the steel industry."

On Thursday, U.S. Steel named a new general manager of Granite City Works, but that does not have any bearing on how long the idling will last or if the mill will be closed permanently.

kvolkmann@bizjournals.com

Best Buy to lay off 250 headquarters workers

2009-02-21T18:13:00.000-05:00

ATLANTA, Feb. 19, 2009 (Reuters) — Best Buy Co Inc said on Thursday it plans to lay off 250 workers at its corporate headquarters in Minneapolis as it cuts costs in the recession.

A Best Buy store in Westminster, Colorado June 27, 2007. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

Minntac announces nearly 600 layoffs

2009-02-21T18:12:00.000-05:00

U.S. Steel has notified workers that it will cut production in the next two to three weeks and about 500 union and 90 salaried management employees will be indefinitely laid off.

By: Peter Passi , Duluth News Tribune

U.S. Steel Corp. has notified workers at Minntac, near Virginia, that it will cut production in the next two to three weeks. As a result about 500 union and 90 salaried management employees will be indefinitely laid off.

Minntac currently employs about 1,100 union workers and about 180 people in salaried management positions. So the layoffs will affect about 46 percent of the work force.

“Here at U.S. Steel, we continually analyze and assess our production, market conditions and how those conditions affect our order book,” said Courtney Boone, a corporate spokeswoman.

As a result of that assessment, Boone said: “We’ve made the difficult decision to temporarily idle some of our production at Minntac.”

Minntac has five lines, but just four are currently operating. In the coming weeks, the number of operating lines will be further reduced to two. Boone said the duration of the layoff will depend on market conditions.

Mike Woods, president of USW Local 1938, received word of the pending layoffs late Wednesday.

“I don’t think it came as a huge surprise to anyone, but it’s always devastating to get news of layoffs,” he said. “We haven’t been through layoffs at Minntac since the early 1990s.”

Woods explained that the most difficult part of the situation for workers is that no one knows how long or deep the current downturn in the steel industry will be.

“It may get worse before it gets better,” he said. “I personally think things will turn around eventually. But the question is when.”

Boone said U.S. Steel also is scaling back production at its Granite City Works operations in southern Illinois. There at the mill, the company expects to temporarily lay off 300 union-represented employees and 90 salaried management workers, as it ratchets down steel production.

In December, U.S. Steel halted production at Keetac, a taconite operation in Keewatin that employs about 380 people.

Two hundred twenty seven skilled trades workers get layoff notices

2009-02-21T18:10:00.000-05:00

By Melissa Mancini

OSHAWA -- More than 200 skilled trades workers at the Oshawa car plant got layoff notices this week.

The cut is a result of two previously announced production-slowing measures.

In November GM announced the line rate in the plant would be reduced because the Buick would no longer be built in Oshawa.

In December the company announced it would cut the third shift at the car plant. The move resulted in 1,200 layoffs.

When the shift was cut GM spokeswoman Patty Faith said it was considered temporary, the result of declining U.S. auto sales. The third shift has been off since Christmas.

The skilled trades workers affected by these previous cuts are just being impacted now, Ms. Faith said.

"Skilled trades had been retained to support other plant activities related to the Flex line, etc, which is why they are just receiving their notices now, but they are part of that 1,200," Ms. Faith said in an e-mail.

State to lay off 20K workers, halt construction projects

2009-02-21T18:08:00.000-05:00

A Times-Standard Staff Report

Posted: 02/19/2009 01:30:19 AM PST

As the contentious budget stalemate plods on in Sacramento, with recent announcements of stop-work orders and tens of thousands of layoffs, local representatives are starting to say they should shoulder some of the burden.

A plan to address the state's $42 billion budget deficit has seemingly stalled in the state Senate after days of marathon sessions left the package one vote shy of passage. Consequently, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced this week the state would begin the process of laying off 20,000 employees effective July 1 and would order work stoppages on 276 projects throughout the state in a desperate attempt to slow the state's fiscal bleeding.

With the state already having instituted mandatory work furloughs and pay cuts, local representatives state Sen. Patricia Wiggins and Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro said this week it would only be fair for legislators to consider shouldering some of the burden in a show of sacrifice and solidarity.

Asked if she would consider supporting a pay cut for legislators or their sacrificing the per diems -- the $170 they are paid by the state for every day they are in session -- for the duration of the budget stalemate, Wiggins said the Legislature has already taken a hit, but that more should be considered.

”It's only proper, and fair, that members of the Legislature consider shouldering our share of the burden -- we're making reductions in the Senate's own budget, for example, but we should consider other options as well,” Wiggins said in a statement released Wednesday.

Chesbro had a similar take.

”I think that would be absolutely fair if everyone else is taking a reduction,” Chesbro said of taking a pay cut during an interview Tuesday with Eureka's KINS Radio, adding that he would both personally look into the option and encourage his colleagues to do the same.

According to a list provided by the State Department of Finance, the governor's order will halt work on three Humboldt County projects with an estimated value of more than $40 million, meaning less work for local construction crews.

A $1.75 million project at Fortuna Elementary School has been stopped, as well as an almost $16 million project to revamp the interchange between U.S. Highway 101 and State Route 36. But, the largest local project to be shelved was $23.1 million in state funds for a North Coast Integrated Watershed Management Plan. One of Humboldt's neighbors to the south, Willits in Mendocino County, also saw the state halt work this week on $1 million in wastewater treatment plant upgrades.

But the largest worry in the state, that of mass layoffs of state employees, seems to have spared Humboldt County for the most part, at least so far.

The State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will take the largest brunt of the layoffs, according to Lynelle Jolley, a spokeswoman for the State Personnel Administration Department, adding that corrections is by far the largest general fund-dependent department in the state.

Up at Pelican Bay State Prison in Del Norte County, spokesman Lt. Ken Thomas said it's too early to say how many of the prison's 1,700 employees will be affected, but said it's unlikely the prison will escape the layoffs unscathed.

Thomas said there are 67,000 employees in the state's corrections department, and that 13,000 -- or just under 20 percent -- of them are expected to receive layoff notices. If the layoffs are applied proportionally throughout the state's prisons, that means Pelican Bay Prison could lose almost 350 employees.

”Although we've not received anything from Sacramento identifying any specific positions, to think Pelican Bay would go through a process like that without anybody being affected is unlikely,” Thomas said.

Back in Humboldt County, most agencies said it's too early to tell, but that they are looking to escape this round of layoffs unscathed.

”We have not heard anything about layoffs yet from the personnel administration -- it has not been passed down to our department,” said Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant. “We are in a wait-and-see mode.”

Jolley said two departments that definitely won't be touched by layoffs are the Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Highway Patrol, both of which are considered revenue-generating agencies and are financially self-sufficient.

But Wiggins cautioned that state workers aren't the only ones facing layoffs, and that the governor's decision to shut down 276 infrastructure projects means the loss of tens of thousands of construction jobs.

”That's 65,000 good-paying construction jobs in California -- gone,” she said. “One vote could turn that around. The governor says that he will lay off 20,000 state workers if we do not have a budget. One vote could turn that around. These are Californians who are out of work as a direct result of us not having a state budget.”

Times-Standard staff writers John Driscoll, Sean Garmire, Thadeus Greenson, Donna Tam and Erin Tracy contributed to this report.p

Agilent to layoff 600 more workers

2009-02-21T18:06:00.000-05:00

Tech company has three Delaware sites

By ANDREW EDER • The News Journal • February 19, 2009

Agilent Technologies Inc., facing fewer orders for its scientific testing instruments, plans to cut another 600 workers after announcing a first round of layoffs in December.

Agilent spokesman Bob Lydum said it was unknown if the job cuts would affect employment at the company's three sites in Delaware, where it makes chemical testing equipment for corporations, crime labs, universities and environmental scientists.

The company, which employs about 700 in Delaware, announced its plans Tuesday as it said fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 47 percent from a year earlier.

Revenue was down 16 percent to $1.17 billion as the company "felt the full brunt of the severe, worldwide economic downturn," Agilent President and CEO Bill Sullivan said.

In December, Agilent said it would cut most employees' pay 10 percent and cut 500 full-time and 300 temporary positions. The company said at the time that employees at three Delaware sites would not be affected by the layoffs.

Agilent's Delaware operations are part of the company's bio-analytical measurement segment, which saw nearly three years of double-digit growth in orders come to an end in the first quarter as orders fell 2 percent from a year ago.

Customers suffering from the recession were less willing to spend on the big-ticket equipment, which can range in price from $30,000 to more than $200,000.

But the bio-analytical measurement segment saw operating income rise 16 percent to $101 million, the strongest performance among Agilent's three main businesses. Operating income for the electronic measurement segment plunged 90 percent to $7 million, and the semiconductor and board test segment swung from a $3 million profit last year to a loss of $13 million.

Lydum said the bio-analytical instruments are benefiting from the growing global market for food safety testing, which is helping to offset weakness in other markets.

"At this point, that is our fastest growing market," Lydum said.

Contact Andrew Eder at 324-2789 or aeder@delawareonline.com.

Lodi Unified School District trustees approve layoff of 390 teachers

2009-02-21T18:05:00.000-05:00

More cuts expected in April

By Jennifer Bonnett
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Updated: Thursday, February 19, 2009 7:52 AM PST

Comments (32 comment(s))

Lodi Unified will issue 390 teacher layoff notices and cut seven additional positions from the administration office following a board decision made early Wednesday.

Trustees voted 6-1, with Harvey Bills dissenting.

"There's been a cry that we need to do more in the administration office," board president Richard Jones said. "In the public comments, they said we should do more, so we listened."

The vote wasn't taken until well after midnight and five hours after the meeting started.

"In the long run, it was better to hear everyone," Jones said.

The meeting took place in McNair High School's theater, which accommodates 720.

Trustees are expected to vote on cutting 110 other positions at a meeting in April to continue to close the $25 million budget gap for the 2009-10 school year. The district currently employs 3,100 and is one of the area's largest employers.

"It's all devastating," Superintendent Cathy Nichols-Washer said of the cuts, which she blames on the state Legislature's inability to pass a budget. "It's destruction, it's hard to even express the words. It's heart breaking. It goes against everything we even believe in. It's hurting so many, so deep, but I'm not going to give up hope."

Sue Kenmotsu, president of the Lodi Education Association, said Wednesday she was happy to see that the board listened to the speakers who called for further cuts in administration. Trustees discussed eliminating other similar positions, including the principal of Elkhorn School, but it wasn't included in the final vote.

The actual action taken at the meeting was to eliminate services delivered by certificated staff.

"That means when a service is eliminated or reduced, it will reduce staff," Nichols-Washer said.

The board is legally required to notify employees of potential layoffs on March 15 with final notices issued May 15. After that, the board can rescind any layoff notices, including the 45 positions approved by the board last month.

Classified employees must be notified 45 days before being laid off, so that resolution will go before the board April 7, Nichols-Washer said.

The district is suffering from a drop in interest income and local developer fees, as well as a historic decline in enrollment.

Districts receive per-pupil funding, and as of last month, Lodi Unified had 810 fewer students than last school year and expects that number to increase heading into next school year. Most of those students are from elementary schools in north Stockton.

Meanwhile, Nichols-Washer said the district will continue pursuing suggestions from the public and her Budget Advisory Committee will continue to meet to formulate reduction recommendations to take before the school board. About 80 percent of the district's budget goes toward personnel.

Contact reporter Jennifer Bonnett at jenniferb@lodinews.com.

GOODYEAR LAYOFF: Goodyear to fire 5000, freeze salaries

2009-02-21T18:04:00.001-05:00

Goodyear Layoff news - latest announcement

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. is the largest U.S. tiremaker. Goodyear has announced that it will layoff 5000 employees. The 5000 jobs to be cut will be cut worldwide by the end of 2009. Moreover, the Goodyear layoff announcement also said that it will freeze salaries and cut production capacity.

