Mike: I hope you all have a fine weekend and that the Super Bowl is an entertaining game for us football fans. My prediction is Pittsburgh 31 – Arizona 27
The following article details how the financial system can begin the purging of its corruption, greed, tax evasion and malfeasance by instituting enforceable regulation and a return to fair taxation. It is well worth the read if you are interested in how avoid a repeat of this current financial crises;
Are We Ready to Change the System?

“The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few, booted and spurred, ready to ride them…” Thomas Jefferson

It is time to begin serious, and significant, systemic reforms in the financial system.

Maintaining the status quo will be fruitless because the system is broken. Trying to keep it from becoming ‘more broken’ is a nice short term fix, but we are beyond that now. This has been a long time in the works.

There has been a recent increase in noise from the Congress about changing a system which promotes excessive pay, and encourages the virtual looting of companies, by overpaid management and a corrupt financial system.

Rather than strike at the branches, and call a few individuals up before Congress for their ten minutes of tut-tutting, how about some serious change that cuts to the roots of the crisis?

via Jesse’s Café Américain: Are We Ready to Change the System?.

     
                      

 

 

Microsoft/Google/IBM and other Rumors & News

 

* An inside source at Novell just informed me that Novell laid off a considerable percentage of its workforce on Friday, suggesting that “basically an across-the-board reduction of 25 percent” had been made. The news came in too late to seek comment from Novell, but I will try to get an update over the weekend.

These Novell layoffs add to the mounting woes of the already enfeebled technology industry, which has seen tens of thousands of employees lose their jobs.

via Novell lays off up to 25 percent of its workforce | The Open Road – CNET News.

 

* The current round of job cuts by IBM Corp. extends to several other divisions, according to the Alliance@IBM, a workers’ group.

According to the group, the cuts include the finance unit, with 307 jobs gone; the human resources group, with 92 jobs; and IBM Research, 193 positions. The numbers are for the U.S., and none of them have large concentrations in Dutchess County’s two sites. However, many people who work for those divisions live in the mid-Hudson but work elsewhere, including in Westchester County.

via Workers: More jobs cut at IBM | PoughkeepsieJournal.com | Poughkeepsie Journal.

 

* The carnage on Wall Street is continuing as Morgan Stanley plans to lay off about 2,000 employees, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The cuts will be in addition to the 5,400 layoffs at the New York-based investment bank in its 2008 fiscal year, which ended in November. It has laid off more than 10,000 people since the summer of 2007, affecting a range of employees from highly compensated bankers, traders and asset managers to less-well-rewarded staffers.

via Morgan Stanley to lay off another 2,000 – InvestmentNews .

 

General Economic News

 

* WHITMIRE — McArthur Lindsay held his next-to-last paycheck from the Renfro sock factory Thursday afternoon and wondered where the money will come from next month.

Lindsay, 48, was one of 570 people who lost their jobs when the plant closed Friday. Renfro, in the northwest corner of Newberry County, was the county’s second-largest private employer.

“As you can see, $198 won’t carry me far,” Lindsay said. “I’m just hoping I can get another job.”

via Newberry County plant closes; 570 out of work – Local / Metro – The State.

 

* NEW YORK (CNN) — Layoffs for sea lions? Furloughs for frogs? Is there no job security, anywhere?

State budget cuts mean New York’s 76 zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums will lose $9.1 million in funding.

The recession may be coming to a zoo near you. State budget cuts mean many zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens will lose crucial state funding for their exhibits. New York’s 76 zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens will lose $9.1 million in state funds next year.

“We’re faced with this very difficult problem of firing the animals, as it were,” said Steve Sanderson, the CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which manages the Bronx Zoo and the New York Aquarium. They will lose $3 million to budget cuts.

via Budget cuts force Bronx Zoo to ‘fire’ animals – CNN.com.

 

 

Ed Stein - Jan 31

Ed Stein - Jan 31

 

dohMike: The story below caught my eye because the headline was so obviously on target. I had to read it a few times and then Homer Simpson came to mind. I can see their next headline: “Rain in Fresno blamed on clouds!

