Mike: Good day to all. Today’s big number is the Employment Situation, which is released at 8:30 EST. The consensus is a loss of 500,000 jobs with the unemployment rate increasing to 7%.    – If these numbers are as expected, the markets may react favorably, but if these numbers are higher than expected, there will likely be an adverse market reaction. I mention the market because companies can use a stronger stock price to borrow money at more favorable rates, which in turn be used to develop more products that require more workers. Also, if a companies share price falls below a certain value, they could be taken over by another company. In that case when the companies merge, the usual scenario is to cut jobs. That’s merely my simple take on the matter.    Mike: The unemployment news is worse than even some of the more dire forecasts as the unemployment rate rose to 7.2%.            

* Breaking newsYet another sobering government labor report released Friday showed the economy lost 524,000 jobs in December, bringing 2008’s total job loss to 2.6 million.

Last year’s steep drop in employment marked the highest yearly job-loss total since 1945.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a loss of 525,000 jobs in the month.

According to the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report, the unemployment rate rose to 7.2% last month from 6.7% in November and higher than economists’ forecasts of 7%.

via Total 2008 job loss: 2.6 million – Yahoo! Finance.

 

The following graph was taken from an excellent unemployment overview from via Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis: Jobs Contract 12th Straight Month; Unemployment Rate Soars to 7.2%.

 

In December 2007 I predicted a jobs disaster every month this year. That prediction is now 12 for 12. Here is a synopsis of the BLS report.

Nonfarm payroll employment declined sharply in December, and the unemployment rate rose from 6.8 to 7.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Payroll employment fell by 524,000 over the month and by 1.9 million over the last 4 months of 2008. In

December, job losses were large and widespread across most major industry sectors.

 

Unemployment Rate Soars

Unemployment Rate Soars

Mike: It’s refreshing to see the news media (story below) start to look beyond the stated rate of unemployment to the real unemployment rate, which could be approaching 16% by some estimates:

* But 7.2 percent doesn’t capture how many people are out of work. By another measure — from the same employment report — as much as 13.5 percent of the labor force is either unemployed or underemployed.

The 7.2 figure everyone knows measures something very specific: the portion of people in the work force who wanted to work, looked for a job last month, but weren’t working during the first week in December.

via The Associated Press: Meltdown 101: Unemployment by the numbers.

 

 

Mike: But on the other hand, the news could have been worse because the monthly number was less than expected. Take your pick; it’s either worse or better than expected. The unemployment rate went up higher than expected, but the number laid off in December was less than expected:

 

Employers cut 524,000 jobs in December, less than economists’ forecast for a loss of 550,000 jobs, according to Thomson Reuters.

While overall job losses were less than expected, the unemployment rate still jumped to 7.2 percent from 6.7 percent a month earlier. The rate is the highest since 1993.

via The Associated Press: Stocks turn higher on monthly jobs report

 

Mike: Obama’s view of the unemployment situation:

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3EAGl3Nsqw]

 

Mike: Our congressional reps are being rather mum about their upcoming pay raises. They sure don’t deserve a merit raise and in this time of increasing job loss and difficult economic  times, they don’t deserve their inflation raise either. After all, they are the overseers of the economy and they didn’t do their job when doing something like demanding that the SEC or even FBI investigate the shenanigans at Fannie/Freddie would have blown the cover off banking corruption

I will again urge you to write your representative and remind them of how they failed to heed the warning signs of an imploding economy and as a result they don’t deserve a pay raise. You use the easy contact form at Congress.org to let them know your thoughts.

 

 

Non Sequitur - Jan 8

Non Sequitur - Jan 8

 

 

 

Microsoft/Google/IBM News & Rumors
  

 

Mike: The rumor mill is a bit quieter today for MSFT and IBM. Hopefully it stays that way.

 

* The search giant that’s redefining the digital age used paper filings with federal regulators to outline layoffs and cost-cutting plans. The analog filing kept investors in the dark for more than two weeks.

Google has announced that it will cut its temporary workforce, but no one is quite sure how many people will be affected. 

via Google Goes Analog to Warn of Pending Layoffs – News.

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cST1H69PiiI]

 

* A couple more notes on Microsoft before we get to our big year-in-review / 2009 forecast post tomorrow.

First off, for those that didn’t catch it, this is worth mentioning: Microsoft forgoes South Lake Union lease

via More Signs of Shrinkage at Microsoft? | Seattle Bubble — News & discussion about real estate & the housing bubble in the Seattle area..

 

General Economic News

 

Mike: Affording health insurance on unemployment is an amost impossible task for many, as this story below shows. I’ll do a post on this soon. Please feel free to post any of your health insurance suggestions for those that get laid off in the comments section:

* America’s ongoing tsunami of pink slips is washing away workers’ health coverage as well as their jobs.

That’s because most laid-off workers cannot afford to pay for temporary continuation of their health insurance through COBRA coverage, according to a report issued this morning by Families USA.

The consumer health advocacy organization said the average national premium cost for family COBRA coverage gobbled up nearly 84 percent of average unemployment benefits in 2008.

via Laid-off workers can’t afford COBRA, report says – Kansas City Star.

 

* According to new employment and business forecast figures released by the Associated General Contractors of America, about two thirds of the nation’s non-residential construction companies are planning to cut their payrolls.

The layoffs are predicted to result in a 30 percent decline in the number of people working on construction projects. The forecast results are based on a representative survey conducted by the AGC in late 2008.

via Large construction layoffs looming – New Mexico Business Weekly:

 

* TORRANCE, CA: Toyota Motor Corp., whose US sales dropped more than a third in December, said it has made PR budget reductions and will seek to “do more with less,” according to Joe Tetherow, national manager of Toyota Division Communications.

 

Tetherow declined to give dollar amounts of the cuts, but said it would have an affect on both internal and agency PR support.

via Difficult sales climate spurs Toyota PR cuts PRWeek US.

 

* According to new employment and business forecast figures released by the Associated General Contractors of America, about two thirds of the nation’s non-residential construction companies are planning to cut their payrolls.

The layoffs are predicted to result in a 30 percent decline in the number of people working on construction projects. The forecast results are based on a representative survey conducted by the AGC in late 2008.

via Survey: Large construction layoffs looming – Nashville Business Journal: .

 

* Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) — U.S. job losses may double to more than 5 million by the end of 2009, the most since the Great Depression, as a prolonged recession shatters business confidence, economists said.