The following quote is from Reuters:

Goodyear said the planned 5,000 job cuts will come from the salaried and hourly ranks worldwide, but did not specify how the cuts would be divided or what regions they would come from.

Goodyear, the Arkon Ohio-based company, has already cut 4000 jobs in the second half of 2008 and the above job layoffs are in addition to these job cuts. Goodyear employes around 71000 workers worldwide, thus the above job cuts amount to reducing its total workforce by about 7%.

Reason for Goodyear layoff - Goodyear job redundancies

Goodyear Chief Executive Robert Keegan said

"The global economic slowdown has increased both in severity and geographic scope throughout the year. We are aggressively adjusting our plans to the new market realities,"

Goodyear had reported a net loss of $330 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 as compared to a $53 million profit in the same quarter last year. The above job layoffs and cuts in production are a part of Goodyear's restructuring program which is aimed at reducing costs by about $700 million this year.

Transcontinental slashes 10% of workforce

2009-02-21T18:02:00.000-05:00

A clampdown on ad spending further jolted the media industry Wednesday, as Montreal-based publisher and printer Transcontinental Inc. slashed 10% of its North American workforce.

The company said clients have cancelled printing and direct-mail projects, as well as planned advertising in magazines, in a bid to cut costs during the recession.

Popular titles in the Transcontinental library include Canadian Living and The Hockey News. The company also prints books, flyers and newspapers for various clients.

"In recent weeks the rapid deterioration of the economy has reduced the communication and marketing investments of a number of Transcontinental's customers, significantly affecting some of the [its] business niches," read a statement from the company.

The company said the 1,500 layoffs and other cost-cutting measures will save $75-million annually, including $50-million this year.

Half the cuts will occur at the company's U.S. operations, including 500 employees at the company's direct-mail business, and 10% at printing plants in Mexico. The remaining 40% are in Canada, with half of those in Quebec.

The company's Canadian media business, which publishes magazines and community newspapers, will eliminate 100 positions, with pink slips for Toronto-area workers starting yesterday morning.

Transcontinental divides along three business lines - commercial printing, marketing products and media. Each segment accounted equally to the company's bottom line in the last quarter.

Magazine publishers are suffering from a loss of advertising revenue, with the number of advertising pages in Canadian magazines sliding 16% in the fourth quarter, according to Leading National Advertisers Canada. That mirrors a steep decline in advertising revenue for U.S magazines.

One Bay Street analyst said Wednesday that the payroll cuts show the dire situation facing Canadian media companies.

The degree of "restructuring provides further evidence of the major headwinds facing all media companies, and particularly the publishers and printers," Drew McReynolds, RBC Capital Markets media analyst, wrote in a note to clients.

He singled out Torstar Corp., publisher of the Toronto Star, warning investors to maintain a "cautious view" on the company.

A memo from Transcontinental Media president Natalie Larivière said senior management would take two weeks of unpaid vacation this year, but continue to work during that period.

Other cost-cutting measures at Transcontinental include a hiring freeze, forced unpaid leave and shortened work weeks. The company will cease printing of Canadian Home & Country magazine, although it will continue to publish on the Internet.

Transcontinental shares fell 4% Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange to $8.60.

Transcontinental spokesperson Nessa Prendergast said the layoffs will be carried out over the remainder of this year.

"For the rest of fiscal 2009 we don't expect there will be more than the 1,500 we announced today," she said.

Ms. Larivière ended her memo by warning of tough times still to come.

"The economical prognosis is not getting better, and we need to be fully prepared for a difficult year ahead of us."

Schwarzenegger sends out 10,000 layoff notices

2009-02-21T18:00:00.000-05:00

CNN) -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued 10,000 layoff notices Tuesday, affecting a wide spectrum of state employees and aimed at dealing with the state's budget crisis, a spokesman said.

Unemployed construction workers demonstrate in Los Angeles, California.

California lawmakers resumed negotiations late Tuesday after the longest legislative session in state history over the weekend resulted in a budget impasse.

"Every state employee who receives a salary under the general fund is affected, and the governor began issuing layoff notices for the least-senior employees in various agencies," said Aaron McLear, the governor's press secretary.

The layoffs would begin on July 1, which marks the fiscal year, and includes jobs in the Departments of Health and Human Services and Corrections, among others, McLear said. Another 10,000 layoff notices could be issued on Wednesday in other departments, he said.

The governor, facing a $42 billion deficit, was prompted to move on the layoff notices after lawmakers missed a Monday night deadline to reach a budget deal, McLear told CNN late Monday.

The Republican governor, who declared a fiscal emergency in December, has butted heads for months with the Democratic majority over alleviating the state's $11.2 billion revenue shortfall this fiscal year alone. The cuts would save California $750 million for the year. The state's $42 billion deficit is for the current and next fiscal years. iReport.com: What you'd fix first

Schwarzenegger warned lawmakers about the cuts last week, urging them to approve the latest budget proposal. However, voting was stalled over a 30-hour weekend session as the legislature mulled over 26 pieces of legislation that make up the budget package. Interactive: See projected state budget gaps »

The State Assembly in Sacramento postponed action until Tuesday. A single Republican vote was holding the budget from passing with a two-thirds majority, McLear said. The cuts wouldn't begin until the start of the fiscal year on July 1, starting with employees with the least seniority.

Last month, the state began delaying $3.5 billion in payments to taxpayers, contractors, counties and social service agencies so the state could continue funding schools and making debt payments. Watch more on California's budget woes »

On Tuesday, Kansas managed to work through its budget issues, which had forced the state to suspend tax refunds and caused concern it would not be able to to pay state employees.

But Gov. Kathleen Sebelius ended the budget impasse by signing a bill to balance the budget, according to CNN affiliate KMBC-TV.

The signing of the bill was a key demand for Republicans who had been blocking the Democratic governor's plan to transfer $225 million into the state's main bank account from other state government accounts.

With her signature, Sebelius ended a cash crunch a half-hour before a key payroll budget deadline.

KMBC reported the state's 42,000 employees should receive their biweekly paychecks on time Friday.

With Sebelius' signature on the bill, the state may not have had enough money to pay state employees, or provide money for schools and health-care providers. Kansas also stopped processing income tax refunds last week because of low funds, said Department of Administration spokesman Gavin Young.

"This political game the Republican leaders are playing affects real Kansas families," Sebelius had said Monday in a written statement. "The Republican legislative leadership is jeopardizing our citizens' pocketbooks for no other reason than to play political games -- games in which the only ones set to lose are Kansas families, workers and schools."

Kansas' money problems stem in part from the recession, but also from "substantial" funding to finance public schools and Medicaid, said Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt.

Young said as of Monday, Kansas only had $10 million in its general fund. The state has some 42,000 full-time employees, but about 55,000 paychecks are affected, he said.

And the economic woes are also a problem for neighboring Colorado. State workers may face unpaid time off in an effort to spare Colorado's colleges and universities millions of dollars in budget cuts, KUSA-TV reported Tuesday. Interactive: Estimated job growth across the country

Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, announced plans recently to furlough some state workers in an effort to balance the budget. There is roughly $600 million in budget cuts that need to be made by the end of this fiscal year in June, according to KUSA.

State lawmakers will debate a bill in the House later this week that would require furloughs for state workers depending on how much money they make.

"It's drastic, but we're in a drastic situation," Rep. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, told KUSA.

If the bill passes, state employees making $60,000 or more would be subject to two unpaid days off per month. Those earning $40,000-$59,999 would be forced to take one and a half days off. Anyone taking home $39,999 or less would take one furlough day per month.

Denver's Democratic Mayor John Hickenlooper instituted a furlough system for city workers.

In Washington state, KOMO-TV reports that proposed budget cuts have led to protests in its capital, Olympia.

State officials are looking at some $300 million in cuts as part of a package the governor is expected to sign this week. Lawmakers are also aiming to cut nearly $6 billion over the next two years.

But about 100 union members, state employees, school supporters and health-care providers rallied on the lawn of the Capitol, telling lawmakers to stop the budget cuts to health care and education and prevent tuition hikes. State employees say they want fair pay, better benefits and pensions and no layoffs.

"We're in challenging times, and I think the government needs to be looking at things in a new way," Rodolfo Franco, president of the Local 304 chapter of the Washington Federation of State Employees, told KOMO.

The budgetary woes are also affecting Hawaii, a state heavily dependent on tourism and hospitality that is typical hit hard by a recession.

Hawaii faces a nearly $2 billion budget shortfall in the upcoming fiscal year. That figure has led legislators to seek alternative ways of balancing the budget, including possible reductions in health and retirements benefits for government workers, KHNL-TV in Honolulu, Hawaii, reported Tuesday.

One bill being debated in the legislature aims to cut off insurance benefits for all employees retiring after July 1 regardless of how many years the employee earns.

On the East Coast, states including New York and Florida, which have high unemployment rates and huge budget shortfalls, are also looking to cut programs. Watch more on how the stimulus plan will work »

In New York, the expected budget shortfall is around $1.7 billion, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

President Obama took his economic stimulus message to Florida last week to hard-hit Fort Myers. The jobless rate in the area is 10 percent, up from 2.3 percent this time in 2006, and the area's foreclosure rate of 12 percent is the highest in the nation. Interactive: See where the stimulus money is going »

And Michigan's Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, whose state has been especially hard-hit by the recession and the near-collapse of its auto industry, says job creation is paramount to turning the economy around.

"We see the impact of this every day, and I'm speaking not just for Michigan, but for governors across the country. We need help. We need it now. And it's not about budgets; it's about creating jobs in our states," she said recently on CNN's State of the Union with John King.

That sentiment is echoed by nearly every governor, as witnessed by an urgent statement put out by the National Governors Association in late January.

"States are facing fiscal conditions not seen since the Great Depression -- anticipated budget shortfalls are expected in excess of $200 billion. To address these shortfalls and meet balanced budget requirements, states have begun taking action to cut government services or increase revenue. Absent federal action, states will have to take even stronger actions that will make the recession more severe and slow the nation's economic recovery," the group said in a letter released January 27

Boeing issues 1,100 layoff warnings

2009-02-21T17:23:00.000-05:00

Follow link to read article under copywright

UK jobless total at 1.97 million

2009-02-17T15:20:00.000-05:00

UK unemployment rose to 1.97 million between October and December, the highest level since 1997, figures show.

The jobless number climbed 146,000 for the three-month period, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.

For January, the number of those getting jobseeker's allowance added 73,800 to reach 1.23 million.

The unemployment rate hit 6.3%, the highest since 1998, and comes as The Bank of England recently warned of a "deep recession" for 2009.

See how unemployment has risen

Many analysts had forecast that unemployment could reach two million for the three-month period - which would have been the highest since 1997.

But there are fears the situation will worsen further in the months ahead as the economy cools.

Tony Dolphin, senior economist at the Institute for Public Policy Research said: "Unfortunately it seems inevitable that unemployment will exceed 3 million during 2009".

As the recession bites, this strengthens still further the case for making a sharp reduction in the number of non-EU workers permitted to come to Britain

Sir Andrew Green, Migration Watch

Increase in foreign-born workers

Peter Mooney, head of consultancy with Employment Law Advisory Services, said: "From early in December, the number of firms seeking our help in making redundancies simply exploded."

He added: "Things will certainly get worse before they get better. We would expect to see another significant increase in the number of people out of work in the figures published next month, as many more firms were forced to cut staff early in the New Year."

Young people between the age of 18 and 24 have been particularly hard hit, with the unemployment rate for the three-month period standing at 11.8%.

The number of those receiving jobseeker's allowance has now climbed for 12 consecutive months. At 1.23 million, it stands at the highest level since the summer of 1999.

Apprenticeships

Following the release of the data, David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, commented: "Unemployment continues to rise in the face of a worsening recession.

"We know businesses do not want to lose key staff, but they are struggling with cash-flow."