 

Economy Blamed for Rising Unemployment in Fresno – 

Hundreds turned out and stood in line for hours, hoping to get a job with the Fresno Grizzlies on Saturday at Chukchansi Park.

The jobs are for game day staff when the Grizzlies have a home game, but people say applying for the seasonal position was competitive and the crowd was massive.

People started lining up at 8:30 in the morning and by 10a.m. the line reached around the block.

There were nearly a thousand people hoping to get one of only 150 seasonal jobs with the Grizzlies.

“It definitely says a lot about how bad things are out there and how bad things are right now,” said Jose A. Perez II.

via KMPH Fox 26 Central San Joaquin Valley News Source in Fresno, California Entertainment, News, Sports and Weather | Economy Blamed for Rising Unemployment in Fresno.

 

Municipal News

 

What looked bad in December is looking much worse now, as Palo Alto’s projected budget deficit has ballooned from $2.6 million to $5.8 million.

Unfilled positions have been frozen and major projects such as a new police building will likely be delayed as the city tries to close the gap. Without such measures, the shortfall could rise to $8 million in 2010, according to an updated long-range forecast released Thursday.

via Palo Alto freezes hiring, delays projects as deficit grows to $5.8 million – San Jose Mercury News.

 

* Gilbert officials Friday said they want to cut 27 full-time town jobs in the town development services department as a result of the downturn in construction.

via 23 Gilbert employees could lose jobs.

 

* Clovis prides itself on careful planning and a high quality of life. But that manicured look has begun to erode as the declining economy has cut millions of dollars from city budgets.

The anti-gang and traffic-enforcement units have been disbanded. Police take longer to respond to nonemergency calls. Graffiti stays up longer. Recreation programs for children will largely disappear by summer. The Fire Department doesn’t have enough staff and can’t hire more.

via Clovis cutbacks get ugly – Local – fresnobee.com.

 

* Canton officials are putting 20 employees on the streets and making other cuts after being told the city was in danger of not being able to pay its bills by late April.

via Canton lays off 20 employees to save money | ajc.com.

 

* State Parks Director Ken Travous said Friday he laid off all seasonal parks workers – about 60 people in all — and suspended payments to local community groups for the state’s share of local projects.

He also has drawn up a list of eight parks the state can close — five immediately and three more in June — to be considered at a special meeting of the state parks board on Tuesday. The state operates 27 parks.

via Parks, environment are budget casualties.

 

 

* Layoffs have infiltrated one of the area’s biggest employers – Elgin School District U46.

The cuts began in the administration building Thursday and spread through one high school in Elgin and a middle school in Streamwood Friday.

District administrators including Lalo Ponce, Tom Donausky, Deb Dimke and Tina Radomsky were laid off Thursday. Every one of Larkin High School’s administrators, including principal Rich Webb, were laid off Friday, according to Tony Sanders, district spokesman.

via U46 lays off Larkin High administrators :: The Courier News :: News.

 

Mike: If you are one of the unfortunate many who are suffering a foreclosure issue, maybe it’s wise to take the advice of this video and just stay, but not pay!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyWwT6Hbw3Y]

 

 

US and some Canada News

 

hd3* The Home Depot Inc. is closing HD Bath in Kennesaw and laying off all 75 people at the headquarters for its bath remodeling business, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.

via Home Depot closing HD Bath in Kennesaw, layoff 75 workers – Atlanta Business Chronicle: .

 

hd4* The Home Depot Inc. sent a warn letter to the Texas Workforce Commission this week informing them of 68 job cuts at the company’s Home Depot Bath and Remodeling Inc. facility, located at 3010 Skyway Circle in North Irving, Texas.

 

Philip Morris USA laid off 141 hourly employees Friday, the first group of workers to lose their jobs since the company announced plans to close its Concord cigarette plant by the end of 2010.

via Philip Morris begins Concord layoffs – Charlotte Business Journal: .

 

* Bay Area mourns upcoming loss of Scharffen Berger

Hershey, which bought Berkeley-based premium chocolate maker Scharffen Berger in 2005, announced plans this week to close the west Berkeley plant. Most of the chocolate will now be made at a Hershey plant in Robinson, Ill., which has actually been the case for some time, according to Hershey.