Payrolls may drop by an additional 2.4 million workers this year, projected Ethan Harris, co-head of economic research at Barclays Capital in New York. The Labor Department reported today that job losses last year totaled 2.6 million, the biggest annual decrease since 1945.

via Bloomberg.com: Worldwide.

 

Municipal News

 

* Macomb County commissioners laid off 10 employees Thursday, making good on a promise to cut workers every month until unions cut $10 million from their pension and health care benefits.

via 10 Macomb County workers laid off | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press.

 

* Some part-time employees of the Ross County Sheriff’s Office will be laid off sometime in the next few weeks, new Sheriff George Lavender said Thursday.

via Sheriff’s office to cut workers | chillicothegazette.com | Chillicothe Gazette.

 

* School districts are apparently not immune to the recent plague of layoffs; just days after Syracuse University announced it would cut 48 positions, word got out that West Genesee Central School District would follow suit.

via – West Genesee

 

* AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. John Baldacci on Friday unveiled an historically austere two-year state budget that includes plenty of pain for everyone.

The $6.1 billion state spending package proposes deep cuts to address an $838 million shortfall due to the recession and increased cost of providing services. It would eliminate 219 state positions, requiring 139 layoffs, trim some state tax rebate programs, transfer many inmates to privately run prisons and reduce public funding of gubernatorial campaigns.

via Maine budget eliminates 219 jobs – Bangor Daily News.

 

* Twenty city employees were laid off Thursday to help close an $11 million budget deficit in the upcoming fiscal year, the city announced late in the afternoon.

“Our focus was on non-core services and non-front-line personnel so as to minimize the impact noticed by the residents,” City Manager Doug Krieger said Thursday afternoon.

via Naperville cuts workforce by 5 percent :: Naperville Sun :: News.

 

* ARLINGTON – Health and cleanliness inspections at Arlington restaurants won’t occur for several weeks after the city recently handed out 19 pink slips to city employees.

via Arlington layoffs may delay restaurant inspections | News for Austin, Texas | KVUE.com | State New

 

* DETROIT — Wayne County officials laid off 44 members of Sheriff Warren Evans’ executive staff Friday, claiming his out-of-control spending on crab, shrimp and other foodstuffs for his employees left them little choice.

Evans is denying most of the allegations, but a Department of Management & Budget report found $928,569 in purchase orders from 2006 to 2008 it labels “abusive spending.” The tally included luxury meals, food for staff Christmas parties and meals for jail inmates that could be bought cheaper or should not have been bought at all, according to the report.

via Sheriff’s spending prompts layoffs | detnews.com | The Detroit News.

 

* Fulton Mayor Ronald Woodward said the layoff of 36 workers at A.L. Lee Memorial Hospital in Fulton is just a taste of things to come.

Lee Memorial will lay off 36 employees by Sunday. Executive director of the hospital, Dennis Casey, cited a decrease in the facility’s inpatient volume as the reason for the layoffs, according to published reports.

via Oswego County Business Magazine.

 

* OLYMPIA, Wash– With the economic downturn, Governor Gregoire has had to make some budget cuts. Some of those cuts include the Department of Corrections.

On Friday the D.O.C. confirmed they will be making some layoffs. KNDU talked to the Deputy Director of the Department. He says besides budget cuts they did a case load forecast.  They found that the number of offenders is going down. Now that means less offenders will be filling beds in Washington State Prisons.

via KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA | Layoffs at WA Department of Corrections.

 

* SARNIA, Ont. — City officials in Sarnia, Ont., meet Monday to deal with the fallout of the latest victim of the sputtering auto industry.

Ube Automotive said over the weekend it will be closing the doors of its wheel-manufacturing plant.

About 200 workers are losing their jobs over the next six months as a result of the shutdown.

via TheSpec.com – Business – Wheel plant Ube in Sarnia, Ont., closing doors, throwing 200 out of work .

 

US and some Canada News –

 

* Even with the current recession and the industry’s history of up-and-down employment cycles, the layoffs at three area Freightliner plants announced Thursday are staggering.

One truck plant in Mount Holly will be almost completely idled, with nearly 600 workers sent home. Another plant in Rowan County will lose almost 1,300 employees, leaving it with one-fourth the work force it had less than a year ago.

via Freightliner cuts 2,137 N.C. jobs | CharlotteObserver.com.

 

* CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More than 2,000 workers in North Carolina are being laid off because of production cutbacks at three Freightliner plants.

Nearly 1,300 jobs will be cut at the plant in Cleveland in Rowan County. In Gastonia, 275 positions are being cut. And in Mount Holly, 572 jobs will be lost.

via Freightliner announces 2,000 job cuts in NC | WCNC.com | Local News for Charlotte, North Carolina | Local Business.

 

* Stein Mart Inc. is laying off more than 200 employees as it tries to cut expenses as sales continue to fall. The Jacksonville-based retailer reported December sales of $178 million, down 9.3 percent from the previous December.

via Sales fall, Stein Mart to cut 209 jobs – Jacksonville Business Journal: .

 

* Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) — Seagate Technology, the world’s biggest maker of hard-disk drives, plans to cut jobs and reorganize the company as it copes with the slumping economy, Chief Executive Officer William Watkins said.

“We are going to announce another round, and we think we’ll do it in January,” Watkins said today in an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. “There will be restructuring, and there will be some layoffs.”

The recession is crimping orders for personal computers, sapping demand for Seagate’s storage products. The company’s biggest rival, Western Digital Corp., announced plans last month to eliminate 2,500 jobs. In 2006, Seagate said it would shed about 6,400 jobs after acquiring Maxtor Corp. for $1.9 billion.

via Bloomberg.com: Worldwide.

 

* WAUSEON — About 100 employees of the former Plastech factory here, now Johnson Control Injection Molding, will be permanently losing their jobs in two months.

 

BATH (AP) — Bath Iron Works has announced the layoffs of 179 workers, the largest single job cut in at least three years.

The cuts, announced Thursday, cover 11 trades including shipfitters, machinists, pipefitters and welders. The effective date of the layoffs is Jan. 23.

via WCSH6.com | Portland, ME | BIW To Eliminate 179 Workers.

 

* About 230 employees of Genworth Financial in Lynchburg are losing their jobs, a Genworth spokesman said this morning.

