The Armonk, N.Y.-based company predicted at least $9.20 per share in profit in 2009, a full 45 cents per share better than the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. The forecast is an extremely bullish statement by IBM. It reflects the company’s belief that it can outmaneuver the financial crisis by focusing on services and software deals that carry big profit margins, but also help businesses cut costs by offloading some of their tech chores.
via IBM sunny about 2009 despite dreary forecasts – Yahoo! News.
– Microsoft/Google/IBM and others News & Rumors –
* EAST FISHKILL — Storm clouds are gathering over IBM’s facilities here, where employees say they have more confirmation that the ax is about to fall.
The workers, who requested anonymity, say “a huge layoff” will come in three waves – office workers and engineers on Friday, and factory workers on Tuesday and Wednesday.
via Employees: IBM layoffs to happen in three-day wave – RecordOnline.com – The Times Herald Record.
* We’re getting numerous instant messages, pings and posts about IBM layoffs going down today. The exact number of layoffs–or even if the job cuts are material enough for Big Blue to disclose–is unknown.
The official site for the IBM Employees Union–Alliance@IBM–has a bevy of individuals telling their pink slip tales. The news comes just a day after IBM surprised Wall Street with a strong fourth quarter. Calls to IBM weren’t immediately returned. The Alliance@IBM site blares:
* SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google Inc. is giving up on selling print ads for the ailing newspaper industry, ending a 2-year-old attempt to extend its dominance of Internet marketing into another medium.
The retrenchment announced Tuesday is part of a cost-cutting campaign aimed at boosting Google’s profits as the deepening recession eats away at Google’s bread-and-butter business of selling ads on its own Web site and thousands of other Internet destinations.
via The Associated Press: Cost-cutting Google scraps newspaper ad program.
* Microsoft Corp. is set to report earnings for its fiscal second quarter on Thursday after the closing bell. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.
OVERVIEW: Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT – news – people )’s interest in acquiring Web search competitor Yahoo Inc. (nasdaq: YHOO – news – people ) cooled during the quarter, though Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer maintained that the software maker would be interested in some other sort of search deal.
via Earnings Preview: Microsoft to post 2Q results – Forbes.com.
* Microsoft is putting the brakes on its rapid facilities expansion in the Puget Sound area as the company navigates a bleak economy.
An internal Microsoft plan calls for delays of certain construction projects. A source, who asked not to be named while discussing internal matters, provided The Seattle Times with details of the plan via e-mail and said it had been approved by Microsoft Chief Financial Office Chris Liddell in December.
via Microsoft | Microsoft to delay starting new construction on Redmond campus | Seattle Times Newspaper.
* Heading into the (Microsoft) report, options traders have piled into put positions, as the stock’s Schaeffer’s put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.79 ranks above 89% of all those taken during the past year. What’s more, the International Securities Exchange (ISE) and Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) 10-day put/call ratio is higher than 80% of all those taken during the prior 52 weeks, underscoring this preference for bearish bets.
via Options Update: Microsoft Attracts Heavy Put Volume Ahead of Earnings .
* Microsoft is expected to announce thousands of job cuts this week as the global economic slump hurts even the technology industry’s biggest earners.
The leading software maker is likely to post a quarterly profit on Thursday that misses its own target, meaning investors are sure be concerned over the company’s outlook and on Yahoo, who Microsoft has been in talks with over the company’s search business.
via – Slow Economy Expected To Force Job Cuts At Microsoft
* Being an international company with their hands in nearly every aspect of modern computing and Internet services, Microsoft has found that they are not immune to a weak economy, and apparently job cuts are in order. This is prompted by missed profit targets and a significantly lower than expected profit for Q4. Sliding sales in business software, video games, desktop PCs and more, all of which Microsoft plays some part in, have affected the company enough to warrant cutting upwards of 8,000 jobs within the next few months. That represents up to 8% of their workforce, which is significant for a company as large as Microsoft.
* As Microsoft employees in Redmond brace for the possibility of layoffs, it’s worth noting that job cuts aren’t unprecedented for the company. However, in the past they’ve been on a much smaller scale than some people are anticipating now.
In 1996, for example, Microsoft let 120 workers go from its floppy disk assembly facility in Bothell, according to this 1996 New York Times story. The reason, as you might expect, was waning demand for the medium. “People who were doing a very good job for us simply were not busy enough,” a Microsoft executive told the newspaper at the time.
* Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) — U.S. regulators are examining Apple Inc.’s disclosures about Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs’s health problems to ensure investors weren’t misled, a person familiar with the matter said.
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s review doesn’t mean investigators have seen evidence of wrongdoing, the person said, declining to be identified because the inquiry isn’t public.
- Wednesday – ICSC-Goldman Store Sales and Redbook . Both readings are related to retail sales and are an important guage to consumer spending, which accounts for about 2/3 of the US economy.
- Thursday – Housing Starts – Housing starts measure initial construction of residential units (single-family and multi-family) each month.