Mr Kern added that cutting business rates, freezing the national minimum wage and scrapping plans to increase National Insurance would help firms retain employees.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is meeting business leaders later to discuss how to help.

We know businesses do not want to lose key staff, but they are struggling with cash-flow

David Kern, chief economist, British Chambers of Commerce

Special report: Britain's jobless

Executives from Sainsbury's, the Royal Mail, Whitbread, Centrica, National Express and Travelodge are expected to attend Downing Street for the first meeting of the National Employment Partnership.

The companies, as well as NHS and local authority leaders, will agree to advertise all non-specialist vacancies through the Jobcentre Plus network and to start offering more apprenticeships.

FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME

Boeing sends 668 layoff notices

2009-02-14T13:12:00.000-05:00

Read article under copyright at website

Sears Holdings Corp. to lay off 145 employees at Naperville call center

2009-02-14T13:09:00.000-05:00

Sears Holdings Corp. plans to lay off 145 employees at its call center in Naperville, according to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification report for January.

Sears filed the announcement of the call center’s closing on Jan. 27, three days before the company made very public its decision to lay off 300 corporate employees, or 4.3 percent of its 6,900-member workforce, in response to a sharp decline in consumer spending. Those cuts were made at the company’s Hoffman Estates, headquarters, as well as its offices in Troy, Mich., and New York City.

Sears did not respond to calls for a comment Tuesday.

“I think 2009 is going to be another difficult year for retail in general, particularly for discretionary retailers like Sears selling big-ticket items,” said Kim Picciola, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. in Chicago. “They’re looking at their business, looking at ways to reduce cost structure and manage their inventory as they navigate this difficult consumer environment.”

January’s WARN report, released Tuesday, showed planned layoffs of more than 3,700 workers, half the more than 7,400 layoffs reported in December. Under Illinois’ WARN Act, employers must provide 60 days’ notice of pending plant closures or mass layoffs, defined as impacting at least 25 employees or 33 percent of workers at a single site.

Among the 26 other companies filing with WARN in January were the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Chicago-based Bretford Manufacturing Inc. and major retailers like The Home Depot Inc. and Target Corp., which cited relocations, downsizing and reductions in orders as some of the reasons for company layoffs.

According to the report, Sears will begin to lay off employees at the Naperville call center on Mar. 28.

For these employees and the thousands of others being pushed out of the work force, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity offers some support for the recently laid-off.

“When a WARN notice comes into our department, it serves as an alert for us to have a rapid response team available to serve the employees that are affected by these events,” said Ashley Cross, spokeswoman for the state agency.

“First, we send workforce development officials, department representatives and people from the Illinois Department of Employment Security to meet with the company that is making the layoffs, and then conduct pre-layoff workshops with impacted workers,” she said.

According to Cross, these voluntary workshops provide WARN-reported employees with access to a wide range of state services, including unemployment insurance, resume reviews, child care and career counseling.

Separately, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday that the total labor turnover rate reached 3.7 percent in December, a 0.4 percentage-point jump from November. The BLS attributed the steep increase in turnover to the widespread layoffs and discharges which companies like Sears have been implementing.

The BLS said the retail industry saw the biggest decrease in job openings, down 21 percent to 305,000 in December, from 386,000 in November.

Xstrata announces layoff of 686 at Sudbury operations

2009-02-14T13:06:00.000-05:00

Xstrata Nickel today announced an immediate three-day shutdown of operations and the layoff 686 positions at its Sudbury operations.

The company made the announcement this morning on its web site.

The restructure was "in response to ongoing challenging market conditions."

The company also said it was closing immediately its Craig and Thayer-Lindsley operations which had reached their end of life.

In addition, the Fraser Mine Complex will be placed on a care and maintenance schedule. Associated support and administrative functions will be reorganized. The Strathcona Mill, with an annual capacity of 2.7 million tonnes of ore, will be reduced to two work shifts from four as a result of reduced feed. In addition, the Fraser Morgan development project will be deferred.

Production from the company's Sudbury smelter is not expected to be affected as shortfalls from the Sudbury production cuts will be made up for with concentrates from the company's Nickel Rim South and Xstrata Nickel Australasia operations. Concentrates will also continue to be processed from Xstrata Nickel’s Montcalm and Raglan operations, together with third-party feed.

Nissan to layoff 20,000 jobs worldwide

2009-02-14T13:05:00.000-05:00

TOKYO, Feb 9 (KUNA) -- Japan's third-largest automaker Nissan Motor Co. said Monday it will layoff some 20,000 jobs around the world by March 2010 after expecting a net loss in fiscal 2008 ending March 31.

The jobs, which amount to 8.5 percent of its worldwide work force, will reduce Nissan's employees from 235,000 to 215,000 amid the current global economic and financial crisis, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement.

The car maker expects to post a net loss of JPY 265 billion (USD 2.91 billion) for the current business year, compared with JPY 160 billion (USD 1.

76 billion) in profit projected in October.

It will be the first loss since President Carlos Ghosn became the firm's chief executive officer in 1999, when France's Renault SA entered a capital tie-up with Nissan.

It also reported a net loss of JPY 83.2 billion (USD 914 million) for the October-December quarter, driven by the severe downturn in the global economy, in particular, the negative impact of the strong yen, the sharp decline in consumer confidence in all major markets, it said.

Toyota Motor Corp. the world's No.1 automaker, also said last week that it forecasts a JPY 350 billion (USD 3.84 billion) group net loss for the year ending March 31.

Layoffs Hit World's Largest Retailers

2009-02-14T13:04:00.001-05:00

The world's largest retailer is not immune to the global recession despite a recent jump in sales.

U.S.-based Wal-Mart is laying off up to 800 employees at the company's headquarters in the southern U.S. state of Arkansas.

A Wal-Mart spokesman confirmed the job cuts, but said the retailer plans to add thousands of jobs at its stores across the country. Last week, the Wal-Mart said same-store sales jumped more than two percent in January after the chain cut prices on a range of products.

Major job cuts are also coming to two European banking giants.

Switzerland's UBS CEO, Marcel Rohner, at a press conference announcing the 2008 full year result in Zurich, Switzerland, 10 Feb 2009

Switzerland's UBS is slashing more than 2,000 jobs at its investment division and cutting executive bonuses after losing almost $17 billion in 2008.

Bank officials Tuesday blamed part of the loss on customers who withdrew about $73 billion in the 4th quarter.

Meanwhile, Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland RBS said it will eliminate 2,300 jobs.

Both UBS and RBS had to be bailed out by their respective governments.

The former top executives at RBS and fellow British bank HBOS apologized Tuesday to British lawmakers and the public for policies that almost caused both institutions to collapse.

However, they also said it was impossible to predict events that led to the financial crisis.

Earlier, U.S. Telecommunications giant Qwest Communications International said it will cut about 1,700 jobs after its 4th quarter income fell almost 50 percent.

In contrast, one of the world's top makers of computer chips is getting ready to make a major investment.

U.S.-based Intel said it will invest $7 billion in new manufacturing facilities.

Intel said the new facilities will focus on making advanced computer chips that are both faster and more energy efficient. The company said the investment will help support 7,000 jobs.

FedEx Freight layoffs will number 900

2009-02-14T13:02:00.000-05:00

FedEx Freight is making “staffing adjustments” to about 900 positions at 150 of its facilities.

Employees were made aware of the cuts in an e-mail to employees by FedEx Freight president and CEO Doug Duncan Thursday.

Duncan cited a continued decline in consumer spending and overall industrial production as putting unprecedented pressures on the trucking industry.

“It’s the worst I have seen in my 30-plus years in this business,” Duncan stated in the release. “The outstanding value proposition and customer service that our team delivers every day is still growing significant market share, but not sufficiently to counter deep declines in our base customer volumes.”

Memphis Business Journal reported Friday FedEx Freight laid off an unknown number of local dock workers on Thursday. Sources had indicated the cuts totaled at least 25 Memphis workers.

Duncan’s e-mail puts the number of affected employees at considerably higher levels, although it did not specify the level of employment, types of jobs affected or locations where the cuts would be made.

“Clearly these staffing adjustments affect individuals in different and personal ways,” the e-mail stated. “We will work diligently to assist employees through these transitions, helping them to understand these changes as well as their options.

“We are taking these steps to navigate through this incredibly challenging environment and remain strong and competitive,” Duncan continued. “Our commitment to serving customers will not change, and these actions will not hinder our ability to provide the industry-leading service our customers have come to expect.”

FedEx said the company will offer an option for affected employees to transfer to other positions or the employees could be recalled if conditions improve in the next three months. FedEx will offer severance packages to affected employees and maintain health benefits for 30 days.

These latest cuts come just months after FedEx first announced a round of cost-cutting efforts in December when the company announced executives and other salaried employees would receive a pay cuts in order to avoid layoffs.

FedEx CEO Fred Smith said in a statement he would cut his own salary by 20 percent and other senior executives would take a 7.5-10 percent salary cut. U.S. salaried employees received a 5 percent cut.

FedEx projected the cuts would help the company save more than $200 million in the remainder of fiscal year 2009 and $600 million more in fiscal 2010.

Though the pay cuts were widely received as groundbreaking efforts in avoiding layoffs, FedEx did add that it was “evaluating other measures should business conditions further deteriorate” in the December announcement.

A FedEx spokesperson said Monday that the December adjustments were based on business levels and forecasts at that time. Since then, there has been "greater than anticipated deterioration" in business.

Although FedEx has seen profits suffer in all of its companies due to the economic crisis, LTL providers have been particularly hurt by declining freight volumes.

In 2008, LTL providers YRC Worldwide Inc., Con-way Freight and Saia Inc. all announced significant national layoffs in an effort to trim expenses.

According to the latest figures from the American Trucking Associations, the For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index fell 11.1 percent in December, marking the largest month-to-month reduction since April 1994, when the unionized less-than-truckload industry was in the midst of a strike.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) is Memphis’ largest employer, counting about 30,000 on its payroll locally.

UC hospital plans layoffs and other cost-cutting

2009-02-14T12:42:00.000-05:00

CHICAGO - The University of Chicago Medical Center says the tough economy is forcing it to eliminate 450 jobs. And hundreds are to be cut through attrition.

It's all part of a $100 million cost-cutting plan recently announced by the South Side hospital.

Spokesman John Easton says the financial woes stem from a decrease in endowments, fewer patients and a delay in payments from the state Medicaid program for treating low-income patients.

The cuts announced Monday include eliminating more than 30 patient beds and two doctors' offices on the South Side.

Medical center chief executive officer James Madara says he regrets losing so many employees, "especially at such a challenging time in the job market."

Swedish Medical Center in Seattle to Layoff 200

2009-02-14T12:23:00.000-05:00

Thu, Feb 5, 2009

Job Loss, Trends, Unemployment

Swedish Medical Center, the largest hospital chain in Western Washington will be laying off 200 people. The 200 count includes more than 20 senior executives. The layoffs are an attempt at reducing costs. The hospital claims they will save between $20 and $25 million.

Swedish Medical Center is a nonprofit health care provider. It has three main hospitals located in Seattle, as well as affiliations with several suburban hospitals and clinics.

Workers were notified on Tuesday if they were to lose their jobs. They were also told about the future.

The first layoffs will start with upper management. This includes 4 vice presidents and 22 directors. Next week, another 175 managers and support staff will get the axe.

“Since we made the pledge last year that there would be no cyclical layoffs, the world has changed dramatically,” said Rod Hochman, CEO of the hospital. “Current conditions are not part of the boom and bust cycle industry we described, but rather a complete re-setting of the global economy.”

Spared in the layoffs are doctors, nurses, and nursing assistants.

Pier 1 Imports announces layoffs and store closings

2009-02-14T12:22:00.000-05:00

Pier 1 Imports(NYSE: PIR) is moving up in the ranks of layoff kings by announcing that it will lay off another 10% of its "full time equivalent positions in its distribution center, home office, and field administration areas."

