Mike: This week is shaping up to be tough for job losses as CaterpillarING GroupSprint, Pfizer,  Home Depot,  Philips , and Texas Instruments  have already announced thousands of job cuts today.  This is also a big week for economic reports and those readings will indicate if the recession is getting worse, or if it is slowly improving. The majority seem to think that the readings will reflect a weakening economy. 

 

Somebody was working this weekend to make sure thousands of other people didn’t.

US companies announced they’re cutting 45,000 jobs by 9 am Eastern Time on Monday morning, even before the US stock market opened, according to a quick count by Raw Story.

via The Raw Story | US companies cut 45,000 jobs even before stock market opens.

 

 

Microsoft/Google/IBM/Yahoo  News & Rumors

 

yahoo* When the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company reports earnings Tuesday, “it might not be a disaster,” says Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Jeffrey Lindsay. But the company’s fourth-quarter profit is expected to be down from last year, due mainly to an anemic online advertising market. That’s where Yahoo! gleans most of its revenue.

via Yahoo! Profits Likely Down, More Layoffs Possible – Forbes.com.

 

yahoo1* Yahoo Leaks And More Cuts Could Loom

ADOTAS — Yahoo will be releasing its Q4 results tomorrow, with analysts expecting a revenue and profit drop.

While Yahoo’s search will still be strong, display advertising,  its main business,  is expected to show the biggest dip. Despite massive layoffs, ‘giddy like school girls’ investors will want more cost cutting and a clear plan to win back market share from Google and others. It’s unlikely that they will get that tomorrow.

via Yahoo leaks and more cuts could loom » Adotas.

 

ibm* Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) — International Business Machines Corp., the world’s biggest computer-services provider, cut at least 1,400 sales jobs last week to trim costs as customers reduce spending.

The firings took place in the sales and distribution unit, according to a copy of a Jan. 21 separation agreement sent by Lee Conrad, national coordinator for the Alliance for IBM. The organization, which is seeking union recognition at IBM, said similar cuts probably were made at the company’s software unit.

via Bloomberg.com: Worldwide.

 

* The global economic slump has seen the share prices of Google and Microsoft fall significantly as demand has dropped for their products.

 

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General Economic News

 

Mike: This weeks economic numbers include:

 

Mike: Both reports came in better than expected, but with caveats: Home prices plunged, which is great if you’re buying but bad if you’re selling or trying to get a home equity loan. The LEI number was better only because the fed pumped more money into the system. 

* Update: NEW YORK (AP) — A flood of federal bailout money pushed a private research group’s monthly forecast of economic activity unexpectedly higher in December, while a decline in home prices boosted housing sales.

Existing home sales rose 6.5 percent in December to an annual rate of 4.74 million units, as the median home sales price plunged 15.3 percent to $175,400 from $207,000 a year ago. The decline is the largest year-over-year drop in records going back to 1968.

Separately, the New York-based Conference Board’s monthly forecast of economic activity increased 0.3 percent in December. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a 0.3 percent decline.

If the jump in the money supply had been excluded, the index would have dropped a hefty 0.6 percent in December, said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, N.Y.

With most components falling steeply, the Conference Board said unemployment could rise to 9 percent from 7.2 percent as the country remains in an intense recession through spring.

via Leading economic indicators, home sales rise – Yahoo! Finance.

 

* Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) — More U.S. companies project they’ll pare staff in the next six months as pessimism mounts the economy will contract this year, according to a survey by the National Association for Business Economics.

The poll’s net employment reading fell to a minus 22 this month, the lowest level since 2001, from minus 15 in the previous survey in October, the report showed today. More than three- fourths of the participants forecast the economy will shrink this year, twice as many as in the last survey.

via Bloomberg.com: Worldwide.

 

* Raleigh | The number of North Carolina workers who want a job but can’t find one remains at an all-time high, with nearly 400,000 of the state’s residents out of work, according to statistics released Friday.

The jobless rate hit 8.7 percent in December – the highest level since the recession of the early 1980s, when the rate reached 9 percent in June 1983. The national unemployment rate was 7.2 percent, marking the 11th straight month North Carolina’s rate was above the national average, according to the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina.

via N.C. unemployment in December rises to 8.7 percent | StarNewsOnline.com | Star-News | Wilmington, NC.

 

* For the second time in five years, the state Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund is set to go broke – big time broke.

The fund that pays benefits of up to $450 a week to the jobless sank into the red for the first time in its 60-year history in 2004. California borrowed $214 million from the federal government to continue paying benefits.

via California unemployment fund nearly out of money – Sacramento News – Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee.