- Thursday – Jobless Claims – This is the week’s big job number. With the effect of the holiday shortened weeks behind, this number should better reflect current job losses. The consensus estimate is for job losses of 610,000.
(The economic calendar information is available from Bloomberg.com Economic Calendar)
Mike: The story below shows the true sacrificing nature of these bank executives. After taking their company to the brink of bankruptcy and receiving a $45 billion taxpayer bailout, they took it upon themselves to refuse their usually ungodly bonuses. Mr. Pandit’s 2008 salary is merely $ 573,813.00 Vikram S. Pandit Profile – Forbes.com. But don’t feel to sorry for Mr. Pandit and his meager salary, since earlier in the year he received $216 million: Vikram Pandit’s payout from Citigroup: $216 million – International Herald Tribune.
* NEW YORK (AP) — Citigroup’s top three executives have passed up bonuses, as the banking giant works to return to profitability after five straight quarters of losses.
Chief Executive Vikram Pandit, Chairman Win Bischoff and Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden have declined incentive and retention awards that were offered to members of the bank’s executive committee, Citigroup said in a filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
via Citigroup’s top 3 executives decline bonuses – Yahoo! Finance.
* NEW YORK (AP) — A key gauge of homebuilders’ confidence sank to a new low this month, as the deepening U.S. recession and rising unemployment erode chances for a housing turnaround.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index released Wednesday dropped one point to a record 8 in January. The index was at 9 for the previous two months.
via Homebuilder sentiment index hits new record low – Yahoo! Finance.
* The bankruptcy this month of LyondellBasell Industries may not be the last for the struggling chemical industry.
Other large chemical makers including Ineos Group, Chemtura Corp. and Georgia Gulf Corp. could also be forced to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, analysts said, raising the threat of more hardship for Texas’ massive chemical sector.
Speculation has centered on those companies because, like LyondellBasell, they are shouldering large debts and have seen liquidity tighten amid a sharp industrywide downturn in business that began in late 2008.
via Chemical industry awash in gloom | Business | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.
* DETROIT (AP) — The target date for General Motors Corp. to get its second installment of government loans passed last week, but a top company executive says he expects the money to arrive in the next several days.
Fritz Henderson, GM’s president and chief operating officer, said without the second installment of $5.4 billion, the company would run out of cash long before March 31.
via GM official says cash could run out by March 31 – Yahoo! Finance.
* Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) — De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer, may cut the amount of rough gems offered to its customers by 50 percent until April after U.S. retail sales slumped over Christmas.
Retail sales in the U.S., the world’s largest diamond market, dropped 15 to 20 percent over Christmas and “underperformed” compared with the company’s expectations, said Varda Shine, the head of Johannesburg-based De Beers’s marketing unit. The drop in full-year U.S. sales was in “the high single digits,” Shine, 45, said in a speech, a copy of which was e-mailed today.
* MIDLAND, Texas (AP) — In the West Texas oil patch, they can see the downturn coming at them from miles away like a pickup truck kicking up a dust cloud on the horizon.
With crude dropping below $40 a barrel from a high of around $150 over the summer, oil and gas companies in the Lone Star State are cutting back on drilling, the layoffs are beginning, and the boom of the past few years appears to be drawing to a close.
The boom may not necessarily give way to a bust. But the days of plentiful jobs, big paychecks and shiny new pickups and SUVS seem to be numbered.
“It’s been a good ride up, but we’re bracing ourselves for the ride down,” said Midland City Manager Courtney Sharp, who expects a drop in tax revenue next month because of slumping sales in the city of about 98,000.
via The Associated Press: Texas oil country sees the downturn coming.
* Jan. 31 set for closing of 2 county title offices
Mr. Quilter announced a consolidation of those offices in December as part of a cost-cutting move that is to include at least eight layoffs. The cuts are in response to the county administration’s call for a 5 percent reduction from all departments, which also has caused cuts in other offices.
via toledoblade.com — .
* West Genesee School Superintendent Christopher R. Brown outlined for community members Tuesday night what programs and positions would be cut as the district faces an anticipated drop in state aid and tries to balance the 2009-10 budget.
via West Genesee school layoffs, program cuts outlined.
* Smyrna City Council voted Tuesday night to eliminate some additional city jobs early this year in order to save the city money.
The council, which had earlier agreed to cut 16 positions, cut an additional 15 on Tuesday. The overall cuts include 15 landscaping jobs and 8 in the sanitation department.
via Smyrna cuts 15 more jobs | ajc.com.
* ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Map, News) – State Senate President Mike Miller says Gov. Martin O’Malley will propose laying off 700 state employees.
Miller says O’Malley’s budget secretary, Eloise Foster, has briefed him on the governor’s budget proposal.
via Md senate leader: O’Malley plan has 700 layoffs – Examiner.com.
* EAST HARTFORD — A grim economic forecast has prompted the town to eliminate 19 positions from the budget, including the jobs of eight employees who face immediate layoffs.