The layoffs could hit stores too. The company disclosed that it is negotiating with landlords in an effort to negotiate lower rent payments to help cope with its tanking sales. In the press release, Pier 1 noted that "The Company has begun negotiating with landlords to achieve rental reductions across the chain. These negotiations may lead to the execution of early termination agreements for up to 125 underperforming store locations, if rental reduction negotiations on those locations prove unsuccessful." That figure represents more than 10% of Pier 1's approximately 1,100 store base.

With Pier 1's stock trading at a market cap of just $30 million and a share price of 33 cents, many investors seem to think this story will end with bankruptcy. The company has boasted that it has strong liquidity in its most recent earnings reports, but continuing sales declines, writeoffs and restructuring expenses could eat into that. Restructuring leases is an important step in turning around the company and the timing is good since if Pier 1 closes stores, landlords will have a hard time finding new tenants.

Unemployment rate highest in 16 years; 598,000 layoffs announced in January

2009-02-14T12:20:00.000-05:00

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest damage report with regard to the jobs scenario, the worrying pace at which massive layoffs were announced by industries has resulted in the highestunemployment rate in the last 16 years.

The leap in jobless rate to 7.6 percent was an upshot of the nearly 598,000 layoffs in January. Figures show that out of the 3.6 million jobs cut since December 2007, when the downturn began, almost half of the job-cuts came during the last three-month span.

As per the January unemployment figures of the recession-hit economy, the manufacturing sector cut 207,000 jobs - the largest layoffs in one single month since October
1982 - while construction cut 111,000 jobs. On the whole, the unemployed figures for January stood at 11.6 million.

Emphasizing the need for swift passage the economic stimulus bill, Sen. Edward Kennedy said that the job-loss figures bear out the fact that the economy remains in "free-fall," and added: "We need strong measures to put people back to work."

In the opinion of most economists, the economy is expected to go from bad to worse before a turnaround for the better; and the unemployment rate may even rise to 9 percent before improving.

Bank of Americs chief economist, Mickey Levy, said that, without doubt, the recession has intensified, and the economy at present is passing through its "worst part."

Jobless rate soars to 7.2% — analysts comment

2009-02-14T12:11:00.000-05:00

Posted: February 06, 2009, 12:16 PM by Jamie Sturgeon

Ottawa, Bank of Canada, Manufacturing, Economy, stimulus, Employment, Jobs

The Canadian unemployment rate climbed a much worse-than-expected 0.6% in January as a deteriorating economy shed another 129,000 last month, almost all in full-time positions, Statistics Canada reported Friday. The figure represents the worst single-month decline since the federal agency began tracking employment data in 1976. The jobless rate now sits at 7.2%. Here are some analysts' comments:

BENJAMIN REITZES, economist, BMO Capital Markets

"The figures are far worse than consensus and paint a bleak picture for the first quarter. The details were soft as well, with full-time positions tumbling 113,900. The unemployment rate surged 0.6 ppts to 7.2% — the highest since November 2004. Average hourly wage growth surprisingly accelerated to a 4-year high ... but don’t expect that to last with the big job losses. This bleak report will likely prompt a March rate cut by the Bank of Canada."

DAWN DESJARDINS, assistant chief economist, RBC Capital Markets

"Today's data just adds to the stream of increasingly grim reports on the state of Canada's economy. The Bank of Canada and federal government have made efforts to limit the extent of the downturn by implementing stimulative policies and although these actions will not prevent the economy from contracting in the near term, we expect they will contribute to a rebound by the second half of 2009."

DEREK HOLT, economist, Scotia Capital

"The optimists are taking body blows left, right and centre on what is a rapidly deteriorating picture for the Canadian economy. Manufacturing accounted for over 78% of the jobs losses in January as the sector shed 100,900 workers, the largest monthly decline in the industry on record. The bulk of the losses were in Ontario, Quebec and B.C. although factory employment was also down in Alberta and Manitoba."

CHARMAINE BUSKAS, senior strategist, TD Securities

"Finance Minister [Jim] Flaherty was right when he said that today’s employment numbers would be ‘regrettable'. Indeed, they were. The Canadian labour market report for January was absolutely disastrous, pushing the unemployment rate to 7.2% from 6.6% in December. What makes the report even worse is the fact that most of these jobs were private sector, full-time jobs. The case continues to build for another 50 [basis-point] rate cut in March to leave the overnight rate at 0.5%, as it is clear that the economy has downshifted dramatically."

AVERY SHENFELD, senior economist, CIBC World Markets

"Factories still count. Manufacturing no longer carries the heft it had in bygone days in terms of its share of employment, but its ups and downs still have much to do with the business cycle. You don’t trigger a recession by people getting their hair cut less often. Shut down much of the auto sector, as Canada did in the last couple of months, and kick other manufacturing sectors to a lesser degree, and the resulting layoffs explained most of the overall jobs decline. The only good news here is that at least some of these jobs will return later this year when, however slowly, excess inventories of North American vehicles and other manufactured goods are winnowed down."

YANICK DESNOYERS, assistant chief economist, National Bank Financial

"Jobs anxiety will certainly increase in the coming months as more job cuts are expected. That said, with the infrastructure plan taking effect probably in the second half of the year and a very accommodative monetary policy coming from the Bank of Canada, we still believe that the current recession will be shorter than the two previous one and are forecasting a more subdued rise in unemployment rate, with a target between 8% and 9%. This contrasts with the double digits unemployment rate of the last two recessions."

Jamie Sturgeon

New Zealand Jobless Rate Rises to Five-Year-High 4.6%

2009-02-14T12:09:00.000-05:00

Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- New Zealand’sjobless rate rose to a five-year high in the fourth quarter as a prolonged recession prompted companies to cut production and fire workers.

The unemployment rate increased to 4.6 percent from 4.2 percent in the previous three months, Statistics New Zealand said in Wellington today, citing seasonally adjusted figures. The forecast matched the median estimate of 10 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Rising unemployment will curb consumer spending and adds to signs New Zealand’s economy is unlikely to emerge from a recession until the second half of 2009. Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard has slashed interest rates and the government is lowering provisional tax payments to revive business confidence after it fell to a record low last year.

“Employers aren’t looking to take people on, which suggests the unemployment rate will go higher,” said Darren Gibbs, chief New Zealand economist at Deutsche Bank AG in Auckland. “The economy is slowing. The hours worked data suggest that if people were employed they weren’t doing as much.”

New Zealand’s dollar rose to 51.02 U.S. cents at 11:45 a.m. in Wellington from 50.68 cents immediately before the report, which also showed that employment unexpectedly increased in the quarter. The yield on a three-month bank-bill futures contract maturing in March rose 9 basis points to 3.2 percent. A basis point is 0.01 percentage points.

March Review

Traders reduced bets that Bollard may cut the interest rate by as much as 100 basis points at his next review in March, Gibbs said.

Employment rose 0.9 percent, or about 21,000 jobs, in the fourth quarter, the statistics agency said. Economists expected employers would shed 15,000 jobs. Employment also gained 0.9 percent from a year earlier.

Total actual hours worked declined 1.9 percent from the third quarter, adding to signs that output from the economy slowed, the agency said.

Telecom Corp., the largest telephone company, this week said it will shift 250 call-center jobs to Manila over the next 18 months to reduce costs. Air New Zealand Ltd., the largest airlines, is firing 200 workers including long-haul cabin crew as it reduces capacity on flights to Asia amid a slump in international travel.

New Zealand’s economy began contracting in the first quarter of last year and will probably remain in recession until June 30, Bollard said last week. The government reports fourth- quarter figures for gross domestic product on March 27.

Trading Outlook

A net 43 percent of companies expected trading would slow in the first three months of 2009, the most since records began in 1970, according to a New Zealand Institute of Economic Research Inc. survey published on Jan. 13. The net figure is calculated by subtracting those reporting an increase in activity from those seeing a drop.

The same survey showed a net 32 percent of companies expect to fire workers in the next year, the most since 1991.

Prime Minister John Key last month said the jobless rate could reach 7.5 percent by mid-2010 as the economy stands still this year. The U.S. jobless rate was 7.2 percent in December; Australia’s was 4.5 percent in January.

Bollard has cut the benchmark interest rate by 4.75 percentage points since July to 3.5 percent to bolster demand. Key yesterday announced a package of business tax reforms designed to reduce the frequency with which small and medium sized companies make tax payments.

Participation rate

The number of people unemployed rose to 105,000, the highest in more than six years.

The number of people working or seeking work rose 31,000 to 2,296,000 and most of the additional people found jobs, the agency said. The number not looking for work or unavailable to work declined 19,000.

The participation rate, which measures the proportion of the population working or seeking employment, rose to a record 69.3 percent from 68.7 percent in the third quarter. Economists expected 68.4 percent.

The highest unemployment rate since December 2003, when it was also 4.6 percent, will ease pressure on wages and slow spending, justifying Bollard’s decision to cut borrowing costs.

Wages for non-government workers rose 3.2 percent last year, the slowest pace in 18 months, the statistics agency said Feb. 2.

Full-time employment gained by 6,000 jobs, or 0.3 percent, in the fourth quarter after seasonal adjustments.

Part-time employment increased by 17,000 jobs, or 3.5 percent. Statistics New Zealand adjusts the full-time and part- time employment figures separately, which means they may not add to the total change in employment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tracy Withers in Wellington attwithers@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 4, 2009 18:07 EST

THQ To Lay Off 600

2009-02-13T20:53:00.000-05:00

Agoura Hills-based THQ, a developer and publisher of video games, said Wednesday that it is making "additional cost reduction actions" which includes the layoff of approximately 600 people, or 24 percent of the company's workforce. THQ said the move was a response to the continuing uncertainty in the market. The firm said that the cuts include a reduction in product development spending by an additional $70M, through "studio dispositions" and other project and headcount reductions. THQ also said it would chop sales, marketing, and corporate expenses--including headcount--to try to save an additional $30M annualy. The bad news came in conjunction with its quarterly results, where THQ said it had net sales in the quarter of $357.3M, down significantly from last year when it had net sales of $509.6M. In a statement explaining the results, THQ President and CEO Brian Farrell said it "fell short" of its revenue and profit due to a "challenging environment." The cuts announced Wednesday are on top of restructuring the firm announced in November.

S.A. call center to lay off 410 workers

2009-02-13T20:52:00.000-05:00

A call center company that has been in San Antonio since 1999 said Wednesday that it was closing one of its two local offices, leaving 410 people out of work at least temporarily.

Brett Saks, vice president of human resources for kgb, said he hopes a large number of those workers will find work with the kgb center at 6010 Exchange Parkway, the San Antonio facility that will remain open.

That center will look to hire about 30 people a week for the next 12 weeks, "possibly longer," Saks said in a prepared statement. All employees in good standing at the Wurzbach Road center that is closing will be encouraged to apply for the openings.

Kgb is a worldwide provider of directory assistance, customer care and other call center serviced that was known as INFONXX until last year.

It opened its first San Antonio center in 1999 with 300 employees and added a second office in 2003 during a growth spurt. Officials said in mid-2004, they expected the facilities would grow by 1,700 employees to a total of 2,200 workers.

The layoff, if it stays close to its current number, would be one of the largest the city has seen as the national economic shakeup worsens.

Kgb officials did not use the nosediving economy as a reason for the closing, however. It was instead “a business decision made for operational efficiency” after the lease on the Wurzbach Road facility expired, said spokeswoman Amy Wolfcale.

TIME WARNER TO LAY OFF 1,250

2009-02-13T20:50:00.000-05:00

Read more by following link to article protected by copyright

Allergan to lay off 100 in O.C., 460 worldwide

2009-02-13T20:49:00.000-05:00

Allergan Inc. says it is laying off 100 workers in Orange County, leaving about 2,000 employees at the Irvine headquarters of the maker of Botox and other health care drugs and devices.