Some 150 people will lose their jobs when the facility and its retail store, also in the building, close later this

via Bay Area mourns upcoming loss of Scharffen Berger – San Jose Mercury News.

 

* TERRE HAUTE — Tough economic times have forced another Wabash Valley business to lay off employees.

TRW laid off 10 employees from its Marshall, Ill., location Thursday. Those laid off were primarily salaried workers and technicians, according to John Wilkerson, a TRW spokesman.

via Terre Haute News, Terre Haute, Indiana- TribStar.com – Marshall’s TRW lays off 10.

 

Lufkin Industries on Friday laid off 53 employees working in its Oilfield Division, according to a company spokesman.

All of the jobs are in the company’s Lufkin location. Further details about the layoffs are not being made public yet because the company is in its “quiet period,” said Paul Perez, Lufkin Industries vice president and general counsel.

via Lufkin Industries lays off 53 Oilfield Division employees.

 

KTUL, Tulsa’s ABC affiliate, has laid off up to seven employees and those who are left took pay cuts, sources reported in a story first published Friday on tulsaworld.com

via Tulsa World: KTUL lays off more employees .

 

latimesThe Los Angeles Times announced plans Friday to lay off 300 people — including 70 newsroom workers — and fold its California section into the main news pages.

The moves are the latest efforts by the West’s largest paper to cope with the steep loss of advertising revenue caused by the recession and the flight of advertisers to online media outlets.

via L.A. Times to lay off 300, consolidate sections – Los Angeles Times.

 

* CLAY COUNTY — Wellborn Cabinet in Ashland reduced its work force Thursday by 203 employees.

These reductions will include 187 personnel from Wellborn’s main manufacturing facilities in Ashland and Lineville and 16 personnel from Wellborn’s Atkins manufacturing plant. The company will continue its operations at all three locations, albeit at a reduced production volume.

via Daily Home – Wellborn Cainet reduces work force by 203 employees.

 

zazzle* Update: Chief Product Officer Jeff Beaver says that the Zazzle representative I spoke to earlier was misinformed, and that 28 out of 110 corporate employees were laid off, representing around 25% of the corporate office. He confirmed that 15% of the staff overall had been laid off.

via Zazzle Lays Off 15%, Corporate Office Hit Hard – washingtonpost.com.

 

Four WNWO-TV, Channel 24, employees including evening co-anchor Shenikwa Stratford, were laid off Wednesday,

via channel 24 toledo – Google News .

 

sears* Sears Holdings Corp. on Friday laid off 300 of its support center employees, most of whom work at company headquarters in Hoffman Estates.

Given tough economic times, a Sears spokesman said, “We have to continue looking at all aspects of our business” for cost cutting.

via Sears lays off 300 support employees :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Business.

 

* Codman Neurovascular, a neurosciences and stroke management company that’s part of Johnson & Johnson, has notified the state of plans to close its manufacturing operations in Miami Lakes’ Cordis facility and let go the 159 employees who work there.

via Codman Neurovascular to lay off 159 – South Florida Business Journal: .

 

* LIMA – A day after Ford Motor Company announced record losses, the news announced earlier in the week became official –70 workers at the Lima Engine Plant received notice they would be laid off indefinably.

via Grob joins Ford with layoffs Friday | company, friday, layoffs – Local News – LimaOhio.com.

 

* HARRISONBURG – Nielsen Builders Inc. is the latest local company to lay off employees due to the recession.

The company has eliminated 10 field and office positions since Jan. 1, according to Jean Hieber, Nielsen’s human resources director.

via The Daily News Record: Local News.

 

ocean-bankMiami-based Ocean Bank said it laid off 127 employees, or 12 percent of its work force, as part of an effort to reduce costs. The bank also reported a fourth-quarter loss of $86.7 million compared with a loss of $59.3 million a year earlier.

via Ocean Bank to lay off 127 employees – Breaking News – MiamiHerald.com.

 

* Syracuse (WSYR-TV) – North Medical announced 50 workers from its facilities in Fayetteville and Liverpool were laid off. The company says its part of a larger plan to reorganize operations.

via North Medical laying off 50 workers – NewsChannel 9 WSYR .