* The city of Vacaville issued layoff notices to five employees in the Community Development Department today, city officials announced.
via City of Vacaville announces layoffs – The Reporter.
* BOSTON — It could be a rough road ahead for more than 3,400 people in Massachusetts. The state Department of Mental Health has laid off almost 100 case managers.
via Mental Health Case Managers Laid Off – Health News Story – WCVB Boston.
* A sluggish housing market has led to the “limited layoffs” of two full-time county building inspectors and two full-time administrative aides.
The Livingston County Board of Commissioners OK’s the layoffs Tuesday night. The employees could get their jobs back if the economy turns around.
via County OKs layoffs | livingstondaily.com | Livingston Daily.
* Yankee Holding Corp. and its subsidiary The Yankee Candle Co. said Tuesday that the company is slashing 330 jobs as part of a restructuring plan that includes closing its 28 Illuminations retail stores.
via Yankee Candle parent to close stores, cut 330 jobs – BusinessWeek.
* Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) — Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world’s second-biggest nickel miner, may announce further cuts to its Canadian nickel operations to contend with falling demand and to pressure workers in contract negotiations, analysts said.
* Indianapolis-based business-rating service Angie’s List says it is eliminating a total of 90 jobs.
Angie’s List CEO Bill Oesterle said in a statement Tuesday that the company will lay off 50 data acquisition and processing employees. The company also will not fill 40 vacancies in other divisions.
via Indy’s News Center – 93.1 WIBC Indianapolis – Live. Local. First..
* Philips Electronics will close its 96-employee supply center in Auburn, the state Employment Security Department said Tuesday.
via Business & Technology | Philips Electronics laying off 96 in Auburn | Seattle Times Newspaper.
* Another company in the Flathead is falling to hard economic times. FH Stoltze Land and Lumber Company says they are shutting down their Columbia Falls sawmill effective February 2nd.
The shutdown is expected to last at least six weeks, laying off 45 to 50 employees. There will be additional layoffs as logging and planing operations finish.
via KPAX – Missoula, Montana – News, Weather, Sports -Columbia Falls sawmill shutting down.
* Tracker Marine Group is closing the Bolivar plant within the next two months, affecting as many as 80 employees, according to a press release from the the company’s corporate office in Springfield. The number could be lower, the company says, because employees at the Bolivar facility will be given consideration for available positions at other company sites.
* Delphi Thermal Systems in the Town of Lockport has had 175 temporary layoffs last week.
The layoffs were a result of changes in the plant’s production schedule, Delphi spokesperson Claudia Piccinin said. Delphi adjusts its workforce based on customer demand. Piccinin said the schedule changes every week.
via Niagara Gazette – LOCKPORT: More layoffs at Delphi.
* About 340 hourly workers at General Motors’ Town of Tonawanda engine plant will be laid off starting Jan. 26, due to reduced production demand from the automaker, spokeswoman Nina Price said.
via About 340 to be laid off at GM Powertrain plant in Tonawanda : Latest Local News : The Buffalo News.
* According to a statement received by News 3 on Tuesday, 53 workers with Wynn Design and Development were laid off last Friday. Wynn Design and Development is the design and construction affiliate of Wynn Resorts.
via Wynn design/development affiliate lays 53 off.
* Royal Technologies, a plastics processing company in Hudsonville, laid off a portion of its workers last week — but a company official would not reveal Monday exactly how many workers had been let go.
* Sega has laid off an undisclosed number of employees from its North American division, the video game software developer has just confirmed (while we’re waiting to hear back on exactly how many in the San Francisco office were let go, IGN puts the number at 30). It said in a written statement:
via Sega America Lays Off Staff .
* Piper Aircraft Inc. officials say the company has laid off 150 employees and will stop taking installments of a $32 million incentive package from Indian River County and the state.
via Piper confirms it has laid off 150 workers – Breaking News – Bradenton.com.
* GRANITE CITY, Ill. – A southwestern Illinois steel company that recently announced it was shedding 363 jobs says it will lay off off an additional 206 workers.
Amsted Rail says it will lay off the latest group of employees in mid-March. The Granite City steel foundry once known as American Steel has filed a notice with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
via Steel company announces next round of layoffs / QCTimes.com.
* COWICHAN — Things just keep getting worse for the forest industry as Catalyst Paper announced more layoffs at the Crofton Mill.
Catalyst announced Monday that to match production with orders, it will take curtailments at its Crofton and Elk Falls mills as well as its Snowflake, Ariz. mill.
via Alberni Valley News – Your Best source for Local Community News delivered in print or online.
* PETOSKEY, Mich. – The Odawa Casino Resort in Petoskey has laid off 80 full-time employees because of rising costs and the weakening economy.
The Petoskey News-Review reports the casino announced the layoffs on Monday. Thirty-seven workers volunteered to lose their jobs.
via Petoskey’s Odawa Casino Resort lays off 80 workers — chicagotribune.com.