The company announced in December that it would eliminate about 1,000 positions from its global workforce. It notified affected employees this week. Most affected workers were told on Thursday.

via Genworth laying off 230 in Lynchburg | WSLS 10.

 

* Though AK Steel Corp. said Wednesday it would take back an unspecified number of 365 idled workers locally and restart production in its Mansfield plant, most of those employees have not been called back to work, according to reports released Thursday.

The firm told investors Thursday it will start a company-wide layoff of salaried workers company-wide and will lay off up to 47 employees at one of its other Ohio facilities.

via AK Steel to lay off 47 workers at Ohio plant | mansfieldnewsjournal.com | Mansfield News Journal.

 

* The online “campus” of Colorado State University laid off 12 workers today as part of the site’s efforts to weather the bad economy.

“We’re just being very proactive,” said CSU-Global CEO Rich Schweigert. “I fully expect (the) Global campus to be here in five years, 10 years.”

via CSU’s online campus lays off 12, cuts budget by at least $2M | LovelandConnection.com | Loveland Connection.

 

* Another Siouxland employer is feeling the economic pinch, laying off a handful of employees effective immediately.

MtronPTI out of Yankton, South Dakota says the 15 layoffs are necessary, because of a slowdown in orders.

via More Layoffs Come From Another Siouxland Employer.

 

* At least 1,000 of Alltel’s 2,900 positions in Pulaski County likely will be cut or sent to other states eventually.

Basking Ridge, N.J.-based Verizon closed the deal by paying$5.9 billion for the equity of Alltel, which had been the nation’s fifth-largest wireless carrier.

Between 50 and 75 Alltel employees, mostly at the executive level, were let go Thursday, Verizon spokesman Robin Nicol …

via Verizon closes deal on Alltel; 50-75 jobs cut, more expected.

 

It’s no secret that Warner Bros. is poised to slash dozens if not hundreds of jobs at its Burbank headquarters in the first quarter. The Time Warner Inc. studio will join a train of other entertainment companies including NBC/Universal and Viacom Inc. to cut costs across their operations in the face of tough industry economics and the deepening recession.

Although the number and timing of layoffs at Warner is still being determined, it will definitely impact scores of “back office” workers in management information systems, finance and accounting. Many of those jobs will be outsourced to India and Poland, according to people familiar with the situation. Once Warner finalizes its plans, it will conduct training sessions with the outsource workers at its Burbank lot as well as at its various offices around the world.

via – Warner Bros. outsourcing jobs to India and Poland

 

* Another day brings with it another round of layoffs. Three companies announced job cuts Friday that will affect hundreds of workers in Minnesota.

Cirrus Design Corporation informed employees that 50 administrative positions have been eliminated and nearly 100 furloughed workers will not be returning to work. This comes just days after most of the Duluth-based company’s employees returned to the job after a month-long furlough.

via kare11.com | Twin Cities, MN | Three companies plan to cut nearly 900 jobs in Minnesota.

 

* Between 70 and 80 hourly and salaried employees at ATK’s Lewiston site are losing their jobs at the ammunition maker permanently.

via http://www.lmtribune.com/breaking-news/790/ .

 

* CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Greenbrier announced Friday that the resort will furlough almost half its 1,350 employees, citing the bad economy and hundreds of empty hotel rooms.

Hotel officials decided to furlough 650 hourly and salaried workers “due to a sharper than normal seasonal decline in business, as w

via The Charleston Gazette – West Virginia News and Sports – News – Seasonal layoffs larger than normal at The Greenbrier .

 

* Crozer-Keystone Health System began eliminating 400 jobs this week.

The Delaware County organization, which employs 7,000 people at five hospitals, notified managers and medical staff of its plans yesterday. Some non-union employees already have left, Kathy Scullin

via Crozer-Keystone Health cutting 400 jobs | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/08/2009.

 

* News 5 has learned 21 full-time employees are being laid off at Hastings Thermo King manufacturing facility. The layoffs take effect January 16th.

via Thermo King announces layoffs – Top Local Stories – News : KHAS-TV.

 

* Jan. 8–The weakened carpet market and the loss of a major fiber supplier were major factors in Gulistan Carpet’s decision to close its Turnersburg plant in February.

About 120 people are expected to lose their jobs when the carpet yarn plant closes its doors Feb. 28.

via Turnersburg plant to close doors.

 

* MONTREAL, Jan. 9 /CNW Telbec/ – BPR-Bechtel has found it necessary to lay

off 330 workers from its offices across Quebec. This represents a temporary staff reduction of nearly thirty-six percent.

Certain of BPR-Bechtel’s clients are being directly affected by the global economic slowdown, and are consequently reducing their investments,

scale of operations, and numbers of staff. This all, of course, directly impacts BPR-Bechtel and its employees.

via CNW Group | BPR-BECHTEL | Layoffs at BPR-Bechtel .

 

* Beacon Energy Holdings, a US-based company engaged in the production and marketing of biodiesel, has reduced its workforce at its Cleburne, Texas facility. The reduction amounted to approximately 30% of the on-site staff.

via Beacon Energy reduces workforce at Texas facility – Energy Business Review.

 

* Adotas — The new year is starting as badly as last year ended.

World Avenue, an interactive marketing services firm, said today due to market conditions and an expected decline in advertising spending during the first half of the year, it has cut approximately 30 percent of its workforce. The reductions were made in full compliance with the WARN ACT, according to the company.

via World Avenue reduces workforce » Adotas.

 

* DAYTON — The Dayton Art Institute has reduced its work force by 9 percent, according to museum director Jan Driesbach.

Of the institution’s 36 full-time employees, four positions were eliminated as of Wednesday, Jan. 7. In addition, two full-time jobs were reduced to part-time, and an equivalent of four-and-a-half part times jobs were cut by reducing the hours of 15 additional staffers.

via Dayton Art Institute reduces workforce.

 

* Salary.com said it has cut 100 jobs, or 16 percent of its workforce, “in response to the current and anticipated macro-economic uncertainties.”

via Salary.com lays off 100 employees – Daily Business Update – The Boston Globe.

 

* The state of the economy is forcing another area plant to reduce its workforce.

Eramet in Marietta announced employee layoffs Thursday and will continue doing so Friday.

“The company has decided to reduce its workforce by 110 employees,” Joy Frank-Collins, Eramet spokesperson, said.

via Eramet Marietta Plans Layoffs .