The company will cut 460 jobs worldwide or about 5% of its total workforce, Chairman and Chief Executive David E.I. Pyott said today, announcing the earnings for 2008.

Pyott

“This is probably the worst day I’ve had in 10 years at Allergan,” Pyott said. “But the long-term health of the company is what it’s all about. Unfortunately, I’ve got to look after the 95% (of employees) who stay.”

The layoffs will primarily hit the marketing department and urology products division, Pyott said.

Allergan reported it earned a net profit of $150.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2008, down from $160.6 million for the same period in 2007. For the year, Allergan’s profit jumped to $578.6 million from $499.3 million in 2007.

Sales of Botox, the wrinkle treatment drug, slipped 3.1% in the fourth quarter to $329.2 million. Sales of all Allergan’s eye-care pharmaceuticals fell 3.6% to $466.9 million for the quarter.

Total sales for 2008 were $4.3 billion, up from $3.9 billion. Allergan forecast sales in 2009 will range between $4.1 billion and $4.3 billion.

Pyott said the company hopes sales will improve in 2010, but it is not planning for that to happen. On the negative side, American and European consumers are expected to scale back on purchases of products, such as Botox, which are not covered by insurance. On the positive side, new markets are opening in Asia for Botox, Pyott said, and six products are in the pipeline for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which could improve sales.

Hawker to eliminate 2,300 positions

2009-02-13T20:47:00.000-05:00

Wichita Business Journal - by Josh Heck

Increased challenges and further erosion of the aviation industry have forced Hawker Beechcraft Corp. to eliminate an additional 2,300 positions, Chairman and CEO Jim Schuster announced Tuesday in a letter to employees.

The action comes fewer than three months after the company announced in November it would eliminate 500 positions.

The majority of the affected persons will be notified by Friday, Schuster said.

“We at HBC have conducted a sweeping evaluation of our business plans and implemented a wide range of measures to dramatically reduce our costs,” Schuster wrote. “As a consequence of these actions, we will be forced to reduce our work force by approximately 2,300 employees before the end of the year.”

Hawker officials have not announced how many jobs will be affected in Wichita. Company spokesperson Andrew Broom says additional details about the layoffs will not be available until at least Friday.

The announcement comes less than a week after Cessna Aircraft Co. announced it would be laying off 1,500 more workers locally in an effort to reduce its company wide work force by 4,600. The Boeing Co. last week announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs this year, about 800 of which will affect Boeing IDS Wichita.

In his letter, Schuster also cited problems with the government’s stimulus package, which he said fails to loosen credit markets, and a slowing of orders from previously high-volume business segments.

Schuster also blamed the media and some politicians who have cast general aviation as “a wasteful extravagance instead of a critical business tool and the source of millions of American jobs.”

He said business aviation contributes $150 billion annually to the U.S. economy.

“The increased challenges that lay before us demand an extraordinary response from our company and the U.S. aviation industry to ensure our short-term stability and long-term success,” Schuster said. “This is an extremely painful step for the HBC family and community, but one that is absolutely necessary.”

It’s unclear whether Hawker will impose additional layoffs. Schuster said he couldn’t promise Tuesday’s layoffs would be the last at Hawker.

“While I wish I could commit to you that this will be our final action, I cannot do so at this time given the extreme volatility in the marketplace,” he said. “The bottom line is that we must be prepared to do whatever is required to make certain that we successfully emerge from the downturn.”

Hawker is Wichita’s third largest employer with 7,500 employees, according to a list that published last month in the Wichita Business Journal.

IBM Still Mired in Layoff Spiral

2009-02-13T20:45:00.001-05:00

By Darryl K. Taft
2009-02-03

IBM Still Mired in Layoff Spiral
( Page 1 of 2 )

As IBM continues to quietly lay off more than 4,800 workers, the company takes another blow to its image as documents leak about an effort called Project Match. Project Match helps IBM's U.S. and Canadian employees find jobs in countries where IBM is expanding, such as India and China, while IBM eliminates positions in the United States. Robert E. Kennedy, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, says global sourcing and offshoring are realities that IT infrastructure and software companies like IBM and their employees must come to accept. Also, as high-tech layoffs continue, what impact will there be on H-1B workers?

IBM continues to lay off employees and to take heat from employee groups for its practice of not providing more information such as exact numbers or other particulars on the layoffs. The word is IBM has eliminated nearly 5,000 positions since the action began in January, according to sources.

An IBM employee organization called Alliance@IBM says IBM has laid off more than 4,800 people, including 1,449 in Sales and Distribution, 1,419 in the IBM Software Group, 1,200 in IBM's Systems and Technology Group, 307 in IBM Finance, 193 in IBM Research, and 92 in human resources.

Meanwhile, according to reports, IBM has an effort called "Project Match" that aims to help IBM employees in the United States and Canada move overseas to work for IBM, or essentially "offshoring" themselves.

Although the Project Match initiative has been characterized as an either/or solution—where IBM employees are encouraged to either accept a job in India (or elsewhere) or lose their positions in the United States—it does not appear to be exactly that.

Of course, word of Project Match leaking as IBM is in the throes of a broad-based layoff that is a potential source of embarrassment for the company. The goal of the program—as stated in a document describing the program obtained by eWEEK—is not simply to displace workers or present them with unpalatable

The document says, "IBM has established Project Match to help you locate potential job opportunities in growth markets where your skills are in demand."

According to the document, countries where opportunities are available include Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Czech Republic, Hungary, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, India and China.

In addition, the Project Match document said, "Should you accept a position in one of these countries, IBM offers financial assistance to offset moving costs, [and] provides immigration support, such as visa assistance, and other support to help ease the transition of an international move."

Moreover, the document said:

Project Match is a fit for IBMers who are:
Eager to broaden their career and develop new business skills by living and working abroad—a valuable commodity in today's global economy.
Excited at the prospect of contributing to a developing economy, potentially taking on different job responsibilities.
Open to new experiences and cultures.
Satisfactory performers who have been notified of separation from IBM US or Canada and are willing to work on local terms and conditions.

Indeed, that last point is the kicker, as it points to employees who have been notified of "separation" from the company. Yet, IBM officials say Project Match is not intended as a primary outlet for such employees for a number of reasons—among them that the number of Project Match positions is limited.

Robert E. Kennedy, author with Ajay Sharma of a book on offshoring called "The Services Shift: Seizing the Ultimate Offshore Opportunity," executive director of the William E. Davidson Institute and the Tom Lantos Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, told eWEEK he believes IBM has simply come to grips with the new global economy and is making use of talent available throughout the world to reach maximum productivity and efficiency.

In Kennedy's view, asking IBM to refrain from employing overseas workers directly affects U.S. consumers, slows innovation and hurts the company's overall health.

Regarding the IBM layoffs, Kennedy told eWEEK, "There are at least two big pressures driving this. One is, by far, there is an economic downturn and IBM sales are suffering so they have to make cuts. And two is that globalization has come to the service sector and IBM knows it can move some jobs offshore."

IBM has been "very aggressive" over the last five years in expanding in India, but also—up to now—has been keeping its employment level steady in the United States, Kennedy said. However, the jobs offshored to India have been primarily transaction-oriented jobs such as accounting and back-office functions or technical specialties such as SAP programming, he said.

"But I'd say about 80 to 90 percent of what's happening now in terms of IBM layoffs is from the business downturn," Kennedy said. "In terms of laying off sales and distribution personnel, that function is done locally. They can't move that—so at least for that part of the layoffs, that has nothing to do with offshoring."

However, for IBM Software Group layoffs, "it's a little harder to tell," Kennedy said, noting that some of the software group efforts such as "work that has to be done close to the customer like needs analysis and requirements" cannot be offshored, while other software development activities can be.

Kennedy compared the current situation in services and technology to that of the textile industry. He said there used to be more than 3 million people working in the textile industry in the United States. "But it makes more sense to do textiles in a low-income country," Kennedy said. "Would you rather pay $10 for a t-shirt made in South Carolina or $5 for one made in Sri Lanka? Consumers want the $5 shirt. If we shift to services it's the same thing."

Kennedy said he grew up in Omaha, Neb., which used to be the call center capital. But it was still relatively expensive and inefficient when compared with India, he said. A call center employee in India might cost $400 a month, whereas one in Omaha might cost up to five times that, he said. Plus Indian call center employees on average are better educated and thus make fewer mistakes and require less supervision than their U.S. counterparts, which makes for a less expensive, more efficient operation, he said.

"In the long run, the only way for this country to raise incomes is to have us do more and more productive things," Kennedy said. "Or put another way, the only way to raise living standards is to move out of low-productivity activities into high-productivity activities. And it's the low and middle value-added sectors moving offshore."

For instance, "GM is stuck with high-cost, medium-skilled engineers," Kennedy said. "That's one reason it takes GM seven years to go from concept to design to the showroom floor [to produce a new car model], whereas it takes Toyota only three years. If they were more into tapping into the best talent wherever it is in the world, GM would be in better shape today."

Likewise, "IBM has to employ people all over the world to service those customers in those countries they sell to," Kennedy said.

He added that he believes the reality for companies like IBM is that they need to find workers who can do the work efficiently and effectively. Sometimes workers who represent the best combination of talent and lower cost are in the United States. Other times, they are located overseas, Kennedy said.

However, he said, "I'm not really pro-global sourcing or offshoring; I'm not a cheerleader for it. But it's a trend that's happening and smart managers have to be able to understand it."

Meanwhile, layoffs at companies such as IBM have yet another consequence for some employees—particularly those with H-1B visas. When H-1B visa holders in the United States lose their jobs, they must leave the country.

The H-1B issue has long been a source of contention and that is no less the case in the current recession, when major technology companies are being forced to lay off highly skilled employees. In fact, some are calling for companies to let H-1B visa holders go before they lay off American workers.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) even wrote a letter to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in January calling for Ballmer to "protect" American workers. Microsofthas announced plans to cut up to 5,000 jobs. However, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has argued before Congress for increases to the cap on the number of H-1B visas allotted each year. Microsoft has been one of the top employers of H-1B talent over the last few years, with IBM not far behind.

Fidelity Layoffs The Latest Cuts In Finance

2009-02-13T20:43:00.000-05:00

Today, Fidelity Investments continues a layoff plan announced last year when the mutual fund giant said it would cut some 3,000 jobs starting with 1,300 in November and at least another 1,700 in the first quarter, according to the Boston Globe. Some of the latest cuts are reportedly in its FMR Co. unit, which includes managers and analysts who'd managed to avoid past layoffs.

With this latest round, Reuters adds up the total damage from job losses among banks, insurers and asset managers since the start of the credit crisis back in August 2007. So far: 306,000 job cuts have been announced worldwide, with the largest coming from massive U.S. investment banks like Citigroup (75,000 jobs cut), J.P. Morgan (16,900 cuts) and Bank of America (45,000 cuts). Most of the cuts came as surviving banks digested acquisitions of Bear Stearns, Lehman Bros, Washington Mutual and others, so the head counts at the big banks are actually quite a bit higher now than at the start of the crisis (J.P. Morgan employed 224,961people at the end of 2008 after the WaMu deal, up from 179.664 in Aug. 2007.) That may not be good news as the realities of lower profits in the finance sector continue to sink in.

Reports: GSK to slash at least 6,000 jobs worldwide

2009-02-13T20:40:00.000-05:00

GlaxoSmithKline is expected to announce Thursday that it will eliminate at least 6,000 positions worldwide as part of a restructuring move, according to several U.K. newspapers. The company did not confirm how many jobs will be cut but said the move is not linked to the economic crisis.

Citrix had a good Q4 but plans to cut staff by 10 percent

2009-02-13T20:38:00.000-05:00

Whether virtualization is 'recession proof' or not, these companies are doing what it takes to prepare for an uncertain 2009

Under the reign of Diane Greene as the CEO of VMware, virtualization software was thought of as a "recession proof" technology. And while it has proven to be a cost-saving technology over the years, perhaps calling it recession proof in today's troubling economic downturn is a bit much.