* Kalitta said the move is about keeping solvent and preserving the company’s presence in Oscoda. It is possible, he added, because the company has very little debt, enabling him to park most of its fleet of 20 aircraft.
via Iosco News: Kalitta will lay off most contract workers by month’s end.
* Dan Klores Lays Off 12
Some 12 publicists were just laid off from Dan Klores Communications — which represents the likes of Prince, Brandy, the New York Daily News, Ashlee Simpson, and Rudy Giuliani — officially ending the PR industry’s reputation as the last great hope for laid off journalists.
via Dan Klores Lays Off 12 / Jossip.
* McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. — JLG Industries announced Tuesday a fourth round of work-force reduction since July, this time for about 100 white-collar workers.
via Pennsylvania: JLG to lay off 100 more.
* Deere & Co. told employees at the company’s Davenport Works on Tuesday that 120 non-salaried workers will laid off indefinitely, effective Feb. 16.
Another 70 employees will be allowed to transfer to East Moline Harvester Works, company spokesman Ken Golden said.
via Deere lays off 120 at Davenport plant / QCTimes.com.
* STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson on Wednesday reported profits dropped 31 percent in the fourth quarter, citing restructuring charges and weaker handset sales, and said it would slash 5,000 jobs.
via The Associated Press: Ericsson reports profit drop, to cut 5,000 jobs.
* Amsted Rail will layoff 206 more workers March 16.
The Granite City steel foundry, originally known as American Steel, has filed a notice with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
via Amsted Rail to layoff 206 more workers in Granite City – Metro-east news – Belleville News-Democrat.
* The economic downturn in the nation’s automotive industry has hit even the largest employer in Van Wert County. Eaton Corporation in Van Wert began giving lay off notices Tuesday to approximately 125 hourly workers.
Those jobs will end March 18 at the earliest, though they could last through April 1, according to a letter sent Friday to the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild by P-I editor and publisher Roger Oglesby, as required by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Managers received a similar letter Saturday.
via P-I employees notified of possible layoffs.
* ASHUA – SkillSoft Public Limited Co. plans to lay off 120 employees by April 30 and take a charge of $1.6 million, the company disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday.
* MISHAWAKA — The recreational vehicle market downturn, with an assist from the current economy, has claimed another company.
More than 40 people at Elixir Industries learned last week that they would be without a job soon.
via South Bend Tribune: Elixir plant to lay off workers.
* Shipping and property company Alexander & Baldwin Inc. said it will eliminate about 60 nonunion jobs, or 10 percent of the work force, at one of its units as it looks to lower costs to deal with the economic downturn.
*SAN DIEGO – In its second staff reduction in two months, San Diego’s Metabasis Therapeutics said Tuesday that it will cut 38 jobs, or 43 percent of its work force.
via Metabasis announces 38 more job cuts.
* Lee’s newspapers include the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson and Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff.
Chairman and CEO Mary Junck says the company is cutting costs, eliminating more than 10 percent of its work force during the quarter, with additional cuts recently announced.
* Filene’s Basement, the landmark merchant that claims to have invented the bargain, today said it is planning to close nearly one-third of its 36 stores, including one in Framingham.
The chain, famed for its annual “Running of the Brides” gown sale, has been unable to negotiate rent reductions at 11 locations and plans to shutter those stores by the end of February, according to Julie Davis, general counsel of Retail Ventures Inc., the private parent company that owns Filene’s Basement.
via Filene’s Basement to close 11 stores – Daily Business Update – The Boston Globe.
* The closure of the last three Milwaukee-area Circuit City electronics stores will occur around the end of March and result in the loss of 160 jobs, according to notices filed with the state of Wisconsin.
Circuit City Stores Inc. announced last week that the bankrupt Richmond, Va.-based chain would close its remaining 567 stores, including its Greenfield, Brookfield and Racine locations. The retailer is liquidating its assets after it was unable to find a buyer that would keep the stores operating.
via Milwaukee-area Circuit City closures to cost 160 jobs – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: .
* Squire Sanders & Dempsey has laid off additional staffers, possibly in a move to become a more attractive potential merger partner.
Squire Sanders’ Miami office laid off “a couple runners, some staffers and a few people in accounting,” according to the office’s managing partner, Alvin Davis. He told the National Law Journal that he does not know whether the firm laid off staffers elsewhere.
* MATSON Navigation has become the latest US-based shipping employer to cut its workforce after announcing the loss of 60 non-union positions and a pay freeze.
via Matson Navigation sheds US jobs – Lloydslist.com .
* Cummins Inc. will close a Wautoma, Wis., plant that makes emission-control devices for the company’s diesel engines.
About 180 people will be laid off when the Cummins Emission Solutions plant is shuttered by the end of March, Columbus, Ind.-based Cummins (NYSE: CMI) said in a news release.
via Cummins closing Wisconsin plant – Business First of Louisville: .