 

* Facing economic pressures, yet another local company is reducing its workforce.

Brush Wellman issued layoff notices Wednesday morning to 56 hourly and nine salaried employees.

via Brush Wellman in Elmore lays off 65 people.

 

* Avago Technologies Finance Pte. Ltd. (“Avago Finance”), a leading designer, developer and global supplier of analog semiconductor devices, today announced it will consolidate its worldwide workforce, reducing the number of employees by approximately 230, or about 6 percent of total headcount.

 

* McAdenville-based Pharr Yarns is planning employee layoffs to adjust for the softening in demand for soft spun carpet yarn.

Mel Collins, Pharr’s vice president for human resources, said there wouldn’t be mass layoffs or plant closings and that demand for other product lines remains strong.

via Pharr Yarns to reduce work force | CharlotteObserver.com

 

* Butterball, LLC today announced in a news release it will adjust operations at its Carthage facility, resulting in layoffs to 75 employees.

The changes, scheduled to begin around March 1, 2009, will combine two deboning shifts into one shift. The adjustment is the result of the reduction of turkeys raised on farms in 2008 to help Butterball, LLC properly meet decreased demand projections, the release said.

via Butterball in Carthage to lay off 75 workers | News-Leader.com | Springfield News-Leader.

 

*  Bargain-priced footwear at Niagara Shoe Factory outlets across Niagara will be priced even lower until mid-February when the Port Colborne-based business closes its doors……

Mike Klemm is listed as the owner of the Port Colborne business. According to the city of Port Colborne’s website, the factory employs about 25 people. That doesn’t include the retail portion of the business.

via NiagaraThisWeek.com: News: Story: Niagara Shoe Factory closing its doors.

 

* MasterCraft Boat Co. in Vonore continued layoffs Wednesday, which takes the layoff number to over 100 since early fall 2008.

via The (Maryville, Tennessee) Daily Times : Your source for news and info in the Blount County area. Celebrating serving Blount County for 125 Years..

 

* Vermont Teddy Bear Co. laid off 35 employees today and announced its Waterbury retail store will close at the end of January.

The job cuts, which were spread throughout the company’s Shelburne and Newport locations, eliminated about 14 percent of the company’s work force.

via Vermont Teddy Bear lays off 35 employees | burlingtonfreepress.com | The Burlington Free Press.

 

* Stock Building Supply laid off 9,000 workers in the United States during the past 14 months, president Joe Appelmann told Charlotte’s News & Observer.

The cuts, part of British parent Wolseley plc’s plan to slash its American building materials distribution division’s workforce, come in response to a national housing crunch that has hit building materials suppliers particularly hard.

“When housing is talked about, I think people strictly think about homebuilders,” Appelmann said during a conference call. “There’s an exact trickle-down effect when their business is impacted.”

via Stock Building Supply president: We’ve laid off 9,000 workers in the last 14 months – 1/8/2009 7:42:00 AM – Industrial Distribution

 

BUFFALO, N.Y. The Buffalo News is offering buyouts to about 300 employees in the newsroom and other departments because of tough economic times.

This is the second recent round of buyouts at the Berkshire Hathaway Inc.-owned daily, but the first to include editorial employees. The Buffalo News has about 820 employees.

via – ‘Buffalo News’ Offers Buyouts to Hundreds of Employees – Editor & Publisher

 

* Charlotte law firm Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein has laid off 28 employees, saying it is responding to the economic downturn.

The layoffs included 13 lawyers, four paralegals and 11 other staffers in various practice areas.

via Parker Poe lays off 28 employees – Charlotte Business Journal: .

 

* Thursday, Multi-Color Corp. (LABL: News ) revealed plans to consolidate its heat transfer label, or HTL, manufacturing facility located in Framingham, Massachusetts into its other existing facilities. The transition will begin immediately with final plant closure within the next several months.

via RTTNews – Latest Earnings,Upcoming Earnings, Pos Pre Announcements, Pos Pre Announcements , Positive Surprises, Negative Surprises, Hot Stocks, Stock Split Calendar, Stock Buybacks, Dividends, Negative, Positive PreAnnouncements,Surprises …. .

 

* A large public tools manufacturer is closing its Escondido plant and laying off about 80 employees, some of whom will be rehired at other facilities.

Snap-on Inc., based in Wisconsin, is combining the Escondido operations with those of a Los Angeles-area facility, said company spokesman Richard Secor.

via San Diego Business Journal Online – business news for San Diego, California .

 

* More than a dozen farmers in our area say they are losing everything.

As Eyewitness News first reported, Pilgrim’s Pride poultry plant in Live Oak is cutting more than 500 jobs, but the plant’s closing means 19 area chicken growers are down on their luck, too.

These farmers say they aren’t just losing business, they’re losing their livelihoods.

via Local Poultry Growers Lose Farms .

 

* WHITE CITY — The imploding residential housing market dealt Boise Cascade’s White City plywood plant a fatal blow Thursday.

The worst year for housing starts in post-World War II America led the Boise, Idaho, wood products firm to announce it will close the Antelope Road plant and lay off 110 workers on March 13.

via MailTribune.com: 110 jobs lost in White City.

 

* TORONTO, Jan 9 (Reuters) – Canada’s Globe and Mail plans to use voluntary severance and layoffs to cut 80 jobs, or about 10 percent of its workforce, as the national daily newspaper copes with a slowdown in the advertising market, its publisher said on Friday.

via Globe and Mail aims to cut 80 jobs, publisher says | Markets | Markets News | Reuters .

 

* Optisolar, which makes thin-film solar panels and builds large solar farms, has laid off around 300 employees, or half of its staff.

via Greentech Media | Optisolar Lays off 300, Half the Staff.

 

* One of Charlotte’s oldest law firms has become the latest to feel the economic pinch.

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein laid off 28 employees, including 13 attorneys, to “align the firm’s staffing levels and structure with market demand during the economic recession,” firm officials announced Thursday. The cuts occurred across the 480-employee firm’s six offices in the Carolinas.

via Law firm cuts 28 employees | CharlotteObserver.com.

 

* WAUSEON — About 100 employees of the former Plastech factory here, now Johnson Control Injection Molding, will be permanently losing their jobs in two months.

via Crescent-News.com – Wauseon plant closing, about 100 jobs will be lost.

 

* EVART – The struggling auto ¨ industry brought down yet ¨ another victim Thursday as the PPG Industries Works 23 plant in Evart discussed closure Thursday.