 

* The cash-strapped Museum of Contemporary Art is trimming its staff by 20% and cutting operating costs in an effort to reduce its annual expenses by approximately $4.4 million, the museum announced Friday.

via Strapped MOCA trims staff by 20% – Los Angeles Times.

 

GroupM North America has laid off 93 people, or about 2.7 percent of its total staff, as the economic pall continues to pummel ad budgets.

The cuts were across-the-board, affecting all four GroupM companies — Mediaedge:cia, MediaCom, Mindshare, and Maxus — as well as corporate staff. The WPP-owned network slashed a wide range of digital and traditional positions across all accounts. Most of those let go were in New York, since GroupM operations are concentrated here. The layoffs took place yesterday and today.

via GroupM Lays off 93 in Digital and Traditional Roles – ClickZ.

 

Rockwood Pigments laid off 22 workers at its Wilson Borough plant this week because of the economic downturn, a corporate official said today.

via Rockwood Pigments lays off 22 at Wilson Borough plant – Lehigh Valley PA Local & Small Business News, Economics & Finance News Articles for Easton, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Allentown and more – lehighvalleylive.com.

 

* OBAMA: Cardinal hired two workers this week. With all the bad news going out there, with all the word of jobs being lost and businesses shuttered, jobs were created right here.

But now the bad economy has caught up to Cardinal Fastener. Eight workers were given pinkslips this week, after sales dropped off. Cardinal President John Grabner says the company is living another common refrain from the president. 

via 90.3 WCPN ideastream® | Cardinal Lays off Workers Two Weeks After Obama Praises the Firm’s Hiring.

 

* MILTON — Blenko Glass Company announced Friday that it is shutting down production.

Twenty of its 50 employees have been laid off as of yet, and the company is discussing with legal counsel about whether it should file for bankruptcy.

via Blenko Glass to shut down – The Herald Dispatch.

 

LECO Corporation is cutting 45 jobs in the Saint Joseph area. The company told The Herald Palladium that it’s eliminating 50 jobs around the country in response to the same economic conditions everyone else is dealing with…and the local cuts will be spread out evenly among various departments. LECO, which makes high-tech analytical instruments, also said that it will be freezing wages for 2009.

via WSJM AM 1400 & FM 94.9 – LECO To Cut Jobs In Saint Joe.

 

spr1* FISHERS, Ind. — Nearly 400 people will lose their jobs by April 1 when a Sprint call center closes.

Workers received letters on Thursday that detailed the closure.

On Monday, Sprint Nextel announced that it planned to eliminate 8,000 jobs over the next few months.

The Fishers workers are employed by Teleperformance USA, a company that is contracted with Sprint.

via Call Center To Close, Idling 400 Workers – Money News Story – WRTV Indianapolis.

 

WHTM-TV, Harrisburg’s ABC affiliate, has laid off 11 employees and asked all staffers to take a 3.9 percent pay cut, according to an employee.

via WHTM cuts jobs, pay, worker says – PennLive.com.

 

* SHELTON — Baldwin Technology Co. Inc. on Friday said it will cut about 80 employees across a range of departments before the end of this fiscal year, a result of a slowdown in demand for printing equipment.

via Baldwin Technology cutting 80 jobs – The Connecticut Post Online.

 

* Responding to a decline in patient volumes, Lakeview Health System this week announced a plan to eliminate the equivalent of 30 full-time positions from its hospital and clinic operations in Stillwater.

The private nonprofit is one of the area’s largest employers, with about 1,000 people filling the equivalent of roughly 800 full-time positions.

via Stillwater Gazette – Lakeview lays off 12, asks staff to cut hours.

 

LSI is cutting 40 positions at its Wichita facility as part of a companywide cost-cutting move, announced this week.

LSI, based in Milpitas, Calif., has seen sales tumble in the past five months, leading executives to announce cuts to its global work force of 5 percent, and freezing wages, 401(k) contributions and pension contributions.

via LSI trims 40 Wichita jobs | Wichita Business – Kansas Business | Kansas.com.