* Wescast Industries Inc. a manufacturer of exhaust systems announced last week that it would be restructuring its North American operations significantly, which will see the loss of about 140 jobs.
via Wescast Industries closes a plant in Wingham – Lucknow Sentinel – Ontario, CA .
* OTTAWA — March Networks (TSX:MN) is cutting seven per cent of its workforce and all executives and staff of the Internet video and business analysis technology firm will take a six per cent pay cut.
The company said Tuesday the moves, which follow earlier cost-cutting measures, will “reduce operating expenses in order to mitigate the risks associated with the current economic environment.”
The Ottawa-based firm, which had 304 employees and contractors as of April 2008, said it the moves will reduce annual operating expenses by about $3.2 million.
via The Canadian Press: March Networks cuts 7 per cent of workforce, management take pay cut.
* Nuvell Financial Services LLC will lay off 59 employees in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, a warn letter to the Texas Workforce Commission said Tuesday.
via Nuvell Financial Services to lay off 59 – Dallas Business Journal: .
*Seats Inc., a Reedsburg supplier of seating products for the automotive and other industries, has notified Wisconsin officials that it is permanently closing its facility in Richland Center, resulting in the loss of 45 jobs.
via Seats Inc. to lay off 45 in Richland Center – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: .
* CORPUS CHRISTI — The voice mail is short but to the point. “The office is closed, and we are no longer taking any applications.”
That’s the message at the S&B Engineers and Consultants office off Interstate Highway 37. The Houston-based company laid off 25 employees last week at its local office, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.
via Engineering firm to lay off 25 : Corpus Christi Local Business | Caller-Times | .
* Sega of America is the latest games maker to issue layoffs, the company confirmed to Edge Tuesday.
Following rumors that 30 employees have been laid off, a rep for Sega said in an e-mail, “Sega of America has grown at pace with the booming videogame industry, but at this time of economic recession, harsh retail landscape, and the reality of business challenges to profitability, we must take steps to reduce our cost structure and ensure long-term success.”
The rep confirmed that “around 30 people” were laid off.
via Confirmed: Sega Cuts Staff | Edge Online.
* JANESVILLE — A struggling economy has forced the Janesville-based Angus-Young Associates to lay off 36 percent of its staff.
Before the layoffs of nine people, the architectural, engineering and interior design firm employed 25 in Janesville.
via Nine laid off at Angus-Young — GazetteXtra.
* LOWVILLE — About 30 workers at the FiberMark plant here have been laid off, according to a union official.
“It’s really a sign of the times,” said James H. Ridgeway, north country representative of the United Steelworkers Union.
via Watertown Daily Times | About 30 employees laid off by FiberMark plant in Lowville.
* The Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Jan. 13 to make deep, lasting cuts to its health department. The decision eliminated 480 health positions, laid off about 200 health employees ñ including eligibility specialists, social workers, medical staff and administrators – closed one adult mental health location and health clinics in Lindsay and Tulare. Administrators said the cuts would save the county an estimated $10 million.
via Mineral King Publishing – The Exeter Sun & The Lindsay Gazette.
* Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) said on Wednesday its investment banking arm, TD Securities, is closing its Tokyo office and downsizing in Sydney to centralize operations in Singapore.
The Canadian bank will move its Tokyo operations as well as Sydney’s sales and trading operations to Singapore, from where it will serve existing clients.
via UPDATE 2-TD Securities to close Tokyo, downsize Sydney | Markets | Bonds News | Reuters .
* ASHLAND — Darex and Pro Tool Manufacturing has laid off 12 full-time employees, or 15 percent of the industrial and professional tool sharpener-maker’s staff.
via MailTribune.com: 12 jobs cut at Pro Tool in Ashland.
* SPX Chairman and Chief Executive Chris Kearney said the maker of cooling towers for electric plants and equipment used in oil and gas production would cut at least 400 more jobs this year, bringing its total reductions over 2008 and 2009 to 1,700 people or about 10 percent of its staff.
* FREDERICKTOWN, MO (KFVS) – The Brown Shoe Company in Fredericktown has laid off 59 workers.
Only 43 jobs still remain at the business.
via The Official KFVS12 and Heartland News Web Site | Brown Shoe Company lays off 59 workers.
* REGINA — Evraz Inc. is laying off about 400 workers across Western Canada, including about 100 in Regina.
A company official said workers at the company two-inch line and 24-inch lines would be affected by the decision.
via Evraz to lay off employees .
* Food Lion LLC announced today it has eliminated approximately 80 positions that either worked or reported directly to its Salisbury corporate headquarters.
Of the 80 people, 41 worked at either the Harrison Road or Executive Drive offices in Salisbury.
via SalisburyPost.com – Area – Food Lion lays off 80 .
* Decreasing patient volumes and loss of investment income during the economic downturn led the layoffs of 47 Memorial Medical Center employees Tuesday.
via The Tribune Democrat, Johnstown, PA – Memorial blames economy for 47 layoffs.