Citrix recently announced their fourth-quarter and end-of-year financial results. Overall, the company's revenue in Q4 increased from $400M in fiscal 2007 to $416M in 2008. For the fiscal year 2008, Citrix reported annual revenues of $1.58 billion, compared to $1.39 billion in the previous year, a 14 percent increase.

However, the application delivery specialists also reported net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 fell to $60 million compared to $63 million for the fourth quarter of 2007. And annual net income for 2008 was $178 million compared to $214 million in fiscal 2007.

"I'm pleased with our Q4 results and performance for 2008 –- especially in the face of an extraordinary worldwide environment," said Mark Templeton, Citrix president and chief executive officer. "While being fiscally cautious, we are more confident than ever in our vision and business strategy. Citrix products have a long track record of reducing IT costs, while simplifying enterprise computing –- exactly what customers need."

Citrix saw a slight decline in part of its virtualization business. BetweenXenApp, XenDesktop, and XenServer, only XenApp saw a fall in sales in Q4 compared with the same time last year. But the company's reliance on XenApp will gradually decline as the company's diversified product lines take hold.

During its financial announcement, Citrix also stated that it was starting a "restructuring program" and taking steps to reduce its headcount by approximately 10 percent or almost 500 staff members of the company's global workforce.

The Citrix announcement of staff reductions comes on the heels of virtualization competitor Microsoft announcing its own layoffs -- amounting to 5,000 jobs, or 5 percent of its global workforce headcount.

The giant in the virtualization space, VMware, didn't mention anything about job layoffs in its EOY financial reports; however, the company did say something about a hiring freeze despite the fact that it still shows nearly 150 job openings on their corporate Web site.

All three companies are closely watching the economy in 2009. Citrix said they were projecting revenue to be down in its first quarter of 2009 by 5 percent and flat for the year as a whole based on current expectations. So whether virtualization is considered "recession proof" or not, it sounds like these companies are doing what it takes to prepare for an uncertain 2009.

Posted by David Marshall on February 2, 2009 06:19 AM

Morgan Stanley May Lay Off 3% to 4% of Staff This Month

2009-02-13T20:35:00.000-05:00

Posted by Aaron Lucchetti

Layoffs at Morgan Stanley may be announced this month and could claim 1,500 to 1,800 jobs, or about 3% to 4% of its work force, according to a person familiar with the investment bank’s plans.

Job cuts on Wall Street are as common now as big bonuses used to be. Morgan Stanley, which has endured a year of crisis management, shed about 7,000 positions in 2008 and is expecting to shed more jobs as soon as this month across a broad range of units.

The Wall Street Journal reported about possible job cuts at Morgan Stanley last week. Goldman Sachs Group and other investment banks also have been mulling further staffing cuts.

Morgan Stanley’s cuts wouldn’t include any moves in global wealth management, where the company’s brokers are getting ready to merge with Citigroup’s Smith Barney unit. Morgan Stanley has cut back especially deep in areas that used to take a lot of risk with the company’s balance sheet, a strategy that went out of fashion a few quarters after the housing market peaked.

For the people who support Morgan’s 8,400 brokers, the deal to create a new joint venture with Smith Barney will likely lead to job cuts. It also might bring retention payments for top-producing brokers, a common practice when retail brokerage forces merge. It is unclear whether such bonuses will be as generous as they were in past deals, when times were better on Wall Street.

Panasonic Cuts 15,000 Jobs; Global Layoffs

2009-02-13T20:32:00.000-05:00

Sales Forecast Low for Plasma Flat-Screen TVs, Digital Cameras and Electronics

By ELEANOR HONG, SCOTT MAYEROWITZ and ALICE GOMSTYN
Feb. 4, 2009

A cheap night at home in front of the television may have new appeal for cost-conscious consumers these days, but that hasn't made television manufacturers and their employees immune to the recession.

Panasonic Corp., the electronics giant known for flat-screen TVs as well as digital cameras, announced today that it wouldslash 15,000 jobs and close 27 plantsworldwide. In December, rival consumer electronics maker Sony announced 16,000 job cuts.

Panasonic, which saw its third-quarter sales drop by 20 percent, announced its first annual loss in six years.

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"The current financial crisis originated in the United States has spread across the world and the company's outlook of the business environment has been extremely uncertain," the company said in its financial forecast.

The Osaka-based corporation is one of several Japanese companies cutting back on global production and staff. Japanese corporations are dealing with low sales and implications of a weak global economy set off by the U.S. financial crisis. The company's cost-cutting measures will affect Japan's workforce with plans to close plants by the end of March next year.

Macy's and Financial Giant Morgan Stanley

The crumbling economy has taken its toll on one of the largest department store chains. Macy's announced that it will cut 7,000 jobs, about 4 percent of its work force.

The company's cost-cutting measures include restructuring its retail divisions and reducing planned expenses. Macy's Inc. operates more than 840 department stores -- under Macy's and Bloomingdale's -- across the nation, with corporate offices located in New York and Cincinnati.

Tech layoffs leave H-1B holders in vulnerable position

2009-02-13T20:30:00.000-05:00

When H1-B workers lose their job they are no longer eligible to be in the United States

By Sindya Bhanoo, The Industry Standard
February 03, 2009 | Comments: (16)

Tech companies are announcing layoffs nearly every day, and thousands are losing their jobs. Now pressure is being placed on companies to consider the nationality of workers when planning workforce reductions.

Computerworld reports that when Microsoft announced its cuts last week, one U.S. senator said the company should give job priority to U.S. citizens over foreign workers on H1-B visas.

[ Related: Microsoft layoffs add more fuel to H-1B fire | Also, Intel announced it would cut as many as 6,000 jobs| Get sage advice on IT careers and management from Bob Lewis in InfoWorld's Advice Line blog and newsletter. ]

"Microsoft has a moral obligation to protect ... American workers by putting them first during these difficult economic times," the article quotes Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) as writing in a letter to Steve Ballmer, the company's CEO.

Microsoft announced it will cut up to 5,000 positions in the next 18 months, and that a "significant number" of the first 1,400 will be foreigners who are in the United States on work visas.

There are no federal laws that require that H1-B holders should be the first to be laid off.

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"In fact, the law is very well designed to say that you have to treat H-1Bs the same as U.S. citizens in all regards," David Kussin, an immigration attorney at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in New York said in an interview with Computerworld.

And when H1-B workers do lose their jobs, they "are no longer eligible to be in the United States," Kussin said. They generally have a 60-day grace period in which to find a new job.

The San Jose Mercury News talked to two H-1B holders who are in a perilous situation, using pseudonyms to protect their identity.

One, called "Prasad," is 28, from India and has a master's in electrical engineering from MIT.

His position at a Silicon Valley startup was cut in December, and the company, realizing his situation, agreed to keep him on for two more months to buy him time to hunt for a new job. So far, he's had no luck.

"I just need to find a new job" soon, he told The Mercury News. "There's a distinct possibility that I will have to leave. The downturn has come, companies have frozen hiring, I'm in the wrong company and I got laid off."

Another, "Jay," also from, India told the The Mercury News, "I have a very limited time within which to find work before my status becomes illegal in the United States."

"In this kind of market, it's too short a time within which to land a new job," he added.

The Industry Standard is an InfoWorld affiliate.

Deere expands Davenport Works layoffs

2009-02-13T20:28:00.000-05:00

By Doug Schorpp | Monday, February 2, 2009 9:08 PM CST | (

) comments

Deere & Co. announced Monday that 200 employees will go on indefinite layoff this month at John Deere Davenport Works.

On Jan. 20, Deere told employees there that 120 nonsalaried workers would be laid off indefinitely, effective Feb. 16, and another 70 employees would be eligible for transfer to East Moline Harvester Works.

But company spokesman Ken Golden said Monday a new evaluation determined there is no longer a need for those employees at the East Moline plant “at this time.” That means that in addition to the original 120, the other 70 workers plus 10 more would be on indefinite layoff from the plant.

Golden said all of the laid-off employees are eligible for temporary assignments elsewhere.

Davenport Works, located in Mount Joy, began production in 1974. It manufactures articulated dump trucks, four-wheel-drive loaders, motor graders, log skidders, wheeled feller bunchers and cabs. East Moline Harvester Works primarily makes combines, Golden said.

There are 720 wage employees at Davenport Works. Most are members of United Auto Workers Local 281. There also are 320 salaried employees.

In Deere’s annual earnings report, released in late November, projections called for worldwide sales of construction equipment to be down about 12 percent in 2009.

Last week, Deere announced that it will fire 502 workers at its Horizontina, Brazil, plant in response to the declining market demand in South America. Golden said that due to employment laws in Brazil, the workers are being terminated as opposed to layoffs or indefinite layoffs.

In the past six months, 188 workers also have been placed on indefinite layoff at John Deere Dubuque Works in Dubuque, Iowa

Layoffs cascade with PNC Financial, Liz Claiborne, Rockwell, others making cuts; more expected

2009-02-13T20:26:00.000-05:00

By JEANNINE AVERSA , Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Layoffs are spiking as the recession rips through the country, with retailers, banks, factories and others cutting costs ever deeper this week. It's inflicting a painful toll on workers, and there's little relief in sight.

The latest round of pink slips and cost-cutting measures came Tuesday on the heels of tens of thousands of layoffs ordered by a slew of companies last week alone.

PNC Financial Services Group said it plans to cut 5,800 jobs. Airplane maker Hawker Beechcraft Corp. said 2,300 employees will lose their jobs before the end of the year and warned more layoffs may be coming. Liz Claiborne Inc., will eliminate 725 jobs, or 8 percent of its work force, one day after Macy's Inc. said it was axing 7,000 jobs, or 4 percent of its work force. King Pharmaceuticals Inc., will get rid of 520 jobs.

Military contractor and aerospace company Rockwell Collins Inc. is cutting 600 jobs and freezing salaries at last year's level for all executives and managers. UPS Inc. is freezing management pay and is suspending its matching contributions to employees' 401(k) plans. And General Motors Corp. said it will offer buyouts to all of its hourly workers.

With jobs vanishing at a breakneck pace, it's becoming increasingly difficult for the unemployed to find new jobs. And some of those who still have jobs are rapidly losing ground in other ways. Employers are freezing or cutting pay, trimming hours, suspending matching contributions to 401(k)s and doing away with health care, bonuses or perks that were offered during better economic times.

"Businesses are slashing jobs in order to survive in the deepening economic downturn," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.

Study: Employment Outlook Dims

2009-02-13T19:59:00.000-05:00

A Conference Board study shows a plunge in job vacancies advertised online, a sign that January's unemployment numbers will be disheartening

By Phil Mintz

Online job sites Monster.com (MWW) andCareerBuilder.com tried to promote business for their online career sites with ads during this year's Super Bowl. But they may be swimming against the tide. According to aConference Board study of online job demand released on Feb. 2, advertised job vacancies plunged in January, an indicator that unemployment is going to continue to rise.

According to the study, advertised vacancies dropped 506,000, to 3,355,000, in January, bringing the December and January decline to more than 1 million, or 23%.

The report doesn't bode well for the unemployment numbers for January that are to be released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Feb. 6. The U.S. unemployment rate hit 7.2%, a 16-year high, in December, and some experts are predicting double-digit rates this year. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Action Economics calls for a 525,000 decline in nonfarm payrolls in January, compared with 524,000 in December. The unemployment rate is forecast to rise to 7.5%.

JOBS: SUPPLY AND DEMAND IMBALANCE

The Conference Board said that advertised vacancies dropped in all 50 states, and only two states—North Dakota and Wyoming—continue to have fewer unemployed persons than advertised vacancies. The worst supply and demand imbalance was in Michigan, where there were more than six unemployed for every advertised vacancy. Other states with more than four people for every vacancy include Mississippi (5.04), Indiana (4.78), Kentucky (4.72), North Carolina (4.31), Georgia (4.24), Florida (4.20), South Carolina (4.05), and California (4.03).