Corporate officials visited the plant to begin negotiations with union officials, according to Plant Manager Mike Soderberg, who declined further comment on the company’s status.

via cadillacnews.com.

 

* About 90 people are losing their jobs as Armor Metal Group plans to close a southern Indiana plant and move at least some of that work to an Ohio factory.

Cincinnati-based Armor Metal plans to close the Madison plant over the next six months. The factory makes shipping and storage containers, racks and other kinds of equipment, mostly under contracts with the federal government and the military.

via Armor Metal closing southern Indiana factory — chicagotribune.com.

 

* Herff Jones, Inc. announced Thursday it will close its manufacturing plant and photography lab in Lewiston, and consolidate the work to their facility in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Herff Jones employs about 275 people at the Lewiston facility. Mike Williams, vice-president of Human Resources for Herff Jones, would not comment on the number of employees affected by the closing, but did say some employees would remain at the Lewiston facility.

via WKBT La Crosse, WI-NewsChannel 8-Herff Jones to Close Lewiston Manufacturing Plant, Photo Lab.

 

* Ryder will close its local operations February 19th.

Plant closings and production cutbacks have led to the shut-down of still another Findlay business.

Ryder Trucking, which has 68 employees in Findlay and Bowling Green, will close its local operations February 19th.

via 1330 WFIN News with Tom Sheldon and Scott Jennings – Findlay Ohio.

 

* Nearly 200 workers at what was once known as the Freightliner plant on Swan Island will lose their jobs at month’s end as part of sweeping cuts by Daimler Trucks North America that will shed 9 percent of its work force

via 190 at Daimler Trucks’ Swan Island plant to lose jobs Jan. 30 – OregonLive.com.

 

* Following what has become a trend among businesses across the country, the state and the community, Straits Steel has had to lay off some of its Ludington employees.

The wire manufacturer has about 85 employees still working, down 15 from 100 prior to the holidays. The company had 180 employees years ago but then after a near plant closing has been at 100 for several years, Varenhorst said.

via Ludington Daily News – News.

 

* SUNRISE, Fla. – Protective Products of America, Inc. (PPA:TSX), a maker of ceramic armour products for military and law-enforcement customers, is cutting its workforce by one-quarter as it awaits a major contract.

Formerly known as Ceramic Protection of Calgary, PPA announced Thursday from its Florida headquarters that most of the staff reduction will affect an unspecified number of contract workers.

via nbbusinessjournal.com – Armour maker cuts workforce by 25 per cent – Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada.

 

* SARNIA, Ont. – Nova Chemicals Corp. (TSX:NCX), Canada’s largest plastics producer, says it will cut 400 jobs worldwide, including an undisclosed number at its petrochemicals plant in the southwestern Ontario community of Sarnia.

via Nova Chemicals Corp. to cut 400 jobs amid slumping prices and weak demand | AM 1150.

 

* New York & Company said that key components of the restructuring and cost reduction program includes – permanent reduction of 12% of the company’s field management and about 10% reduction in corporate office professionals;

via RTTNews – Latest Earnings,Upcoming Earnings, Pos Pre Announcements, Pos Pre Announcements , Positive Surprises, Negative Surprises, Hot Stocks, Stock Split Calendar, Stock Buybacks, Dividends, Negative, Positive PreAnnouncements,Surprises …. .

 

* PORTAGE, MI — Auto parts supplier Summit Polymers Inc. said Thursday it is closing one of its Portage plants and laying off 215 workers.

The plant closure and 13 percent reduction in its local work force were blamed on lowered car and truck production, the Portage-based company said in a written statement.

via Summit Polymers shuttering Kilgore Road plant; laying off 215 workers – Kalamazoo News – The Latest News, Blogs, Photos & Videos – MLive.com .

 

* WASHINGTON — The Washington Redskins laid off at least 20 employees at Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va., this week and an undetermined number at FedEx Field, according to several sources with knowledge of the situation.

via HeraldNet: Redskins lay off at leat 20 employees.

 

* CHICAGO – Sun-Times Media Group Inc. plans to close 12 weekly newspapers in suburban Chicago and has asked its union employees to take a cut in compensation as part of cost-cutting measures brought on by declining advertising revenue.

The company, which operates the Chicago-Sun Times, also wants to lay off up to 15 employees in suburban newsrooms, a union official told Crain’s Chicago Business for a story on its Web site Thursday.

via Sun-Times Media Group to close 12 suburban papers — chicagotribune.com.

 

* Jan. 8–About 55 contracted workers at Big West refinery have lost their jobs because of problems stemming from the plant owner’s recent bankruptcy filing, a union official briefed on the situation said Thursday.

via Big West lays off 55 workers amid financial turmoil.

 

* Array Biopharma released a statement today confirming rumors that the company laid off 10 percent of its staff. In addition to the 40 employees cut from research and support positions, Array announced it will be scaling back its R&D over the next 2 years. The company expects the restructuring to reduce its burn rate from $30 million per quarter to $20 million. 

via Array biopharma cuts staff, seeks partnerships – FierceBiotech.

 

* Jan 9 (Reuters) – World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE.N) said it plans to cut 10 percent of its global workforce to control costs, and increase earnings and margins.

via UPDATE 1-WWE to cut 10 percent of its workforce | Industries | Consumer Goods & Retail | Reuters .

 

* “There’s a lot of rumors going around. That’s about it,” says Nancy Hamilton. Mark Edminster adds what he’s heard, “1,500 to 1,600 hundred hourly and the rest management, you know indirect people.”

In the next few days, confirmation of one thing will arrive in their mail boxes. A letter, from Hawker Beechcract CEO Jim Schuster, that says layoffs will happen.

via The Kansas CW | Hawker Beechcraft Announces Job Cuts.

 

* Semitool on Thursday announced the layoffs of 280 employees, including about 200 in the Kalispell and Libby offices.

The layoffs also include a “scattering of service/sales people in Texas, California, Minnesota and the East Coast,” the company said in a news release. The few remaining layoffs came at plants in Asia and Europe.

via Semitool laying off 280, mostly in Montana | greatfallstribune.com | Great Falls Tribune.

 

* WEST CHESTER, Ohio — AK Steel Holding Corp. said it will temporarily lay off an undisclosed number of salaried workers due to falling demand for steel.

