Midwest Airlines lays off another 186

Midwest Airlines, the Milwaukee-based regional carrier that slashed almost 1,200 jobs from its workforce in July, will lay off another 186 employees in November at its hub base at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee.

The notice of the layoff was announced Tuesday by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

The workers include 72 pilots, 82 flight attendants and 31 non-union employees, working in the airport and at the airline's hangar facility.

The layoffs will begin Nov. 7. The company told the state the layoffs are temporary but could not say how long they might last.

Midwest cited the rapid rise in fuel costs as the reason for the latest layoff.
The layoffs announced July 16 had an effect on the carrier's schedule as well as Midwest cut dozens of flights July 21, including two of six Midwest Connect flights out of Dane County Regional Airport.

Those two flights, the daily non-stop from Madison to Kansas City and one of five daily flights from Madison to Milwaukee, ended Sunday.

Job Layoffs In The Skies And On The Ground

WASHINGTON (NBC) -- Tuseday, General Motors is expected to lay out new cost-cutting measures that will mean more jobs lost. The number one U.S. automaker in sales is changing along with the bigger U.S. economic picture.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will talk about that Tuesday on Capitol Hill. Expect a focus Tuesday in the Senate on banks: investors started the week fleeing bank stocks, something Fed Chairman Bernanke is bound to address along with the state of air travel and automakers.
Tuesday, job cuts hit travel in the skies. And the ground, General Motors will announce new layoffs, and maybe new plant closures tied to the drop-off in U.S. truck sales.

Midwest Airlines announced it's shedding 1,200 or 40% of its workers. If you're planning a trip, the company says, wait. Michael Brophy, Midwest Airlines Spokesperson, says "if I'm a traveler, a passenger, I think they'll need to wait to see our schedule, we'll communicate that as widely as we can so people can see the impact."

It's more evidence of a transforming U.S. economy. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke starts two days of testimony Tuesday. In a rare move, the Fed invited cameras in to publicize its new rules against shady lending. Lenders will have to confirm borrowers' ability to pay the mortgages back, a move critics say is needed to turn a corner.

Rep. Barney Frank, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, says "I think we are the point where much of the bad stuff is over; that is, we will be reducing the number of foreclosures." And the political tussle on energy continues.

President Bush lifted an executive ban on offshore oil drilling and challenged Congress to do the same but Senate Democrats weren't biting. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says "we want oil and gas companies to drill for oil on the leases they've been given."

What passes for good news: gas prices have leveled off, the government says even fell a tenth of a penny. To drivers a welcome break from the upward climb.

This morning, General Motors' CEO Rick Wagoner will address employees first and then hold a news conference to announce the overhaul. Wagoner assured investors he's not interested in seeking the cover of bankruptcy.

Midwest announces 3.5% workforce reduction