"The very sharp declines in advertised vacancies throughout the nation in the last two months are clearly making it increasingly hard for those who are unemployed to find new positions," Gad Levanon, senior economist at the Conference Board, said in a news release. "An expected increase in the unemployment numbers coming out at the end of this week, combined with this sharp January drop in labor demand, will widen the labor supply/demand gap."

The Conference Board said job weakness is across the board—from relatively high-paying management jobs to lower-paying work, including transportation and food-service jobs. Health-care support jobs, which have remained strong during the recession, showed just a modest decline in advertised positions in January.

The Conference Board study measures the number of new and reposted jobs on more than 1,200 job Web sites.

Mintz is news editor for BusinessWeek.com in New York.

The Job Market: February, 2009

2009-02-12T07:02:00.004-05:00

"The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin."

From "The Times They Are A-Changin" Bob Dylan

There are so many perfect lyrics for our times in this Dylan song, (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bob+dylan/the+times+they+are+achangin_20021240.html) but the point I want to make is that we have entered a new Presidency and what was clear in the past will no longer be.

You see, the rules under which we have spent the past years are over and this stimulus package, like the fast in the lyrics, will soon leave us last. Not this year. Not next but it is inevitable that when you inflate the currency, you change the way people live their lives and how employers hire.

Until the financial crisis occurred, we knew what to expect--tough talk about spending but lots of it. Business knew what to expect and could plan for it until last summer when two of our largest firms, Goldman Sachs and ATT were unable to borrow money in the markets. Since that time, we entered a deflationary period and consumers stopped spending much.

Jobs started to be cut heavily, hiring slowed down dramatically and the world economy caught the American Contagion.

The plan is for givernment to spend our way out of deflation by creating more government programs or increasing spending on existing ones. This isnot a criticism of infrastructure spending but of the lack of it in the stimuus package. As it stands now, the plan is really a jobs bill for government workers.

The next problem is that to raise the trillions necessary, the government is going to cause interest rates to rise dramatically and cripplethe housing market from a different direction. It's hard to sell your house if rates are over 10% and sovereign wealth funds will stop lending to the US unless rates are high enough to protect them from the losses in purchasing power that will occur during the life of the loan caused by hyper-inflation.

Whether you like him or not, Glen Beck lays out our future problem in this video (ignore the intro; it's garbage)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNS8IY_Td14

Where I'm going ot with this is that the stimulus may create jobs but the wages we'll be paid for them won't be worth much.

Earlier this week, someone emailed me and asked how to plan for the future. I told him that, for now, being mobile was going to be critical. No one has much of an idea of where the jobs will be and what they will be. With this administration spending money on infrastructure and green jobs, you would think civil engineering and "green tech" would boom . . . but for how long when inflaton makes it more and more difficult to plan, to pay our taxes or buy much.

Yes, the times are complicated and answers always have unintended consequences (wasn't that the lesson of communism--you plan for one conclusion and run into a new problem that requires a bandaid that leads to a new one . . . ).

"Come gather round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
Youll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin
Then you better start swimmin
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin."

From "The Times They Are A-Changin" Bob Dylan

© 2009 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

He is the author of “Get Yourself Hired NOW! The Big Game Hunter’s Guide to Head Hunting Your Next Job and Every Job After That” (in ebook and audio formats) and “Get Your Job Search Organized NOW!” (ebook) Both are available at www.GetYourselfHiredNOW.com

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, JobSearchUniverse.com, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “No B.S. Job Search Advice, or his staffing ezine, “No B.S. Hiring Advice”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.JeffAltman.com.

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Nissan to Slash Payroll, Pare Japanese Output

2009-02-09T05:23:00.000-05:00

By JOHN MURPHY

TOKYO -- Nissan Motor Co. was expected Monday to announce plans to slash more than 20,000 jobs world-wide, shift production out of Japan and seek government assistance from Japan, the U.S. and elsewhere, a person familiar with the situation said.

Japan's third-largest car maker by sales also is suspending its goal of 5% annual revenue growth until 2012, which had been a key commitment of its current management plan, the person said.

Nissan's broad, new recovery program comes as the car maker -- reeling from falling demand world-wide, a global credit crunch and a soaring yen -- is expected to announce dismal earnings for the quarter ended in December.

The deep job cuts mark a serious setback for Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn, who had been celebrated in Japan for saving Nissan from the brink of collapse. In the last few years he has been considered the industry's top manager, credited with forging a complex alliance between Nissan and Renault SA.

Moving production from Japan signals new trouble for a country that has profited by exporting autos to the U.S. while Detroit's Big Three have struggled to reverse their long slide.

Nissan's move caps a string of grim forecasts by Japan's auto makers, which are cutting jobs, slashing production and taking other measures to stem growing losses as the sales downturn deepens.

Like its Japanese rivals, Nissan has been battered by the gathering strength of the yen, which diminishes the value of overseas earnings and drives up the cost of vehicles produced in Japan for consumers abroad.

But Nissan is the first Japanese auto maker to announce major plans to move production -- and jobs -- from Japan to lower-cost markets in order to escape the impact of the strong yen.

The auto maker announced last month that it would move production of the Nissan March, its top-selling compact car, to Thailand from Japan. Nissan expects this is just the beginning of a substantial exodus of parts and vehicle production out of Japan to lower-cost markets.

Nissan has no plans to close plants as a result of the changes. But it expects that more than half of the more than 20,000 job cuts, which are expected by March 2010, will be in Japan. The remaining job cuts will be mainly in North America and Europe, the person said.

Nissan had 240,000 employees in March 2008. It has already eliminated about 2,000 temporary jobs in Japan and has announced plans for about 4,000 more job cuts at factories in Spain and the U.S. It has scaled back global production and slowed assembly lines to shrink its inventory as car sales in the U.S. and in other parts of the world have plummeted.

The company also will trim model introductions over the next four years, releasing an average of 10 new vehicles a year instead of its original goal of 12 a year, the person said.

But Nissan isn't making cuts to its program aimed at producing an electric vehicle by next year. The auto maker plans to tap a U.S. Department of Energy $25 billion loan program aimed at helping the industry develop more fuel-efficient vehicles, making Nissan the first Japanese auto maker to seek the funds. Nissan also is considering applying for low-interest loans from the Japanese government as part of an effort by the Development Bank of Japan to assist businesses hurt by the global crisis.

To oversee its cost-saving efforts, Nissan is appointing Colin Dodge, a member of its executive committee, to the new position of chief recovery officer.

Nissan also is streamlining its management structure, slimming its four regional divisions -- Japan, Europe, North America and general overseas markets -- into three regions: Asia; the Americas; and Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Write to John Murphy at john.murphy@wsj.com

CVS Caremark gives notice of layoffs as it closes Largo facility

2009-02-07T22:25:00.000-05:00

The closing of Largo CVS Caremark operations will leave 230 people without their jobs after March 31.

The mail service pharmacy facility at 8275 Bryan Dairy Road, Largo, is closing due to integration activities related to the 2007 merger of CVS Corp. and Caremark Rx Inc., said CVS Caremark Corp. spokesman Mike DeAngelis in an e-mail to TBBJ.

CVS is working to place affected employees in other positions within the company, including retail stores, DeAngelis said. If other job opportunities aren’t available, employees will be eligible for outplacement support, counseling and a transition package covering financial and health benefits.

Headquartered in Woonsocket, R.I., CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS), which has roughly 190,000 employees, bills itself the nation’s largest provider of prescriptions and related health care services.

In addition to its pharmacy benefit management, mail order and specialty pharmacy division Caremark Pharmacy Services, the company operates 6,300 CVS/pharmacy stores in 40 states, online pharmacy CVS.com and MinuteClinic, a retail-based health clinic subsidiary.

Today In Layoffs: Macy's, Morgan Stanley

2009-02-07T22:23:00.000-05:00

Another Monday, another round of layoffs. Today's magic number is 4 percent. That's how much Macy's is shaving off of its headcount, cutting 7,000 positions as it restructures to survive the slowdown. Actually, the "restructuring" also looks like a "gutting." Some 40 percent of its executive positions are on the block as the retailer tries a new "decentralized" strategy, according to Forbes. Investors don't appear to like the move. Macy's shares were off nearly 5 percent in late trade. (It also might have something to do with Macy's slashing its quarterly dividend to 5 cents a share from around 13.25 cents.)

Meanwhile, the WSJ is reporting Morgan Stanley is planning a 3-4 percent reduction in headcount, or 1,500 to 1,800 jobs. The cuts, which could come this month, are on top of some 7,000 layoffs at Morgan during 2008. It's no surprise banks are still cutting back. Finance has been by far the hardest-hit sector in this downturn. Job losses during the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 topped 120,000. The WSJ also says big investment banks like Goldman Sachs are considering more cuts as well.

So who's hiring? The federal government. From the Associated Press:

Since 2001, civilian employment in the executive branch, excluding postal employees, has edged upward from 1.7 million to about 2 million, largely because of new homeland security jobs.
More federal job openings are on the horizon.
A report released in January by Christina Romer, head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and Jared Bernstein, an economic policy adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, predicted that more than 90 percent of the 3 million to 4 million jobs that Obama proposes to save or create would be in the private sector.
But the report also estimated that 244,000 government jobs — some at the federal level, but more at the state and local level — would be created or saved.
That was based on a $600 billion stimulus package; the one being debated in Congress is more than $800 billion.

(Looking for one of those jobs? Check FedJobs.com.) Or you could go work at Lehman Brothers!

That's right: The WSJ says working for Lehman is "one of the hottest jobs on Wall Street." I-bankers are scrambling to get hired at the failed investment bank to help wind down "a broad patchwork of assets" including a "thicket of about 500,000 derivative contracts with 4,000 trading partners worth some $24 billion." Plus, they'll get to work alongside former Lehman CEO Richard Fuld who's still haunting the halls of his old bank. Sounds like a tough gig to me. A job's a job, I suppose, but who wants to spend the next couple of years reliving what went wrong?

Public Sector Joins Businesses In Feeling Layoff Pain

2009-02-07T22:22:00.001-05:00

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned Friday he may have to cut 23,000 city positions, becoming the latest official to warn that government jobs will be slashed.

Disney's ABC Television Group to cut 5% of workforce

2009-02-07T22:16:00.000-05:00

The latest media company to make cutbacks as advertising falls says it will eliminate 400 jobs by letting go 200 employees and leaving another 200 positions unfilled.

By Meg James
January 30, 2009

Walt Disney Co.'s ABC television division, pressured by a downturn in the economy that is depressing advertiser spending, said Thursday that it was trimming its workforce by 5%, becoming the latest media company to make cutbacks.

The Burbank-based television group said it would eliminate 400 jobs by letting go 200 employees and leaving another 200 positions unfilled. The cuts are to be spread across all of Disney's television operations, including the flagship ABC broadcast network, ABC News and the cable networks Disney Channel, ABC Family and SoapNet.

"Change is never easy and becomes even harder to embrace during times of turbulence and uncertainty," Anne Sweeney, president of the Disney/ABC Television Group, said in an e-mail to staff members. "After months of making hard decisions across our businesses to help us adjust to a weakening economy, we're now faced with the harsh reality of having to eliminate jobs in some areas."

Disney's sports network ESPN said this week that it would shed about 200 jobs this year. The Bristol, Conn.-unit also is freezing the salaries of senior executives.

The layoffs come just two weeks after Disney disclosed that it awarded Chief Executive Robert Iger $30.6 million in compensation in 2008, an increase of 11% from 2007. The boost came despite a 5.5% drop in net income during the entertainment giant's last fiscal year as consumers reined in spending, reducing profit at its theme parks as well as its television stations and networks that rely on advertising. Disney's revenue climbed 7% to $37.8 billion.