The company with headquarters in suburban Cincinnati said that the layoffs could become permanent and will likely affect employees in all of AK Steel’s plants and offices. Officials didn’t said how many workers would be affected by the layoffs.

via AK Steel Announces Layoffs For Salaried Workers – News Story – WHIO Dayton.

 

* Cirrus Design officials announced Thursday that 10 employees at the Grand Forks plant have been laid off, citing a worse economic performance than hoped for as the reason behind the cuts.

via Cirrus Design announces 10 layoffs in GF |  Grand Forks Herald  | Grand Forks, North Dakota .

 

* ST. LOUIS | The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is laying off 39 employees, including 14 in the newsroom.

The others are in operations, advertising and finance departments.

Publisher Kevin Mowbray said in a story Thursday at the STLtoday.com that the layoffs result from a fall in advertising revenue caused by the recession.

via St. Louis newspaper lays off 39 employees – Kansas City St

 

* KNOP-TV – Union Pacific Railroad announced Thursday it is temporarily laying off hundreds of employees. In the North Platte area about 231 workers will be off the job.

via Union Pacific lets go hundreds in North Platte – Top Local Stories – News : KHAS-TV.

 

* Intermec said today that it would cut 150 jobs, or 7 percent of its global work force, mainly in selling, general and administrative areas, as it responds to the global economic meltdown. The Everett company said the job cuts will save up to $16 million a year.

via Business & Technology | Intermec to cut 150 jobs, 7% of work force | Seattle Times Newspaper.

 

* The weakened carpet market and the loss of a major fiber supplier were major factors in Gulistan Carpet’s decision to close its Turnersburg plant in February.

About 120 people are expected to lose their jobs when the carpet yarn plant closes its doors Feb. 28.

“It is just the overall state of the economy,” plant manager Frank Wells said

via Turnersburg plant to close doors.

 

* Erickson Retirement Communities, which develops and operates retirement communities in 11 states, laid off 260 employees Wednesday, a 2 percent staff reduction that the Catonsville-based company blamed on the deepening recession.

via Erickson Retirement idles 260 workers — baltimoresun.com.

 

* America’s ongoing tsunami of pink slips is washing away workers’ health coverage as well as their jobs.

That’s because most laid-off workers cannot afford to pay for temporary continuation of their health insurance through COBRA coverage, according to a report issued this morning by Families USA.

The consumer health advocacy organization said the average national premium cost for family COBRA coverage gobbled up nearly 84 percent of average unemployment benefits in 2008.

via Laid-off workers can’t afford COBRA, report says – Kansas City Star.

 

* HAMPTON — What officials called “a significant layoff” occurred at Foss Manufacturing on Friday.

The layoffs represented an attempt by Foss owners to bring the company in line with current economic conditions, said Chief Operating Officer Bill Cummings.

Maine budget eliminates 219 jobsGreenland restaurant and pub closeStrafford County lays off 40 workersCoping with life after a layoffL.L. Bean: Layoffs possible in new yearRetailer KB Toys files for bankruptcy protectionBoston Market closesBeer co. slashing 1,400 jobsCall center to close in Dover; 300 jobs cutTweeter closing doors

An individual who identified himself only as one of the workers laid off Friday indicated that a total of 114 Foss employees were told there were no jobs for them. Cummings said that number was a bit high, but would not comment on the exact number of workers laid off other than to say it was “significant.”

via Foss job cuts ‘significant’.

 

* SACRAMENTO, Calif. — OptiSolar tells KCRA 3 that 105 of its employees from the facility at McClellan Air Park will be laid off Friday.

via OptiSolar To Lay Off 105 Employees – KCRA 3 News Story – KQCA Sacramento.

 

* Cortland, New York (WSYR-TV) – Employees at the BorgWarner Morse TEC facility in Cortland tell us just under 200 workers have been laid off from the Cortland facility and two Ithaca facilities.

 

* In a letter to Hawker Beechcraft employees today, chief executive Jim Schuster said he expects more layoffs at the Wichita planemaker.

“As we enter 2009, we see the economy continuing to erode and find ourselves facing a highly uncertain and unpredictable business climate,” Schuster said in the letter. “As a result we are forced to substantially decrease our 2009 production levels and take the painful step of reducing our work force accordingly.”

via Hawker chief expects more layoffs | News Updates | Kansas.com.

 

* About 85 employees will be affected by Carter’s closing, although a few who live in the Thomasville area will retain their jobs. In addition, Directional will lease a frame operation in Denton, just south of Thomasville, which employs 18 people.

via Directional Furniture buying Carter Furniture assets – 2009-01-08 14:30:32 – Furniture Today.

 

* Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. announced Thursday that it is laying off approximately 60 full-time production workers at its Towanda plant, and is planning to temporarily shut down the plant for one week, the human resources director at the plant said.

 

* The Albuquerque Journal has announced staff reductions as part of a restructuring aimed at reducing costs but said the cuts were limited to fewer than 10 in the newsroom.

via Albuquerque Journal announces layoffs – Forbes.com.

 

* “In response to the economic situation that is affecting everyone, we decided the prudent thing to do was to take a hard look at our expenses and budget,” said Anne Leach, chairwoman of the center’s board of trustees. “By consolidating positions, we are now stronger and leaner.”

The National Steinbeck Center, the cultural hub of Oldtown Salinas, the city’s downtown business district, now has a full-time staff of eight, down from 13 before the layoffs, Leach said.

via Steinbeck Center cuts staff | thecalifornian.com | The Salinas Californian.

 

* Teleflex Marine, which makes boat steering controls, has announced plans to close its Hagerstown area plant, The Herald-Mail in Hagerstown reported.

In a filing with the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, the company says 93 employees will lose their jobs.

via 93 to lose jobs when Teleflex Marine closes Hagerstown plant — baltimoresun.com.

 

* BELMOND — Eaton Corp., one of Belmond’s top employers, will cut 78 jobs representing about 20 percent of its workforce, company officials announced on Thursday.

via WCFcourier.com – Waterloo and Cedar Falls Iowa News Homepage | News » Breaking News.

 

* MUSCATINE, Iowa — HNI Corp. officials said Thursday they had laid off employees “across the board” in Muscatine in response to sluggish sales of office furniture made by the company.

“We’re not going to announce the numbers,” said Gary Carlson, HNI’s vice president of member and community relations. “It’s several people … We’re doing it at all locations.” 

via MuscatineJournal.com | HNI announces another round of layoffs.