 

Pentair Electronic Packaging is cutting 158 of the 350 jobs at its facility on Danielson Street in Poway Business Park by the end of June, a company representative said. The representative said fewer than 20 employees are being laid off effective Feb. 12, with the remaining 140 cuts possibly coming through a mix of layoffs, buyouts and attrition.

via REGION: Manufacturer plans 158 job cuts : North County Times – Californian 01-30-2009.

 

* COLORADO SPRINGS – NEWSCHANNEL 13 has learned the popular used car dealership; “Bar None” has closed up shop locally and the Colorado franchise has filed for Chapter 11.

Bar None has cut its staff from 100 employees to just 25 as the owner consolidated everything into one central store near Denver.

via KRDO.com Colorado Springs, Pueblo – Weather, News, Sports – ‘Bar None’ Cuts 75 Jobs and Closes Local Store.

 

Fresno Pacific University may be preparing to lay off employees in the next several months because of financial problems caused by dropping enrollment.

“It appears that we will have a reduced staff next fiscal year to help balance our budget,” university spokeswoman Diana Bates Mock said Friday.

via Fresno Pacific faces layoffs in near future – Local – fresnobee.com.

 

wachovia*Roanoke, VA – The slumping housing industry has some area Wachovia employees losing their jobs; 35 employees are affected.

via Layoffs at Wachovia|ABC 13.

 

 

*Girard, director of operations for the Millcreek Township outpatient cancer-treatment center, has laid off seven RCC employees in recent weeks.

The employees include a nurse, a phlebotomist and workers in the center’s pharmacy, laboratory and finance office. Two other RCC employees whose positions were eliminated were transferred to other jobs at the center.

via GoErie.com: 7 layoffs among RCC leader’s calls.

 

* Berry Plastics, in Easthampton, is the latest local business to fall victim to today’s struggling economy.

Friday, employees informed 22News upwards of 100 employees were laid off.

via Easthampton business lays off employees.

 

* Dow Chemical has laid off “less than 100” of its 1,100 employees at its St. Charles Operations plant in Hahnville as part of the company’s reaction to the global recession, company officials said Friday.

via Ax falls on jobs at St. Charles Dow plant – Breaking News from New Orleans – Times-Picayune – NOLA.com .

 

* Wine mogul Jess Jackson this week unleashed sweeping job cuts across his Santa Rosa-based wine empire in response to the deepening recession and grim forecasts for the fate of high-end wines in the coming year.

Jackson Family Wines declined to discuss the scope of the layoffs, but several people familiar with the reductions estimated that around 170 employees lost their jobs in all areas of the company over the past two weeks, most on Friday.

via Major layoffs hit K-J workers | PressDemocrat.com | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA.

 

silverton* Silverton, which was founded in the city and is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, has locations in Maryland, Florida and Millville, and is one of the top employers in Cumberland County. The company declined to comment on the layoffs and its current employment Thursday.

The company had 499 employees as of October 2008, according to the Cumberland County Department of Planning and Development.

via Millville boat builder plans 202 layoffs | APP.com | Asbury Park Press.

 

* WENATCHEE — Responding to a drop in advertising revenues brought on by a worsening economy, The Wenatchee World laid off 12 people this week.

via – Wenatchee World laid off 12 people

 

* Another batch of layoff notices has been issued at the Fort Erie Race Track.

Approximately 50 more employees got the bad news this week.

Those 50 are in addition to the 190 handed out in December.

via Another 50 layoff notices handed out at track – Niagara Falls Review – Ontario, CA .

 

king-pharmaceuticalsKing Pharmaceuticals will lay off 72 people at its Bristol, Tenn., plant this spring due to concerns over the future of its most popular drug, company officials said Friday.

“This is very unfortunate,” King spokesman James Green said Friday, adding that the layoffs will leave the Bristol plant with 430 employees.

via King Pharmaceuticals To Lay Off 72 | TriCities.

 

Fenwick & West LLP cut loose nearly 40 staff Thursday and froze salaries of its associates, another indication that law firms are starting to feel the effects of the sour economy.

via Fenwick cuts 36 staff, freezes associate salaries – Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal: .

 

cat2* Employees at Caterpillar Inc.’s engine plant in Mossville who are slated for layoff on Feb. 23 were told Friday to go home and not return.