* Nokian Tyre plc has responded to reduced demand with a raft of job cuts and temporary layoffs.
The company’s car and van tyre group has eliminated a total of 232 jobs, of which 106 are to be covered by pension arrangements. In addition, a further 440 people will be temporarily furloughed in 110 batches over a nine-week cycle, plus 62 more are to be laid off until further notice.
via Tirereview – Global Tire News .
* More than 100 Evatone employees — roughly half of its work force — are being targeted for layoffs as the Largo company moves through bankruptcy reorganization.
Fifty-seven workers were told last week they will lose their jobs following the sale of Evatone’s optical disc department to a Texas company. According to a filing with the state, Evatone warned of cutting 107 jobs by mid March.
via Largo’s Evatone warns of up to 107 layoffs – St. Petersburg Times.
* Supervisors, mechanics and fuel workers are among the latest ABX Air employees to get layoff notices.
Thirty workers and their families are impacted in this cycle of layoffs at the DHL Air Park in Wilmington.
* ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Timeshare companies are taking a beating because of the economy and it’s costing Central Florida residents their jobs.
Hilton Grand Vacations, which is headquartered in Orlando on Metrowest Boulevard (see map) has laid off full-time employees from its staff of 3,500.
Eyewitness News reporter Robert Maxwell has learned that there were 187 company wide layoffs at the Hilton Grand Vacations.
via Hotel Lays Off Workers Amid Expansion Plans – News Story – WFTV Orlando.
* NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — United Airlines, one of the leading U.S.-based carriers, said Wednesday it will cut an additional 1,000 jobs to reduce overhead costs.
* Integris Health officials Tuesday said they have laid off 73 of the company’s roughly 9,000 statewide employees in an effort to reduce expenses because of the nation’s economic downturn.
via Integris Health lays off 73 | NewsOK.com.
* Wal-Mart will cut 48 positions at a call center near Bartlesville and move the positions to Arkansas.
via Tulsa World: Wal-Mart cutting 48 posts near Bartlesville .
* II-VI Inc. said today it laid off around 70 local employees after the laser optics manufacturer encountered falling demand for its products that are geared to non-military markets.
via Butler County laser optics company lays off 70 workers – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review .
* SUFFERN — Bon Secours Charity Health System has begun laying off an unspecified number of workers.
The jobs are being eliminated as part of a “centralizing and consolidation of functions,” said hospital spokeswoman Deborah Marshall. Hospital officials would not say how many workers would be laid off
via Bon Secours lays off employees – RecordOnline.com – The Times Herald Record.
* Hawker Beechcraft Corp. employees were informed Wednesday that plans for a new round of job reductions will be completed in the coming weeks.
Reductions are expected to affect all areas and levels the company, but details on the number of jobs to be cut have yet to be finalized.
via Hawker Beechcraft confirms more layoffs on the way – Wichita Business Journal: .
* Mining giant BHP Billiton announced plans Wednesday to slash 6,000 jobs — including about 550 at a mine near Miami, Arizona — as it rushes to cope with plummeting demand because of the global financial crisis.
via BHP to cut 550 jobs at Miami mine | www.azstarnet.com ®.
* Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has laid off 65 staff members, including some of its D.C. employees at 1333 New Hampshire Ave. NW.
The law firm, founded in 1945 in Texas, did not break down numbers of how many people were laid off at each U.S. office. All positions eliminated were administrative-type jobs, according to Sheila Turner, spokeswoman for the 983-attorney firm.
via Akin Gump lays off 65 staffers – Washington Business Journal: .
* EBENSBURG — Fourteen full-time nursing positions at Laurel Crest, Cambria County’s nursing home, have been eliminated in the wrapup of work-force reductions at the facility.
The cuts are in addition to 39 ancillary job cuts – through both attrition and layoffs – at the nursing home in the fall, and bring the facility’s work force into line with the staff needed for the reduced patient load, officials said.
via The Tribune Democrat, Johnstown, PA – Laurel Crest eliminates 14 nursing jobs.
* Toledo building supply giant Owens Corning Inc. on Wednesday announced plans to trim production at one of its factories in Newark, a move sparked by the nation’s rough housing market.
Company spokesman Jason Saragian said the Newark plant that produces insulation will lose 93 production days this year. The revised work schedule recently was ratified in a vote from the Glass Molders Pottery Local 244 union.
via Owens Corning cutting production in Newark – Business First of Columbus: .
* Thrane & Thrane is laying off nearly 15 percent of its workforce despite sales of its products performing in line with forecasts, the company announced Jan. 21. Uncertainty in the global financial market was cited as a motivating factor behind the decision.
The mobile satellite and radio communication systems manufacturer said it is cutting 90 positions from its 700-strong workforce. Most of the lay-offs will be in production.
via Market Uncertainty Leads to Thrane & Thrane Layoffs :: Satellite Today.