 

* NEW YORK Skippy Haik, publisher of the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American — who garnered praise for living in her office for 12 straight days following Hurricane Katrina in an effort to keep the paper going — is leaving the Gannett Co. daily, the paper announced Thursday.

The announcement stated that Haik’s departure was part of a reorganization that will mean the loss of 38 jobs as the American’s printing is relocated to the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, also owned by Gannett.

via ‘Hattiesburg American’ Publisher Out, 38 Jobs Cut .

 

* Avago Technologies Finance Pte. Ltd. said Friday it will cut about 230 jobs, or 6 percent of its work force.

via Avago Technologies to cut 230 jobs – Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal: .

 

* Meredith Corp. plans to ax 250 jobs, including roughly 100 in Des Moines, and cease publication of Country Home magazine as part of its response to a bad economy and still-declining advertising revenue, the company announced Thursday.

via Meredith magazine cut; 100 lose jobs | DesMoinesRegister.com | The Des Moines Register.

 

* The economy has taken its toll on another Knoxville area company. ImagePoint Inc. said today it will close its sales and manufacturing operations and seek a buyer “for strategic parts of its business.”

The shutdown is immediate and “will include termination of the company’s 450 employees,” according to a press release.

via ImagePoint to sell business units, cut 450 jobs : Business : Knoxville News Sentinel.

 

* Officials with Delco Remy and Roadway Express have confirmed large cutbacks are planned for their Meridian operations.

Roadway Express will make cutbacks as part of a company-wide integration program being implemented by parent transportation company YRC. Some have said as many as 100 or more jobs could be lost.

via Meridian Star – Delco Remy, Roadway to cut local jobs.

 

* KALAMAZOO, MI — The Kalamazoo DesignWare plant expects to layoff 15 workers later this month, or about 5 percent of its local work force, the plant’s owner, American Greetings Corp., said today.

via Kalamazoo DesignWare plant to cut 15 jobs this month – Kalamazoo News – The Latest News, Blogs, Photos & Videos – MLive.com .

 

* Black & Decker announced Thursday it again will cut its U.S. workforce – this time by 125, said Roger Young, vice president of investor and media relations.

The power tool company began notifying those employees who were being laid off this week.

via Black & Decker to cut jobs; Jackson’s Ruby Tuesday still open | jacksonsun.com | .

 

* Sparrow Hospital eliminated 23 managers’ positions Thursday as part of a plan to cut costs at Lansing’s largest health care facility.

via Sparrow cuts 23 manager jobs | lansingstatejournal.com | Lansing State Journal.

 

* Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney is also feeling the effects of the struggling economy. 

   Good Sam completed its cost reduction plans by laying off 32 employees.

via NTV – KHGI/KWNB/WSWS-CA – Where your news comes first. – Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings, Lincoln | Kearney Hospital Finishes Cut Backs.

 

* TULSA, Okla. (AP) – More than 300 people will lose their jobs because of cutbacks at one Tulsa company and the closure of another.

Penloyd/OFC will lay off 187 employees at its plant in northeast Tulsa. The company makes display fixtures for stores such as Dillard’s and Eddie Bauer and says the recession has cut into their customer’s spending.

via More than 300 to lose jobs in Tulsa.

 

* Sprint Nextel said yesterday it will lay off 160 employees from its Herndon operations. The announcement comes amid frozen credit markets,

economic turmoil and questions about the success of the company’s high-speed Internet technology venture with Clearwire.

via Sprint Nextel to Cut 160 Jobs in Herndon – washingtonpost.com.

 

* Ambassadors Group Inc., which organizes educational travel programs, said Thursday that it plans to cut up to 20 percent of the company’s work

force because fewer families have signed up for its 2009 trips.

via Ambassadors to cut up to 20 percent of its jobs – Forbes.com.

 

* G&K Services Inc., which provides uniforms and facility services, on Friday said it is eliminating 460 jobs, including 340 employees and 120

open positions, from its work force as it aims to trim costs amid weak demand.

via G&K Services cuts 460 positions – Forbes.com.

 

* An Essex company working to install a wind-power project on Grandpa’s Knob in Castleton, Vt., is closing its Rutland office.

Brad King, the local project manager for Noble Environmental Power, says the company has not given up plans for the wind farm in Vermont and will continue to gather data from meteorological towers installed on the ridge last year.

via CT wind company shuts doors in Vermont | Hartford Business.

 

* The restructure was necessary to improve performance, says Motivaction managing director

Agency Motivaction has made 11 staff redundant as part of an internal restructure.

via Motivaction restructure sees 11 jobs cut.

 

* When Teck Cominco Ltd. bought the assets of Fording Canadian Coal Trust for US$14-billion last year, it had one obvious goal: dig up and sell as much coking coal as possible.

via Teck Cominco cuts 1,400 jobs.

 

* U.S.-based home decor retailer Cost Plus Inc (CPWM.O) said it will close 26 stores and reduce its home office and distribution center staff by 18 percent as part of its cost-cutting initiatives amid sluggish economic conditions.

 

* Boeing is expected to announce a major layoff of workers in its Commercial Airplane division later today.

A person familiar with the plan said 4,000 to 4,500 people face layoff.

via Business & Technology | Boeing to announce layoffs today | Seattle Times Newspaper.

 

* UPDATE:

The Boeing news release is posted below.

SEATTLE, Jan. 9, 2009 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] said today that employment at its Commercial Airplanes business unit is expected to decline by approximately 4,500 positions in 2009 as part of an effort to ensure competitiveness and control costs in the face of a weakening global economy.

via Boeing Commercial Airplanes to shed 4,500 jobs.

 

* Grand Island – Saint Francis Medical Center has announced employee layoffs that bring the total to 22 since Oct. 2008. This completes the organization’s planned layoffs.

The total includes those people affected by the closing of the Wood River and Cairo Primary Care Clinics and Wellness Works/Por Su Salud as well as various departments of the hospital.

via NTV – KHGI/KWNB/WSWS-CA – Where your news comes first. – Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings, Lincoln | St. Francis Announces Lay Offs.

 

* To weather the economic storm, hospitals are cutting staff. Good Samaritan has cut 32 jobs in Kearney, and St. Francis another 22 in Grand Island. At St. Francis Medical Center, that’s less than two-percent of the hospital’s 1,200 jobs.