 

* The gusher of venture funds that flowed into the biotech field thinned significantly in the fourth quarter of last year. With risk-taking out of fashion, VC investments plunged 33 percent in the last three months of 2008. And biotech investing dropped 31 percent, according to a report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Reuters.

via Biotech witnesses deep plunge in venture investing – FierceBiotech.

 

* US President Barack Obama has called for US energy independence, saying global warming and reliance on foreign oil posed threats.

via BBC NEWS | Video and Audio.

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Municipal News

 

* BOSTON — For the people who put together budgets that oversee everything from police patrols to garbage collection to schools, this will be a momentous week.

Gov. Deval Patrick has a Wednesday deadline to file two documents that could reverberate in local government circles for years.

He must file a plan to close a $1.1 billion budget shortfall this fiscal year — something he has said will include $128 million in midyear cuts to local aid. He also will file a proposed budget for fiscal 2010 on Wednesday, with even deeper cuts — $375 million — to cities and towns.

via SouthCoastToday.com: Patrick set to outline cuts.

 

*BATAVIA — Declining budgets and a pay raise requirement have led to layoffs at the Clermont County Jail.

Sheriff A.J. Rodenberg said Monday that four jail officers will be laid off in March and a 32-bed cellblock will be shut down.

via Clermont Co. To Lay Off Jailers, Shut Down Cellblock – Cincinnati News Story – WLWT Cincinnati.

 

* The Phoenix City Council next week will consider budget cuts for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

The airport plans to cut close to $16 million during the 2009-2010 budget year, which begins July 1, while cutting 47 positions.

via Sky Harbor plans cuts, longer wait times for you? – Phoenix Arizona news, breaking news, local news, weather radar, traffic from ABC15 News | ABC15.com .

 

 

US and some Canada News –


ing* Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) — ING Groep NV, the biggest Dutch financial-services company, said it will cut 7,000 jobs and replace Chief Executive Officer Michel Tilmant after reporting a second consecutive quarterly loss.

The job cuts, equal to 5.4 percent of the workforce, are part of a plan to reduce operating expenses by 1 billion euros this year, Amsterdam-based ING said today in a statement distributed by Hugin. Supervisory board Chairman Jan Hommen, a former chief financial officer at Royal Philips Electronics NV, will succeed the 56-year-old Tilmant.

via Bloomberg.com: Worldwide.

 

ing1* PARIS — In the latest wave of retrenchment by global banks, ING Group, the Dutch financial services company, said Monday that it would cut 7,000 jobs this year and that its chief executive would step down as it seeks government guarantees for toxic mortgage debt.

 

phi1Philips, the Dutch consumer electronics and medical giant, announced plans today to cut 6,000 jobs worldwide this year after reporting its first quarterly loss for almost six years.

The company suffered a net loss of €186 million (£176 million) for 2008 after a fourth quarter loss of €1.47 billion, partly because of a writedown in the value of its Lumileds diode light unit. In 2007, it reported a net profit of €4.16 billion.

Gerard Kleisterlee, the president and chief executive, said that the fourth-quarter losses, the first quarterly loss since the first quarter of 2003, reflected “the unprecedented speed and ferocity with which the economy softened in 2008”.

via Philips to cut 6,000 jobs as slowdown bites – Times Online .

 

phi3* Philips is feeling the pinch of the recession, announcing a huge dip in profits, and the sacking of 6,000 employees over the next year.

The Dutch electronics giant says its net loss for 2008 has hit £175 million, following a slump in demand for its products.

The job losses will take effect worldwide, and are due to be staggered over the next year.

via Philips cuts 6,000 jobs as profits plunge | Electricpig.

 

pfi1* NEW YORK (AP) — Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drugmaker, will pay $68 billion for rival Wyeth in a move that will consolidate two of the industry’s largest drug developers.

The deal comes as Pfizer’s profit takes a brutal hit from a $2.3 billion legal settlement over allegations it marketed certain products off-label, or for indications they are not yet approved. The New York-based company is also cutting 10 percent of its work force, slashing its dividend, and reducing the number of manufacturing sites.

via The Associated Press: Pfizer to buy Wyeth for $68 billion, cut jobs.

 

pfi* Pfizer will acquire rival Wyeth for $68 billion, the companies said Monday.

The boards of directors of both companies have approved the deal.

Pfizer also said it would cut more than 8,000 jobs to cut costs in anticipation of cholesterol drug Lipitor losing patent protection in 2011. Pfizer said it would cut 10 percent of its staff and close five of its manufacturing plants but did not specify which ones.

via Pfizer to buy Wyeth for $68B, cut 8,000 jobs – New Mexico Business Weekly: .