* LOS ANGELES, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co said on Wednesday it sent voluntary buyout offers to 600 executives at its domestic theme parks to cut costs amid an economic meltdown that has depressed attendance and prompted the company to deeply discount Walt Disney World stays.
via Business Feed Article | Business | guardian.co.uk .
* DuPont will close part of its Old Hickory plant by the end of March, laying off about 140 regular employees and from 80-100 contract workers, the company announced today.
The company will cease production of polyester products at the facility and will cut one of three production lines for non-woven fabrics used in medical gowns, drapes and wipes, DuPont spokesman David Hastings said.
via DuPont OId Hickory plant to lay off up to 240 workers | www.tennessean.com | The Tennessean.
* SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Intel Corp. said Wednesday it is consolidating its manufacturing operations as a part of a restructuring bid that will affect thousands of jobs from the U.S to the Philippines.
Between 5,000 and 6,000 employees will be affected, though some may be offered posts at other facilities, the company said.
The world’s largest chip maker is closing two assembly test facilities in Penang, Malaysia and one in Cavite, Philippines and will halt production at a plant in Hillsboro, Ore. It will also end wafer production at a facility in Santa Clara, Calif. All five are older factories, the company said.
via Intel to cut jobs as it consolidates manufacturing – Yahoo! Finance.
* Retailer Williams-Sonoma Inc. will lay off 1,400 people, close a call center in Pennsylvania and a warehouse in Tennessee, hoping to save $60 million.
The San Francisco company (NYSE: WSM) will shut a 38,000-square-foot call center in Camp Hill, near Harrisburg in central Pennsylvania. It will also shut down a 500,000-square-foot warehouse in Memphis.
via Williams-Sonoma to lay off 1,400 people – San Francisco Business Times: .
* FAIRVIEW – Tyco Electronics is reducing its local workforce as part of job cuts across the company but won’t say how many people are losing their jobs.
The company employed 96,000 people as of the end of September and is reducing employment by 2,500 workers by the end of March, said spokesman Mike Ratcliff. That works out to 2.6 percent of total employment.
via Tyco reducing workforce | CITIZEN-TIMES.com | Asheville Citizen-Times.
* BHP Billiton will axe 6000 people from its global workforce amid the economic downturn.
The company said today it would cut its 101,000 strong global workforce by about six per cent in response to world-wide economic conditions.
via BHP Billiton job cuts | 6000 jobs go worldwide.
* UP TO 100 workers at a company in Co Clare – a quarter of the entire workforce – are to lose their jobs. The remaining employees will have to take a 5 per cent cut in pay.
Molex, a 70-year-old global manufacturer of electronic, electrical and fibre optic interconnection systems, held a series of staff briefings at its Shannon facility yesterday. While the company has not confirmed how many jobs will be lost, sources say up to 100 workers will be let go.
via Clare factory planning to lay off 100 employees – The Irish Times – Wed, Jan 21, 2009.
* ABOUT 30 workers have been laid off at Longbridge – as the firm sheds its Chinese banner to become MG Motor UK Ltd.
The Chinese-owned company has laid off up to 30 temporary contract workers. They are among staff who transferred from the Shanghai Motor Technical Centre in Leamington – a wholly-owned subsidiary of SAIC/Nanjing – to Longbridge.
via Thirty Longbridge workers laid off as MG car firm sheds Chinese title – Birmingham Mail.
* Ericsson is making another 5,000 staff redundant as part of a $1.2bn cost reduction programme, despite reporting better than expected fourth quarter results.
The Swedish firm said sales had risen 23% and earnings per share were ahead of expectations.
However, the firm said a further 5,000 jobs would be going across the group worldwide, with about 1,000 going in Stockholm. The move extends a cost-cutting programme started last year – Ericsson cut 4,000 jobs – although the company has been shedding staff for years.
via Ericsson makes another 5,000 redundant despite solid quarter | 21 Jan 2009 | ComputerWeekly.com.
* Intel announced Wednesday a plan to shut down its more than two-decade-old factory in the Philippines, local media reported.
The company made the announcement via email sent to its employees on Wednesday morning, the Philippine Daily Inquirer said in an on-line report.
via Intel to shut down factory in Philippines – People’s Daily Online.
* TWO hundred jobs are to be lost at a North Yorkshire meat factory as part of a restructuring operation by its parent company, it was revealed yesterday.
Workers at the Malton Bacon Factory were shocked by the announcement that 200 people – about a tenth of the plant’s workforce of nearly 2,000 – would be axed at the factory, as part of owner Vion’s plan to cut 820 jobs across its UK operations.
via Meat factory to lose 10% of workforce (From The Northern Echo).
* Addleshaw Goddard has asked 19 partners to leave the firm, it was announced internally last night (20 January).
The cuts, made as the firm battles to cope with the economic downturn, will see all 19 partners leave the firm within the coming months.
* Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) — U.K. unemployment rose at the second- fastest pace since 1991 in December as the worsening recession prompted companies from retailers to automakers to cut jobs.