The company said there isn’t enough work for the 814 affected employees to justify having them come to the factory the next three weeks.

via Mossville workers told to go home – Peoria, IL – pjstar.com.

 

* A cooling oil market is cutting into sales and employment at Graham Corp., and the company has cut about 5 percent of its work force in response to dwindling orders and backlogs.

Prior to the layoffs earlier this month, the maker of heavy equipment for the oil refinery and petrochemical industries employed about 280 full-time workers between its Batavia operations and its Chinese subsidiary, Graham Vacuum and Heat Transfer Technology Co.

via Sales up at Graham, but cuts are coming | democratandchronicle.com | Democrat and Chronicle.

 

DANBURY — Cartus, one of the city’s largest employers, said Thursday it laid off 74 employees.

Cartus released a one-paragraph statement about the layoffs, which took place in the company’s offices throughout the United States. Company officials declined to elaborate further on the move, or state how many of the affected employees work in the company’s headquarters on Apple Ridge Road.

via Danbury company cuts 74 – The Connecticut Post Online.

 

novell* January 31, 2009 (Computerworld) Open-source vendor Novell Inc. on Saturday confirmed reports that it had a layoff on Friday, though it said the layoffs were small and amounted to less than 3% of its workforce.

Novell spokesman Ian Bruce said the company laid off 100 out of 4,200 employees worldwide. He declined to say if the move came in response to slumping sales at the Waltham, Mass. firm.

via Novell lays off 100 workers.

 

 

Dilbert - Jan 30

Dilbert - Jan 30

 

* ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) Rifle-maker Thompson Center Arms, one of the largest employers in Rochester, N.H., laid off 66 workers this week and furloughed another 37.

Company owner Smith & Wesson said the layoffs were prompted by a drop in sales of the company’s black powder hunting rifles.

via wbztv.com – New Hampshire Wire .

 

* Custom Castings Northeast Inc. of Bigler has laid off 12 full-time employees due to slow demand.

Custom Castings Northeast manufactures custom pre-formed glass fiberreinforced gypsum and glass fiber reinforced cement architectural materials.

via The Progress News: Bigler Company lays off 12 full-time employees.

 

* COLEBROOKDALE — The worldwide recession has claimed more jobs in the tri-county area.

Officials at the Cabot Supermetals plant on County Line Road have confirmed the layoff of 25 percent of the work force at the plant — a total of 32 workers. About 140 to 150 workers remain.

via Cabot confirms layoffs – The Mercury News: Pottstown, PA and The Tri County areas of Montgomery, Berks and Chester Counties (pottsmerc.com).

 

* Fernando Robles isn’t too concerned about economic ideology these days. All he wants is to keep his job.

But the 50-year-old bartender at Old Town State Park’s Casa de Reyes restaurant is one of about 150 employees – most of them union workers – who have been given pink slips as a new company prepares to take over the park’s largest concession.

via Restaurant employees at Old Town face layoffs.

 

gsk1* LONDON: British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline will cut thousands of jobs when it announces full-year results this week, two newspapers reported Sunday.

The Sunday Telegraph said up to 6,000 posts would be eliminated around the world. The Observer said as many as 10,000 jobs could go — 10 percent of the company’s global work force.

via Reports: GlaxoSmithKline to cut thousands of jobs – International Herald Tribune.

 

gsk* Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline is set to announce thousands of job cuts as it faces increasing competition from generic drug makers, reports suggest.

More than 6,000 jobs are set to go according to reports in the Observer, The Sunday Times and The Telegraph.

A spokesman for the company could not confirm or deny the reports, saying simply that Glaxo “was in the middle of a restructuring programme”.

via BBC NEWS | Business | Glaxo ‘to cut thousands of jobs’.

 

sypris-technologiesSypris Technologies has notified the state that it plans to shut down its plant in Marion later this year, continuing a recent run of bad news for that area’s job market.

Fewer than 100 jobs remain at the Sypris plant, which once employed far more.

Sypris, based in Louisville, Ky., makes parts for the trucking industry, including axles.

via The Columbus Dispatch : Marion parts factory to close .