 

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. will lay off at least 1,550 workers at its Morenci copper mine, the Phoenix-based company said Friday.

The layoffs come on heels of a major cost-cutting plan Freeport unveiled late last year, which included reducing production at mines in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado and laying off workers at those facilities.

via Freeport-McMoRan to cut mining job

 

International News

 

* Japan Airlines, facing a profit slump this year, expects to shed 1,640 jobs by March 2011 as part of efforts to boost efficiency, a company spokesman said.

via Sky News: Japan Airlines to whittle workforce .

 

*  Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) — Canadian employment fell by almost twice as much as expected in December, led by construction, more evidence that the world’s eighth-biggest economy is suffering from the effects of a global recession.

Employers shed a net 34,400 workers after a drop of 70,600 in November, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. The jobless rate rose to a three-year high of 6.6 percent from 6.3 percent the month before. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg anticipated the unemployment rate would jump to 6.5 percent and employers would cut 20,000 positions.

via Bloomberg.com: Canada.

 

* The North East of England was hit by a fresh jobs blow today when 150 finance positions were axed following the 1,200 cuts at car giant Nissan.

 

* AMSTERDAM, Jan 9 (Reuters) – Struggling Dutch chip equipment maker ASM International (ASMI.AS) plans to move part of its operations

from the Netherlands to Asia, affecting about 200 jobs, it said on Friday.

via UPDATE 1-ASMI plans restructuring, to cut 200 Dutch jobs | Industries | Technology, Media & Telecommunications | Reuters .

 

* Nissan announced Thursday it will cut 1,200 jobs in the U.K. as it reduces production because of declining consumer demand.

via Nissan to cut 1,200 positions at U.K. plant – MarketWatch .

 

* LONDON (AP) — British builder Bovis Homes Group PLC said Friday that it will shed another 200 jobs and will

not pay a dividend this financial year as sales of its homes fell sharply amid a decline in the British housing market.

via The Associated Press: British builder Bovis Homes to slash jobs.

 

* MORE jobs have been lost in the automotive industry, as both Nissan and BMW joined the list of car makers to cut jobs in the UK after losing sales.

BMW said it was cutting 70 agency staff from its Hams Hall engine-making plant in Warwickshire.

via Birmingham Post – Business – Business News – Automotive Business – BMW to cut 70 jobs at Hams Hall.

 

* LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) – British transport operator Go-Ahead Group’s (GOG.L) Southeastern rail franchise said on Friday it was planning to

cut 300 jobs in 2009 due to lower passenger growth and the economic downturn.

via UPDATE 2-Go Ahead unit Southeastern to cut 300 jobs | Industries | Industrials, Materials & Utilities | Reuters .

 

* UNIONS FIGHT MEAT PLANT CLOSURE.

Union leaders are swearing to fight the closure of the Tulip meat plant, in the North West of England, that was announced last week meaning to loss of 300 jobs.

via United Kingdom-Union fights Tulip meat factory closing. : Agriculture – Dairy, Poultry, Pigs, Sheep, Cattle, Veterinary, Diseases

 

Hiring News

 

* TAMPA – The FBI in Tampa is joining the agency’s national hiring spree, with four to six jobs posted today, an FBI spokesman said.

Openings in the Tampa office, which covers 18 Central Florida counties, include telecommunications specialist, electronics technician and office service supervisor, FBI spokesman Dave Couvertier said.

On Tuesday, Couvertier said there were no openings in the Tampa office. But that changed. Couvertier urged jobseekers to go to www.fbijobs.gov every day for new openings.

The federal law enforcement agency has launched what it describes as “one of the largest hiring blitzes in our 100-year history” and hopes to hire more than 2,100 professional staff employees and 850 special agents nationwide.

via Tampa Office Part Of FBI Hiring Spree; Web Site Fixed.

 

* COASTAL BEND – One of the world’s largest makers of steel pipe announced plans Thursday to build a $1 billion factory in the Coastal Bend.

The Chinese-owned Tianjin Pipe Corporation (TPCO) will now become a part of the San Patricio County landscape.

The factory will be built near the intersection of State Highways 361 and 35, just east of Gregory.

via Multi-Million Dollar Manufacturing Plant Coming To Coastal Bend – KRIS-TV- msnbc.com.

 

* The latest job cuts included 300 at train firm Southeastern, 150 at the Newcastle Building Society and 200 at housebuilder Bovis Homes, while almost 200 jobs were under threat at paving stone maker Marshalls after the firm launched its latest cost-cutting drive to cope with “uncertain” markets.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has summoned union and business leaders to a jobs summit in Downing Street on Monday, and met Welsh business leaders in Cardiff last night.

via New wave of jobs cuts – WalesOnline.

 

News you can use

* PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh-area community college is offering free tuition to laid-off workers who want to take classes in five different educational programs.

The Community College of Allegheny County will pay the tuition and fees of laid-off workers that are not covered by financial aid the workers receive.

via Fort Mill Times | FortMillTimes.com – Pa. community college free to laid-off workers – Fort Mill, SC.

 

Mike: Unfortunately for many, it was a very busy layoff announcements day. The weekend is approaching, so the news should be a little

lighter the next couple days. I’ll leave you with a few weekend goodies to lighten the mood a bit. Enjoy your weekend and if any breaking news

arrives, I’ll post it  this weekend……….

 

Mike: This video is a little off the wall, but there’s a lot of truth in the humor:

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnW6GsMBLMg]

 

Mike: If you like Dilbert……………..

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9WujJg1Oy4&feature=channel]

 

Mike: Enjoy your weekend…………..

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfh4C0SFOy4&feature=related]

 

 – Wang Chung – Everybody Have Fun Tonight –

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMylfkSDKV0]

/div>
 

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2 Comments to “January 9, 10, 11 – Unemployment Risies to 7.2% – Highest Yearly Job Loss Since 1945 – Google Rumors – Freightliner Dismisses 2137 – Semitool Chips Away 280 Jobs – Union Pacific Derails 231 – Boeing to Layoff 4500? – Beechcraft Ending 1600 Jobs? – Seagate to Delete More this Month”

  1. honzo79 says:

    I just joined the list of laid off yesterday! Maybe it’s because I didn’t sleep at a Holiday Inn…

  2. mike@layofflist says:

    Sorry to hear about your layoff honzo79. Best of luck finding that new gig.

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