CMS announces 107 more layoffs

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
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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.

Two hundred twenty seven skilled trades workers get layoff notices

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.

Thomas Built Buses Lay Off Another 205 Employees

High Point -- The bus building company based out of High Point announced Friday that they will lay off an additional 205 employees.

A statement issued by Thomas Built Buses reads:

"Due to ongoing lower order activity in the school bus industry, which is expected to continue as the current economic recession impacts state and local school transportation budgets, Thomas Built Buses today gave notice that a reduction in force of up to 195 hourly plant workers will be required. Approximately 10 salaried positions will also be affected. The layoffs will take effect on October 31, 2008.

Local union representatives were notified today of the planned reduction in force. Thomas has been operating on a modified build schedule in an effort to sustain as much of the workforce as possible. Unfortunately, this effort has not proven sufficient in today's difficult market conditions.

The four Thomas Built manufacturing plants are located in High Point, North Carolina and currently employ approximately 1,200 employees. "

The company cut 190 jobs at the beginning of June this year due to shrinking demand for new buses.

N.C. jobless rate climbs to 7 percent

By John Murawski
(Raleigh) News & Observer

Posted: Friday, Oct. 17, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

Sony Ericsson Layoffs Hit 450 in NC

We all knew they were coming, those 2,000 Sony Ericsson (SNE) job cuts, but it sure stinks to watch them happen.

Approximately 450 Sony Ericsson employees in North America will lose their positions, the company said yesterday; the cuts are taking place at the company’s R&D unit in North Carolina. Amid plummeting profits, Sony Ericsson the past two quarters has said it will have to shed workers worldwide from the payroll.

The company blamed the weak economy and slowing demand for high-end mobile devices as just two of the reasons for the layoffs.

Jobs data turn worse

Unemployment expected to rise well into 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CMS to cut 331 jobs, try to avoid layoffs

The superintendent says the changes will include larger classes and less library staff.
By Ann Doss Helms
ahelms@charlotteobserver.com
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will eliminate 331 jobs, including 66 elementary school teachers and more than 100 people who work in school libraries, Superintendent Peter Gorman announced Wednesday.
The cuts won't necessarily mean layoffs. CMS has a work force topping 19,700 people, and Gorman said he hopes anyone whose job is eliminated can move into a new one.
The biggest wallop will be felt in schools, where 210 jobs are being cut using new CMS formulas assigning teachers, assistant principals, library staff, counselors, psychologists and social workers based on enrollment and poverty levels. Some students in low-poverty elementary schools will see bigger classes in August, and many schools will lose people who help run the media centers.
“These are cuts that will have a real impact on children,” Gorman said.
The remaining jobs are either vacant – CMS froze some hiring this spring anticipating cuts – or existed on paper only. Those include 42 vacant maintenance jobs, about a dozen vacant jobs in central offices and nine jobs Gorman had hoped to add in regional “learning community” offices.
The new plan trims $24million from the $1.2 billion budget plan the school board approved in April, to bring 2008-09 spending in line with the money CMS will get from the state and Mecklenburg County. The spring plan is used to make a pitch for county money. The school board approves a final budget in the fall, after state, county and federal officials tells CMS how much to expect.
Gorman said his budget is likely to keep changing, but he wanted to tell staff and the public what to expect. He said he tried to avoid cutting school staff, but that's where most of the money goes.
Board member Kaye McGarry, who attended Gorman's news conference, said afterward he should have cut more from administration. “To me, we have to be stronger in saying ‘Protect the classroom,'” she said.
The budget is a mix of state, county and federal money. CMS is waiting on variables ranging from federal grants to fall enrollment. If there's money to restore anything, Gorman said, he'll hire the additional 66 teachers to bring down class sizes in grades K-3.
Under Wednesday's plan, high-poverty schools will continue to get one K-3 teacher per 16 students; the ratio for other schools will rise from one per 21 to one per 22.
Board member Trent Merchant, who has a first-grader in a school that could lose teachers, called Gorman's formulas “a responsible method.”
The legislature, which provides about 60 percent of CMS's money, just approved a 2008-09 budget that provides 3percent raises for teachers, instead of the 5 percent CMS had projected in its April plan. It also provides $3.23 a gallon to fill school bus tanks, while CMS is paying $4.19 a gallon, Deputy Superintendent Maurice Green said.
School board member Vilma Leake said she'd like to see CMS and the county provide money to keep teacher raises at 5 percent. Leake, a retired teacher who's running for county commissioner, said she's trying to organize 10,000 educators to go to Raleigh and confront legislators.
Among the jobs Gorman will trim are some from the April plan that were never filled. For instance, CMS had planned to hire nine people to create a second Performance Learning Center, a small high school for students who don't do well in traditional settings. Officials pulled the plug a couple of weeks ago.
Gorman said he doesn't expect to lay off teachers because summer is the heaviest time for turnover, leaving openings for any who have to switch schools.
Media-center assistants, the largest group losing jobs, will be offered positions as teacher assistants, he said.