 

* Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical has begun trimming its budget — including laying off staff — in anticipation of cuts to its state funding.

Despite increasing enrollment, largely because laid-off workers are attending the school, the school eliminated six positions, which accounts for about 2 percent of its workforce, said Southeast Tech President Jim Johnson

via MSC-ST trims budget with six layoffs : Winona Daily News.

 

* Healthcare firm Intercytex Group Plc (ICX.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday it would cut about half of its 76 staff in the UK and the United States, and halt new projects to save cash, sending its shares down as much as 36 percent.

via UPDATE 1-Intercytex to cut 50 pct jobs to stay afloat | Markets | US Markets | Reuters .

 

* NORFOLK, Va. – Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters has laid off 28 workers and cut 90 vacant positions in a move to offset revenue losses and declining Medicaid reimbursements.

via Norfolk hospital lays off 28; 90 vacant jobs cut –– dailypress.com.

 

cat* The heavy equipment maker, Caterpillar, said Monday morning in a statement that it planned to cut 20,000 jobs from its work force as the economy continues to slow.

The company said that it also planned to closely examine all of its costs and spending.

“We have initiated actions which will remove about 20,000 workers from our business and every indirect spend dollar will be heavily scrutinized,” Caterpillar said in a statement.

via Caterpillar Moves to Cut 20,000 Jobs – NYTimes.com.

 

spr* Sprint Nextel will cut 8,000 jobs as the company seeks to preserve cash among growing customer losses.

Additional moves reportedly being considering include shifting thousands more Sprint workers to other companies in outsourcing contracts, but the company didn’t make any announcements on that point Monday.

via Sprint cuts thousands of jobs – Update | Sprint Connection | News and views on Sprint Nextel.

 

hd2* ATLANTA (AP) — Home Depot Inc. says it’s cutting 7,000 jobs and closing its smaller Expo chain as the recession continues to batter the nation’s housing market.

The nation’s largest home improvement retailer says the cuts announced Monday morning will affect about 2 percent of its work force.

via Home Depot to cut 7,000 jobs, close Expo chain – Yahoo! Finance.

 

gm*Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) — General Motors Corp. said it will eliminate shifts in the second quarter at plants in Ohio and Michigan, eliminating about 2,000 jobs, and cut production at 13 other plants in the U.S. and Canada as U.S. sales drop further.

The Detroit automaker, which already closed most of its 22 plants in North American this month because of slow sales, is taking the additional steps into next quarter after GM cut its estimate for U.S. sales this year to 10.5 million, GM spokesman Chris Lee said. The automaker doesn’t have an estimate yet of total vehicle production cut.

via Bloomberg.com: Worldwide.

 

ns* SKOKIE, IL – NorthShore Skokie Hospital plans to eliminate 150 full-time jobs, or nearly 14 percent of its workforce, in the next two months.

via Hospitals & IDNs | Healthcare Finance News.

 

altAltus Pharmaceuticals Inc. will cut 107 jobs and discontinue the development of its Trizytek drug efforts due to “financial constraints” and a desire to focus on the company’s growth-hormone research.

via Altus to cut 107, end Trizytek efforts – Boston Business Journal: .

 

kalKalitta Air is laying off an undisclosed number of contract workers and other employees, according to news reports.

The airfreight and maintenance company cut approximately 200 jobs in December.

via Journal of Commerce Online — Kalitta Air cuts more jobs.

 

fm* Sources tell KTTC NewsCenter that automotive supplier Federal-Mogul has laid off at least four dozen hourly employees, many just in the past week and a half.

via KTTC Rochester, Austin, Mason City News, Weather and Sports -Federal-Mogul layoffs hit Lake City.

 

mer* Cabinet manufacturer Merillat will lay off 70 employees at the Culpeper facility today — more than 20 percent of the plant’s workforce — as direct result of the poor economy, a company spokeswoman confirmed.

via Merillat cutting 70 jobs today | Culpeper Star-Exponent.

 

ups* UPS Airlines is laying off about 60 mechanics throughout the United States next month and many of them could come from the Louisville work force, a spokesman said today.

via UPS laying off about 60 aircraft mechanics nationwide | courier-journal | The Courier-Journal.

 

iw* He said layoffs should help offset falling sales somewhat, but added in a client note that “given the severity of the slowdown, lack of visibility as well as risk of increase in customer delinquencies … we are taking a more cautious view and stepping to the sidelines.”

via InnerWorkings shares tumble after downgrade – Forbes.com.