Most Disney divisions are cutting back as the economy worsens. Last week, the company offered voluntary buyout packages to about 600 executives at its domestic theme park and resort divisions. Those executives have until Feb. 6 to decide whether to leave with severance or risk becoming part of a round of layoffs.

The number of employees let go at the Disney-ABC Television Group represent less than 3% of its nearly 7,000 workers, or 5% including the vacant positions. Last November, ABC asked its show producers to trim their budgets by 2% in a bid to reduce production costs.

On Thursday, ABC News lost 37 employees out of a staff of about 1,300. The cuts were made throughout the news division, hitting the political unit, news magazines, ABC News Now and other departments. No on-air talent was fired, but those let go included production assistants and some senior producers.

ABC News President David Westin had already been keeping a tight grip on spending, paring about 35 positions annually in recent years from his division. In October, he asked news executives to fly "one grade below what they're entitled to" and to "stay in 'B' level hotels."

More cuts at ABC Entertainment are expected. Last week, ABC merged its separate network and TV production operations into one unit under ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson, who now must integrate and reshape the staff that oversees the production of prime-time comedies and dramas.

Media companies that depend on advertising have been slammed during the last six months. Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Entertainment eliminated about 600 people this month, and the company's AOL unit said this week that it would cut an additional 700 jobs. Radio giant Clear Channel Communications Inc. slashed 1,850 jobs.

Last month, Viacom Inc., which owns MTV Networks and Paramount Pictures, eliminated 850 positions, and NBC Universal cut several hundred jobs to save $500 million this year.

meg.james@latimes.com

Disney’s TV Unit Will Cut 400 Jobs

2009-01-31T14:23:00.001-05:00

The television division of the Walt Disney Company announced Thursday that it would eliminate about 400 jobs from its work force of 6,500 to 7,000, as part of a cost-cutting effort to deal with what it called a weakening economy.

The job cuts will affect all the departments of the Disney-ABC Television Group, as the division is called. Disney-ABC did not release any specific breakdown of the job cuts, though one ABC News executive said that 37 news jobs were included in the reductions.

No ABC executives would offer any other details of the layoffs on the record, but one senior executive said that although 400 jobs were being eliminated, only 200 active workers will be laid off. The other 200 jobs had been vacant and will not be filled, the executive said.

The announcement comes one day after another Disney TV division, the cable sports channel ESPN, announced it would eliminate 200 jobs within the next year. ESPN did not rule out layoffs but said the goal was to reach that number by attrition.

Both Anne Sweeney, the president of the Disney-ABC Television Group, and George Bodenheimer, the ESPN chief executive, cited worsening economic conditions for the job contractions. Mr. Bodenheimer also said he was freezing the salaries of the channel’s top executives.

In a memo to ABC employees, Ms. Sweeney said, “After months of making hard decisions across our businesses to help us adjust to a weakening economy, we’re now faced with the harsh reality of having to eliminate jobs in some areas.”

NYC mayor to start worker layoffs on July 1-source

2009-01-31T14:22:00.000-05:00

read copyright article at link above

AOL To Fire 700, Falco Says In Memo

2009-01-31T14:19:00.002-05:00

Nicholas Carlson | January 28, 2009 1:31 PM

Time Warner's (TWX) online division AOL will fire 700 employees, according to a company-wide memo AOL CEO Randy Falco sent today.

Falco also says "we will also forgo merit pay increases in 2009."

Earlier this month, AOL reported its online advertising declined 18%between 2007 and 2008.

The cuts come also come shortly after Google wrote down $726 million of its $1 billion investment in AOL during its Q4, in effect putting AOL's value at $5.5 billion -- down from $20 billion in 2005.

Here's AOL CEO Randy Falco's memo to employees on the layoff:

Dear AOL colleagues,

I’m writing to tell you about some important decisions we’ve made about AOL’s business and why we’ve made them.

The deepening economic recession has affected every corner of the economy, including our own. Online marketers have tightened their ad buying across the board, reducing their spend by hundreds of millions of dollars.

As a result, we will be reviewing our entire organization to further align resources and expenses against the real revenue opportunities in this difficult market. Part of this will involve consolidating groups to gain efficiencies that will unfortunately lead to head-count reductions. We anticipate this will result in a net reduction of our workforce of up to 10% over the next several quarters – and we will attempt to finalize all domestic actions by the end of March. Reducing our workforce is never easy, particularly in the current climate, but our goal in doing this is to provide our core businesses the resources they need to thrive. Please know that, as always, we’ll be doing everything we can to help and support those affected, including offering severance packages and other services.

To further keep employment costs down, we will also forgo merit pay increases in 2009. This is a painful decision, but one that many companies have prudently taken to help minimize the number of layoffs they have to make.

To provide some perspective on these decisions, right now we’re two years into a three-year turnaround plan. Since day one, our strategy has focused on building and growing mutually dependent publishing, advertising and social media businesses to take advantage of the shifting media landscape. We’ve worked shoulder-to-shoulder to make considerable progress during this time.

We acquired best-in-class companies across the digital advertising space (AdTech, Third Screen Media, Lightningcast, buy.at, TACODA and Quigo, respectively) and integrated them with Advertising.com to build Platform-A, the largest, smartest display advertising platform in the world.

We grew our MediaGlow audience via an efficient content development model that in 2008 enabled us to launch more than 20 new sites that are generating significant page view (up 64% year over year in December), engagement (up 39% year over year) and unduplicated user (70+ million) numbers. This momentum will continue in 2009 with our goal of creating an additional 30+ editorially curated sites focused on consumer passion points.

We combined Bebo with our longtime community assets AIM and ICQ as well as newer acquisitions Goowy, Yedda and SocialThing, to build People Networks, gaining AOL a foothold in the critical social media space, with more announcements to come on the next phase of development in both the social media space and in the integration of social and publishing capabilities.

This progress continues to put AOL in a strong position to capitalize on our new business model when the recession ends.

In addition to focusing our investments, a successful turnaround plan also requires us to realign our cost structure against this three-pronged business model – making difficult decisions to cut costs in areas that aren’t critical to our growth. Splitting out the Access business improved the transparency of what’s working and what’s not, and allowed us to make better decisions about exiting businesses that weren’t performing while investing in growth areas. A successful turnaround plan also mandates we control costs, operate with healthy margins and position the company for sustainable growth. As you know, we’ve moved repeatedly to bring discretionary expenses in line to spare across-the-board job cuts.

But we’ve also had to make many hard decisions along the way. And this moment is no exception. We’re at a pivotal point in AOL’s transformation, and need to be even more strategically focused and operationally efficient as we weather the economic storm.

In addition to the head-count reductions and the 2009 merit pay decision, we are also making changes throughout the organization to improve efficiency and better align it to our three core businesses. This includes a review of our international operations and our global shared-services functions. In addition, we will continue throughout the year to carefully and thoroughly review all our products and services to make sure every one fully supports our strategy and has the potential for growth.

Finally, we are going to realize significant savings by continuing to consolidate our facilities – for example, moving from two buildings to one in Mountain View, from two floors to one in Los Angeles, and leasing unused space on our Dulles campus.

With these and other changes, we will take significant annual run-rate costs out of our business while, importantly, retaining the flexibility to invest in our growth strategy.

I know all this will raise questions, but I wanted to share as much as I could with you now. Senior management will provide more details as appropriate to their teams in the weeks ahead.

As difficult as things look right now, the economy eventually will turn around. Some companies will use this time prudently and make difficult decisions to come out of it in better shape – growing toward areas of opportunity, scaling back in others and maintaining a line on costs all around. Our only choice is to be one of these companies. With your continued hard work and dedication, we will position ourselves to emerge a stronger company ready to lead in a vibrant online market.

Randy

Volvo plans to layoff 600 employees

2009-01-31T14:19:00.001-05:00

DUBLIN, VA (CBS)- Volvo has announced layoffs that could mean more than 600 people will soon be jobless in Virginia's New River Valley.

Volvo spokesman Jim McNamara says these are permanent layoffs affecting hourly workers at the Dublin, Virginia plant. Nearly 1,000 employees were laid off at the facility last Spring.

The upcoming layoffs were said to be brought on by declining customer demand which has led to reduced production capacity. These cuts, expected in March and April, will sideline 40 percent of the truck assembly plant's remaining workforce.

Target to lay off 1,000

2009-01-31T14:17:00.000-05:00

Target said Tuesday that it will slash 1,000 jobs at its downtown Minneapolis headquarters, laying off 600 workers and eliminating 400 open positions.

Target has about a dozen locations in the St. Louis area.

Affected employees will continue to receive their full pay and benefits through April 1, at which time they will receive severance packages based on how long they have been with the company. As part of those packages, Target will provide 12 months of continued Target health care benefits, in addition to 12 months COBRA benefits, and outplacement support to assist them in transitioning to their next position.

Target also will close its Little Rock, Ark., distribution center later this year. The facility employs about 500 workers. They will be offered positions at other Target distribution centers or will receive severance packages similar to those received by the headquarters employees.

The company already had suspended salary increases for senior management, suspended share repurchase activity, tightened credit card underwriting and credit granting, reduced its store expansion plans and cut expenses such as outside contractor support, travel and entertainment.

As a result of the layoffs, Target expects to record a charge of approximately 3 cents per diluted share, the majority of which will occur during the company’s 2008 fiscal fourth quarter, which ends Feb. 1. Target will announce its fourth-quarter earnings in late February.

Target (NYSE: TGT) has reported declining sales in recent months. The company’s same-store sales fell 4.1 percent in December, following a decline of 10.4 percent in November. In fact, the company hasn’t reported a monthly same-store sales increase since last June.

The Job Market: A View from The Big Game Hunter, Jeff Altman

Toledo plans to layoff 300, including 75 officers

Boeing issues 300 layoff notices

Qantas slashes profit estimate, plans mass job cuts

Navistar to lay off final 345 employees in Chatham

CMS announces 107 more layoffs

600-plus get layoff alerts from TUSD

UNEMPLOYMENT SKYROCKETS TO 8.5%

The Job Market: April 2009

Nokia to Layoff 1700 Worldwide

Toro Co. to lay off about 235 from Tomah site

Potash Corp. extends layoff of 940 workers

CAT Announces More Layoffs

Caterpillar To Layoff Hundreds In Indiana

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Employees: Halliburton Layoffs in the Hundreds

Layoffs Announced at Northrop Grumman

Spansion Layoffs 3,000

Layoff Worries 02-27-09

HSBC CLOSES LENDING UNITS; 6,100 CUT

By KAJA WHITEHOUSE

JPMORGAN TO AX 12K

By PAUL THARP

Jobless claims spike to 26-year high

Number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits rises to 667,000. Continuing claims top 5 million for the first time.

Nokia seeks 1,000 voluntary layoffs

Washington jobless rate jumps to 7.8%

Canada loses record 129,000 jobs

Unemployment rate hits 7.2 per cent

Suozzi proceeding with cuts, layoffs despite stimulus

Suozzi proceeding with cuts, layoffs despite stimulus

Suozzi proceeding with cuts, layoffs despite stimulus

GM, Chrysler Restructure with Layoffs, Plant Closures

Tech Layoffs Surge to 300,000

Air France KLM to Layoff 1200 more Staff

Record High Mass Layoffs

Layoff Watch: Morgan Stanley, DLA Piper and more

Teva to Lay Off 1,000; Croatian Staff to Get Generous Severances

PIONEER LAYOFFs JOB CUT: PIONEER fires 10,000, EXITS FLAT TV

Wal-Mart to layoff nearly 800 employees Arkansas HQ; to build fewer new stores

GE Transportation to Cut 350 Jobs, Temporarily Lay Off 1,200 at Erie unit : Reports

Airlines see largest employment drop in five years

More layoffs coming to Granite City Steel

Best Buy to lay off 250 headquarters workers

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Morgan Stanley May Lay Off 3% to 4% of Staff This Month