GSK plans layoffs of 350

Sabine Vollmer, Staff Writer
GlaxoSmithKline confirmed Wednesday it is laying off 350 of its about 15,000 researchers -- a chunk of them in Research Triangle Park.

It is the third round of layoffs since GSK started a three-year restructuring program to counter slowing sales six months ago. It takes a bite out of GSK's drug discovery engine, a key asset for any pharmaceutical company. And further cuts are likely.

"For sure," Dick Kouri, executive director of biosciences management at N.C. State University, said when asked whether GSK will cut more jobs in the next two-and-a-half years.
"There's no other way," Kouri said.

Jean-Pierre Garnier, GSK's chief executive until his retirement last month, wrote in the May issue of the Harvard Business Review that size has become an impediment.
Like other large drug makers, GSK faces tremendous challenges.

To shepherd a new drug from lab bench to pharmacy shelves can cost more than sending a rocket to the moon. While annual spending on research and development rose more than 20-fold, the number of new drugs that received regulatory approval in 2006 was roughly the same as in 1980.

Saddled with skyrocketing expenses and not much to show for it, large drug makers are ill-prepared to face the onslaught of generic competition that is looming. By 2012, drugs that generated about half of their 2007 sales will lose patent protection.

GSK, which now employs about 4,700 at its U.S. headquarters in Research Triangle Park, has also lost about $2.5 billion in sales since May 2007. That was when a study linked its best selling diabetes pill Avandia to increased risk of heart attack.

The restructuring program, which aims to save as much as $1.4 billion annually over three years, was initiated on Garnier's watch.

In the Harvard Business Review, he argued that the industry is organized according to a 1960s model that is in need of sweeping changes, particularly in research and development, where the science has become more complex over time and leadership skills have been neglected.

"Complexity and the leadership void have given rise to teams that focus too much on process and too little on producing meaningful results, and have allowed sleepwalkers and nine-to-fivers to hide," Garnier wrote.

GSK has already planted a lot of seeds, he wrote, "but the flowers have yet to bloom."

His successor, Andrew Witty, has pledged to boost GSK's investment in new drugs discovered outside the company.

GSK declined to release details about the latest job cuts.

But a good number were expected to affect GSK's research and development center in RTP.

GSK employs about 500 scientists at the RTP center and a similar center in Philadelphia. About half of those jobs were projected to be on the line.

The two centers are involved in finding treatments for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, including diabetes.

Layoffs often serve as wake-up calls for the remaining researchers to do a better job, said Atul Nerkar, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Nerkar studies strategies that drug makers pursue to improve research and development.

The pharmaceutical industry has long acknowledged the waste in its research and development spending, Nerkar said.

About 25 percent of the patents drug makers file for new discoveries lapse for lack of maintenance.

"They're giving them up, because the ideas are worthless," he said.

sabine.vollmer@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-8992

RF Micro Announces 350 Job Layoffs

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) -- RF Micro Devices plans to lay off approximately 350 employees worldwide as a result of a reduction in the company's investments in wireless systems. The company said it will eliminate approximately $75 million in annual expenses related to cellular transceivers and GPS solutions in order to focus on semiconductor components. The layoffs are expected to be completed over the next six months.

Motricity Layoff is Official - 250 Employees Cut

The pink slips finally arrived at Motricity in North Carolina, yesterday. We first had this news back on the 26th of February - but at that time, it was only a rumor, nothing had been set in stone yet.
This all changed yesterday - Motricity ended up cutting a total of 250 workers at its Durham location, and has confirmed that it will be moving corporate headquarters to Bellevue, Washington.
A skeleton crew of less than 100 employees will remain in Durham, and the company will either sublet the excess space in its facility, or move to a smaller location.
Employees being cut will receive severance based on their seniority as well as vacation time.

2007 Job Growth Rate Half of 2006's: Meanwhile, the Number of Employed People Remained Flat From December to December, State Data Show

The News & Observer

By John Murawski, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.

Jan. 26--The creation of new jobs in the Triangle for 2007 slowed to about half the pace of the previous year in the eight-county region that includes Wake, Durham, Johnston and Orange, according to data released Friday by the N.C. Employment Security Commission.

Another key measure of economic health -- the actual number of people employed -- remained flat between December 2006 and December 2007 after growing 5 percent the year before, the same data show.

The Triangle economy, along with the statewide job market, has been immune to the worst effects of the housing and credit problems hobbling other parts of the country, but it is increasingly feeling the drag of the national economic slowdown.