 

hf* The plant’s 600 employees have felt the pressure of downsizing. There have been about 40 layoffs in the last three months, said union chairman Fred Cotraccia. Those layoffs were due to the sluggish economy, Martynec said. He said it’s too soon to say whether there will be more layoffs.

via Hickey-Freeman stays open as parent company files for protection | democratandchronicle.com | Democrat and Chronicle.

 

lf* Lincoln Financial will cut about five percent of its staff or about 540 jobs, including an unknown number in Greensboro, according to a company spokesman.

via Lincoln Financial to cut more jobs – The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area: .

 

baBrooks Automation Inc. plans to cut 350 jobs, or 20 percent of its work force, to bring down costs, the company said Monday.

via Brooks Automation to cut 20 percent of work force – Forbes.com.

 

fp* FairPoint Communications Inc. (FRP) confirmed today it has laid off 56 people, or less than 1.5 percent of its workforce.

Employees across the country – from Washington state to Maine – were affected by last week’s layoffs, said Rose Cummings, vice president of corporate communications for FairPoint. Only legacy markets were affected, not the landline regions FairPoint bought from Verizon Communications Inc. in early 2007 for $2.3 billion.

via FairPoint Confirms Dozens of Job Cuts.

 

ih* 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 AdaEveningNews.com – Ada, Oklahoma – Integris Health lays off 73.

 

fc3* Austin-based Freescale Semiconductor Inc. plans to cut 90 local jobs in March at its Oak Hill and Parmer Lane campuses.

via Freescale to cut 90 jobs in March | Statesman Business Blog.

 

bg* BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — Aerospace and industrial component maker Barnes Group Inc. said Monday it has sold one business and is cutting output and laying off staff in two of its remaining segments to achieve annual savings of about $40 million.

Barnes, which also is freezing the pay of its salaried workers, did not disclose the number of staffers being laid off. Last year, the company reduced its payroll by about 800 to some 5,700.

via Barnes Group Sells Unit, Cuts Output .

 

gm1General Motors plans to end production of the Cadillac XLR, which is made at the General Motors Bowling Green Assembly Plant.

The company anticipates production will cease this spring, impacting about 40 employees at the plant, said Sharon Basel, communications manager for General Motors.

via Cadillac Drops The XLR Closing Assembly Line March 1st – AutoSpies Auto News.

 

boeThe Boeing Co. is laying off  71 workers in Orange County this month, according to records filed with the state. Seven of the positions are at its Anaheim facility and 63 are in Huntington Beach.

via Boeing cutting back 71 jobs in O.C. – Handling Hard Times – OCRegister.com.

 

ti* Texas Instruments Inc. will lay off 1,800 workers and offer buyouts to an additional 1,600 to cut costs amid a brutal drop in demand for the chips it makes.

Word of the cuts, which will reduce the Dallas-based company’s headcount by 12 percent, came along with news that one-time charges had pushed fourth-quarter profits to just $107 million or 8 cents a share.

via Texas Instruments to cut 3,400 jobs | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News .

 

* SHEBOYGAN – A Sheboygan auto parts manufacturer announced Monday that it will be laying off nearly 300 employees.

JL French Automotive Castings, Inc. says the move is directly connected to the recent cutbacks by domestic automakers and follows an extended holiday shutdown at the company.

via Sheboygan manufacturer cuts 300 jobs.

 

fox* News Corp.’s Fox Interactive Media digital division is laying off about 5% of its work force, or about 100 people, amid continued cost-cutting efforts, according to a person familiar with the situation.

via Layoffs at Fox Interactive Media – Digits – WSJ.com.

 

 

* Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has become the latest US firm to announce it is making layoffs, with job cuts totalling 113 employees.

via Wilson Sonsini blames downturn for 113 layoffs – 26 January 2009.

 

* LAPORTE — Another company in our area announced layoffs Monday. Aero Metals in LaPorte said economic challenges forced it to cut more than 80 part-time and full-time employees. The company’s CEO hopes the cuts are temporary.

“There have been a couple of times that I thought it was pretty bad,” said Jim Fleming, CEO of the company. “But this one takes the cake.”

Fleming says 81 full- and part-time workers were eliminated, a move he hopes is temporary.

via LaPorte’s Aero Metals lays off 81 just months after business boom | WSBT South Bend – Your Local News Leader | Local News .

 

qs* Apparel maker Quiksilver Inc (ZQK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said it will slash 200 jobs to cut costs in a worsening retail environment.

via UPDATE 1-Quiksilver to cut 200 jobs | Markets | US Markets | Reuters .