The number of people receiving jobless benefits rose 77,900 to 1.16 million, the highest level since January 2000, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. The median of 28 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey of economists was 81,000.
via Bloomberg.com: U.K. & Ireland.
* Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) — J Sainsbury Plc, Britain’s third- largest supermarket chain, plans to cut at least 200 jobs at its London headquarters to reduce management expenses.
via Bloomberg.com: U.K. & Ireland.
* MILAN, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Italian Internet company Tiscali SpA plans to cut 250 jobs at its domestic unit, the company said Wednesday in a statement.
via Business Feed Article | Business | guardian.co.uk .
* SURREY, ENGLAND – TT Electronics, the parent company of TT EMS, will lay off 700 workers this year, the company said today.
via Circuits Assembly – TT Electronics to Cut 700 Jobs.
* Adanac Molybdenum Corp. (AUA.TO: News , AUAYF.PK) said Tuesday that it has implemented measures to curtail its business operations and substantially reduce its operating costs in connection with its overall restructuring.
The company said the initial phase of its restructuring included, among other things, reducing employees by about 70%, substantially reducing contractors, demobilizing the Ruby Creek site, eliminating or substantially reducing services provided to the company and repaying a portion of the company’s indebtedness to its Senior Secured Creditors.
* JOHANNESBURG (AFP) — South Africa’s fourth largest gold producer DRDGOLD said Tuesday it was cutting 1,335 jobs after shutting down one of its mines east of Johannesburg.
via AFP: South African gold miner cuts 1,335 jobs.
* LUANSHYA, Zambia, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Zambia’s Luanshya Copper Mines (LCM) has laid off all of its 1,740 miners after it halted operations in November following a fall in copper prices, officials said on Wednesday.
via Business Feed Article | Business | guardian.co.uk .
* Mitsubishi is the latest Japanese car-maker to announce it will suspend some of its production lines and slash wages.
The company is also cutting one third of its contract workforce in Japan.
Mitsubishi says the shutdowns at some of its Japanese plants will begin next month, and will last for up to a fortnight.
via Mitsubishi jobs cut, wages slashed to combat crisis – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).
* Sony Corp. plans to close one of its two television factories in Japan and cut more than 2,000 full-time jobs,
via Sony to shut TV plant in Japan, cut 2,000 jobs: report – MarketWatch .
* VICTORIA’S ailing automotive sector was dealt another blow yesterday after industrial giant CSR announced plans to close one of the state’s oldest manufacturing facilities.
The Viridian automotive glass facilities at Geelong and Laverton that were acquired by CSR two years ago will cease production in June at a cost of 115 full-time jobs.
* BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) Wells Fargo is hiring 200 to 300 temporary workers to help process an increasing number of mortgage refinance applications.
Mortgage rates have dropped to around 5 percent and experts say they could fall even lower later this year.
via Wells Fargo hiring; mortgages being refinanced | KXNet.com North Dakota News.
* The Carowinds amusement and water park plans to hire more than 2,100 seasonal employees and is taking applications for all departments.
The 112-acre park, off Interstate 77 at the S.C. line, will open its 37th season March 28. Applicants must be at least 15 years old. Positions are available in food and beverage, rides, games, merchandise, admissions, marketing, aquatics, security, warehouse, cash services and guest services.
via Carowinds to hire more than 2,100 workers | CharlotteObserver.com.
* The Columbus City Council Tuesday voted to lift a hiring freeze, enabling the Columbus Police Department to hire seven additional officers.
In November, in response to the flailing economy, the council discussed ways to save money, including limiting travel requests for employee training to essential trips. The council never voted to put a freeze on hiring, but one essentially was implemented, with no new personnel hired that weren’t already budgeted.
via Commercial Dispatch Online.
* Selma city officials indicate the hiring process for two vacant Selma Police Department officer positions, as well as one new patrol officer, is on track and that all three of the officers should be on the streets by March.
via Selma Enterprise.
* Jefferson Transit needs to hire 28 people to work during the Hood Canal Bridge closure period that begins May 1 and could last six weeks.
“The most important part of being a bus driver is not whether you can handle a big rig, it’s whether you can handle people,” said Mike Pollack, Jefferson Transit’s project manager for the Hood Canal Bridge Closure Mitigation Plan. “I can teach anyone how to drive a bus. If you aren’t a people person, it’s not for you.”
via Jefferson Transit hiring drivers for bridge closure plan.
Mike: The layoff news was disturbing today with thousands let go from numerous companies. With earnigs season underway, this trend should continue for another week or so and then possibly cool for a period of time. The big tech earnings announcements tomorrow from Google and Microsoft will be closely watched tomorrow and I’ll bring you the announcements as they arrive.
If any of you have suggestions on how I can improve your time on this site, or if you would like this site designed to enable more commenting, pass them along for consideration. Thanks.
As usual, let me end today’s posting with a little humor………
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Mike Luckovich - Jan 21