"You can see a clear decline in the growth of jobs," said Michael Walden, an economist at N.C. State University. "We're on trend with the rest of the country, but the overall economic conditions are better here than in many other areas."

The unemployment rate for the Triangle was 3.7 percent in December, similar to November's 3.8 percent rate. The jobless rate figures from the Employment Security Commission are seasonally adjusted by Wachovia. The nation's unemployment rate hit 5 percent, a two-year high. And inflation for 2007 was the worst in 17 years.

"The Triangle is actually benefiting from some of the problems that are are impacting places like Florida," said Wachovia economist Mark Vitner. "Folks are being priced out of those markets and relocating to places like the Triangle."

Anemic growth and a rise in unemployment are likely at least through the summer, Walden predicted.

Key local indicators tell the story here: Sales of existing homes in the Triangle are down for the first time in five years, while prices of Wake County homes sold in December declined for the first time since 1991. Foreclosures in the Triangle hit a record high last year.

The Triangle added 14,600 jobs during the year, with about two-thirds of that growth happening in the Raleigh-Cary area and the rest in Durham.

Most of the new jobs in the Raleigh area came from leisure and hospitality, education and health services, and professional and business services.

The Raleigh area's unemployment rate ticked up to 3.6 percent in December from 3.5 percent the previous month.

Durham had a 3.7 percent unemployment rate last month, unchanged from November. The annual job creation came from education, health services, and professional and business services.

john.murawski@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-8932

Klaussner Furniture to Lay Off 130 Workers in Asheboro

ASHEBORO, N.C. (WGHP) -- Klaussner Furniture Industries announced Tuesday that it will be closing Plant 5 in Asheboro, leaving 130 employees without jobs.

Employees at the Lewallen Road facility were told this morning the plant will be closing by March.

Tina Byrd, a Human Resources Assistant confirmed the layoff, citing two of Klaussner's customers -- Sofa Express and Levitz -- going out of business as being the reason for the layoffs.

The company released a statement Tuesday:

"...Management at all levels has been charged with finding ways to reduce spending in each of their areas of responsibility. Unfortunately, this will result in some job losses. Management has made the difficult decision to consolidate the 3 manufacturing operations on Lewallen Road in Asheboro into 2 factories. Effective the first week of March 2008, Plant 5 will close and all upholstery production will be moved into Plants 1 and 9."

Klaussner still has two plants in Asheboro, two plants in Star and two plants in Candor. Byrd said some employees will be given the opportunity to transfer based on ability and seniority.

The company's last layoff was in April 2001, when the company closed Plant 6.

The company will be offering benefits to those who will be laid off including:

* Severance pay based on length of service
* Retirement Benefits for anyone eligible by age
* Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) benefits administered through the Employment Security Commission (ESC).
* Weekly unemployment income through the ESC
* Insurance continuation available through COBRA. TAA participants eligible to apply for 65% reimbursement.



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N.C. unemployment rate 4.9% in June

North Carolina's unemployment rate in June was 4.9 percent, up from 4.8 in May, according to data released by the state Employment Security Commission on Friday.

The state rate was nearly half a percentage point higher than the national rate, which stayed steady at 4.5 percent in June.

"Historically, the North Carolina labor force experiences an increase this time of year as high school students look for summer work," said Harry Payne Jr., chairman of the ESC.

The number of people employed in North Carolina in June was nearly 4.31 million, up about 52,000 from a year ago.

A county-by-county breakdown of unemployment rates is scheduled to be released July 27.

N.C. Unemployment Remains At 4.8 Percent In May

RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.8 percent in May after rising in April for the first time in seven months.
New data released Friday by the state Employment Security Commission shows that employment increased by a thousand jobs during May and has risen by nearly 80,000 jobs to almost 4.1 million since May 2006.
The numbers come from seasonally adjusted data for non-farm industry employment.

The largest increase was in education and health services, which added 2,900 jobs in May. Government jobs decreased by 3,000.

N.C. unemployment remains at 4.8% in May

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.8% in May after rising in April for the first time in seven months.

New data released today by the state Employment Security Commission shows that employment increased by a thousand jobs during May and has risen by nearly 80,000 jobs to almost 4.1 million since May 2006.

The numbers come from seasonally adjusted data for non-farm industry employment.

The largest increase was in education and health services, which added 2,900 jobs in May. Government jobs decreased by three thousand.

N.C. jobless rate up to 4.8 percent

RALEIGH, N.C. North Carolina's unemployment rate rose for the first time in seven months in April, jumping to 4.8 percent, according to data released Friday by the state Employment Security Commission.

The rise from 4.5 percent in March marked the largest increase in unemployment since April 2003.The state's employment dropped by 6,355 to 4,312,899 - the second consecutive monthly decline.

Compared to one year ago, employment was still up by 75,781, or 1.79 percent.