 

bh1* Baker Hughes, the world’s third-largest oil field services company, began cutting nearly 4 percent of its global work force today as lower oil and gas prices dampen demand for drilling and other services it provides.

The Houston-based company started laying off 1,500 of its 40,000 employees in a process that will likely stretch over a couple of weeks, said Gary Flaharty, the company’s director of investor relations.

via Baker Hughes will cut 1,500 jobs with 200 in Houston | Energy | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.

 

 

 

International News

 

corus* Steelmaker Corus is set to cut 3,500 jobs worldwide, including more than 2,000 in the UK, the BBC understands.

 

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* Thousands of Japanese car workers will soon draw part of their pay from the government under a scheme to prevent redundancies at companies hit by production cuts.

Mazda and Mitsubishi Motors, respectively Japan’s fifth and sixth biggest carmakers, have applied for the employment adjustment grants, according to industry officials, and others may follow soon.

The grants are available to struggling manufacturers of all types but the particularly sharp downturn in the car sector, combined with a recent expansion of the programme, has made carmakers eligible for large levels of support.

via FT.com / Companies / Automobiles – Tokyo to help pay car workers’ salaries .

 

* NEARLY 100 jobs are under threat at a Gwent car parts plant, a union says.

The Cwmfelinfach-based Mollertech company is consulting on making 99 redundancies, according to the Community union, which is representing workers at the site.

via 100 jobs could go at Gwent auto plant (From Campaign Series).

 

* The German memory chip-maker Qimonda has filed for bankruptcy protection just a month after receiving a 325m euro ($416m; £307m) rescue package.

via BBC NEWS | Business | German chip-maker goes bankrupt.

 

* More jobs are set to be axed from Palmerston North communications firm Sitel, stoking fears the city’s call centre industry is in terminal decline.

Sitel did not return calls yesterday, but the Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) confirmed the company was reviewing its 111 call centre operations and jobs would be shed.

via Call centre layoffs spark decline fears – Local News – Manawatu Standard .

 

* Jan 26 (Reuters) – Non-woven fabric maker Fiberweb Plc (FWEB.L) said on Monday it would cut about 150 jobs, close a loss-making plant, cease production at another and lower spunbond production to reduce costs as it restructures its European operations.

via UPDATE 1-Fiberweb to restructure European ops, cut 150 jobs | Reuters .

 

* DUBLIN, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) (RBS.L) Irish unit, Ulster Bank, said on Monday it was merging with its sister lender First Active resulting in the loss of up to 750 jobs.

via UPDATE 2-Royal Bank of Scotland to cut 750 Irish jobs | Industries | Financial Services & Real Estate | Reuters .

 

* NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — A big Bahamas resort says it has laid off nearly a fifth of its employees as the world economic crisis slashes tourism across the Caribbean.

A statement from the Westin and Sheraton Grand Bahama Our Lucaya Resort says 181 employees, or about 18 percent of its beachfront workforce, have been let go.

via The Associated Press: Bahamas resort lays off 181 as crisis cuts tourism.

 

* Troubled furniture chain Land of Leather is to close 33 stores with the potential loss of 95 jobs, administrators said.

via icRenfrewshire – 33 Land of Leather stores to close.

 

* In addition to closing ten magazines, Kalev Meedia also laid off people working for the TC-channel Kalev Sport and news portal www.kalev.ee, aripaev.ee reports.

150 of Kalev Meedia’s 200 employees will be laid off, 11 out of 30 people on Kalev Sport will stay working.

via balticbusinessnews.com – Kalev Meedia to lay off 150 employees .

 

A further 36 branches of struggling childrenswear chain Adams have been closed with the loss of 267 jobs, administrators said.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said 62 jobs have also been cut at the company’s head office in Nuneaton.

via The Press Association: 36 more Adams stores shut.

 

Hiring News

 

* CHEYENNE — Despite increasing unemployment rates and news of layoffs in Laramie County, many companies are still hiring.

In fact, there continues to be a variety of job openings, Joan Evans, the director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, said.

Most of them are in areas like management, clerical, medical and trade positions, Evans added.

via Wyoming Tribune Eagle Online : Attention job seekers: Many places still hiring.

 

Mike: Monday was a brutal day for layoffs. I think this is the worst job loss day that I have posted over the last two months. Hopefully the news gets alittle better as the week progrsees. On that optimistic note, let’s end today with a laugh………..

 

 

Mike Luckovich - Jan 26

Mike Luckovich - Jan 26

 

 

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