 

 

International News

 

 

* Retailer Sofa Workshop was sold on Friday but 20 of its 30 shops have been closed with the loss of 120 jobs.

via Sofa Workshop sold but 20 shops close | Reuters .

 

* DUBLIN, Ireland: Bankruptcy officials shut down the debt-crippled Waterford Crystal factory Friday, provoking a furious response from workers who jostled security guards and vowed to occupy their world-famous workplace indefinitely.

Union leaders warned that more than 200 workers would refuse to leave the factory in the city of Waterford, southeast Ireland, until the receivers handling Waterford Wedgwood PLC’s bankruptcy proceedings reversed the closure.

via Waterford Crystal closed amid crippling debts – International Herald Tribune.

 

Media reports have indicated that Toyota Kiroskar Motors is laying off up to 400 contract workers, usually employed at its shop floor at its Bangalore unit in Karnataka, though the company is refusing to disclose the exact numbers.

via Toyota Kirloskar 400 contract workers from Bangalore unit laid off – WheelsUnplugged Automobile Industry News .

 

Electro-Motive Diesel in London will cut about two-thirds of its workforce in the next three months, shedding roughly 600 jobs, the toll even worse than was expected just weeks ago.

An official with CAW Local 27 confirmed this morning there will be three rounds of job cuts in February, March and April, and while perhaps 90 or so employees may chose an incentive package for early retirement, the rest will be laid off.

via London Free Press – News- London’s Electro-Motive Diesel To Cut 600 Jobs.

 

* State oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) is considering the possibility to cut 3,000 jobs after February 15, said a trade union leader who was advised of a meeting taking place between government officials and oil contractors.

via Daily News – EL UNIVERSAL.

 

 

* AERO engine maker Rolls-Royce is to cut up to 240 shop floor workers at its Derby factory.

Steve Wright, works convenor for the union Unite, confirmed this afternoon that the bulk of the cuts would take place at the firm’s turbines business, which will lose 149 people.

via Rolls-Royce to cut up to 240 jobs in Derby|Derby|Derby news|Rolls-Royce.

 

* DRUGMAKER Glaxo Smith Kline will this week join the growing list of British blue-chip companies to reduce its workforce as the unemployment gloom continues.

It is expected to shed some 6,000 jobs worldwide in response to its slowing development pipeline of products and competition from cheap generic manufacturers.

Only days ago Glaxo’s British rival, Astra Zeneca, announced it would cut 15,000 staff by 2013.

via Glaxo axes thousands as Jaguar chops pay – Times Online .

 

Hiring News

 

* While the Lehigh Valley unemployment rate hit a 12-year high of 6.5 percent in November, Sands officials and local dignitaries celebrated the coming of 1,000 jobs they say will be created once the casino opens this year at the old Bethlehem Steel plant.

via Is the Bethlehem Sands hiring? You bet — themorningcall.com.

 

* NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I.—The economy is tough but there are still companies that are hiring in Rhode Island.

Interstate Diesel Equipment service in North Kingstown is looking for a couple of good mechanics.

Domestic Bank is also hiring for positions. Nearly 200 people showed up at a job fair at its main office in Cranston.

via Two R.I. companies hiring | turnto10.com.

 

Mike: More announcements as the weekend continues……………….

 

Drew Litton - Jan 30

 

Mike: Since this blog can be a depressing read and write at times, it’s nice to have a distraction like the Super Bowl to take my thoughts away from the daily grind of our current economic condition. So allow me to focus on Super Bowl pageantry for a day. 

Being a NY Giants fan, I’m a little disappointed that they folded tent so early this year. I’d like to thank Plaxico Burress for being the dumbest person in the NFL this year. To whet your appetite for Super Bowl Sunday, I’ll post some highlights from last year:

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1pGkxDqRmo]

 

Mike: And if you want the inside story……………

 

Strength vs. strength to be on display in Tampa

 

And if you like the commercials…………

 

The Top 10 Greatest Super Bowl Commercials of All Time

 

Don’t forget the chicken wings…………..

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht7mK5dX0es&eurl=http://1.gmodules.com/ig/ifr?view=home&url=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/youtube_igoogle/v2/youtube.xml&nocache]

 

 

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