Mike: It was an exciting Super Bowl for us sport fans. A game of inches that ended in disappointment for a very respectable and talented AZ team. Pittsburg, with Ben Roethlisberger at the helm made a last minute drive that secured their Super Bowl championship: Steelers rally to beat Cardinals 27-23 – NFL – Yahoo! Sports.
On to the jobs news of the day……………..
– A few large layoff announcements and other news this day: GlaxoSmithKline, Atlas Copco, Macy’s, Morgan Stanley and my favorite for this day:IBM shippping jobs overseas while taking $1.5 billion dollars from the taxpayer: IBM Offers To Move Laid Off Workers To India .
Mike: The story below continues the saga of bailed out banks taking advantage of the taxpayer’s $700 billion gift by attempting to hire thousands of foreign workers instead of American workers who bailed them out. These corrupt, unethical, thieving banks will continue to raid the treasury and dim an economic recovery unless the bad banks are dissolved and the good banks are saved. Putting any additional money into the hands of bad bank executives is a recipe for continued disaster. Write your elected representatives and tell them that the banking system needs to be overhauled and corrupt bank execs need to be held criminally responsible for their actions: Contact your representative at Congress.org .
* SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Banks collecting billions of dollars in federal bailout money sought government permission to bring thousands of foreign workers to the U.S. for high-paying jobs, according to an Associated Press review of visa applications.
The dozen banks receiving the biggest rescue packages, totaling more than $150 billion, requested visas for more than 21,800 foreign workers over the past six years for positions that included senior vice presidents, corporate lawyers, junior investment analysts and human resources specialists. The average annual salary for those jobs was $90,721, nearly twice the median income for all American households.
– The figures are significant because they show that the bailed-out banks, being kept afloat with U.S. taxpayer money, actively sought to hire foreign workers instead of American workers. As the economic collapse worsened last year — with huge numbers of bank employees laid off — the numbers of visas sought by the dozen banks in AP’s analysis increased by nearly one-third, from 3,258 in fiscal 2007 to 4,163 in fiscal 2008.
via AP Investigation: Banks sought foreign workers: Financial News – Yahoo! Finance.
Mike: These bank thieves are also arrogant and they don’t care what you think. They will be back for more cash, so be prepared to open those wallets again…………
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGURAPVjlvI]
Ben Sargent - Feb 2
- Microsoft/Google/IBM and other Rumors/News
General Economic News
Municipal News
US and some Canada Layoff News
International News
Hiring News
– Microsoft/Google/IBM and other Rumors & News –
* Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline is poised to unveil a new round of cost cuts that could lead to 10,000 jobs being axed.
The company is to announce full-year results on Thursday and will spell out details of a series of measures to boost profitability.
It embarked on a major round of cost cuts just 15 months ago, when it planned to achieve annual savings of £700m by the end of next year.
via Up to 10,000 facing the axe from drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline | Mail Online.
* GlaxoSmithKline is likely to announce thousands of new job cuts this week, a British newspaper is reporting.
The Sunday Telegraph, without citing its sources, says GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) is “putting the finishing touches” on plans to lay off some 6,000 of its 100,000 workers. The drug company could announce the cuts when it announces earnings Feb. 5, the newspaper says.
via Report: GSK to cut 6,000 jobs – Triangle Business Journal: .
Mike: I wonder how much in US contracts that IBM getsper year? Oh, wait, I do know how much IBM was awarded in government contracts: $1,576,357,848. That’s over $1.5 billion dollars in US taxpayer money and to thank the US taxpayer for that $1.5 billion, they are willing to pack their employees up and ship them and their jobs to India. Quite the scam they have; get US contracts and have th ework performed overseaes for even greater profits! The Obama administration has developed the following great website in which you can find out where your hard-earned tax money is going: Welcome to USASpending.gov – Where Americans Can See Where Their Money Goes – via Welcome to USAspending.gov.
* The climate is warm, there’s no shortage of exotic food, and the cost of living is rock bottom. That’s IBM (NYSE: IBM)’s pitch to the laid-off American workers it’s offering to place in India. The catch: Wages in the country are pennies-on-the-dollar compared to U.S. salaries.
– Under a program called Project Match, IBM will help workers laid off from domestic sites obtain travel and visa assistance for countries in which Big Blue has openings. Mostly that’s developing markets like India, China, and Brazil.
via IBM Offers To Move Laid Off Workers To India — InformationWeek.
Mike: Monday offers a variety of reports that will show the state of the economy and how jobs are likely to be affected. Reports are courtesy of: Bloomberg.com: Economic Calendar.
![[Report]](http://bloomberg.econoday.com/images/bloomberg/byconsensus_butt.gif)
![[Star]](http://bloomberg.econoday.com/images/bloomberg/star.gif)
8:30 AM ETThe 1 percent drop in purchases was larger than forecast and followed a 0.8 percent decrease in November, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation was little changed for a third month.
10:00 AM ETThe Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, said Monday that its manufacturing index rose to 35.6 in January from an upwardly revised 32.9 in December. The January reading was above the 32.6 that economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected.
Any reading above 50 signals growth, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction. The index has fallen steadily since August as the economy deteriorated, hitting a 28-year low in December.
via Manufacturing index for Jan. rises from record low – Yahoo! Finance.
10:00 AM ETSACRAMENTO, Calif. – The national wave of auto dealership closures has come crashing down on thousands of people who are on the hook for used-car loans that dealers were supposed to absolve.
– When a car buyer still owes money on a vehicle he is trading in, the dealer promises to pay off the outstanding loan, then resells the vehicle. But as more dealers go out of business, some are sticking consumers with the bill. Lenders can then go after the previous owner who thought the debt was paid, or repossess the car from the new owner who assumed it came with clear title.
“It’s devastating for people when it happens because they have two car payments and they can’t afford them,” said Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, a Sacramento-based nonprofit that lobbies on behalf of vehicle owners. “Their credit is destroyed for no fault of their own because the dealer defaulted.”
Regulators in California and other states, including Florida, Iowa and Washington, are seeing a surge in consumer complaints. They warn the problem is sure to grow this year because of the deepening recession and continued trouble in the auto industry.
via Folding dealers shock car buyers with unpaid liens – Yahoo! News.
Mike: Can you imagine that golfers may have to play in tournaments that pay only $500k for a win instead of $1 million? Oh, the struggle of it all.
* “There’s some concern, for sure,” veteran Mark Calcavecchia said. “I mean, everybody understands . . . the way things are going in the economy, things are tight for everybody, including Ginn and all the other huge companies. I mean, I think we’re lucky to have the sponsors we have out here.
“My concern now being 48 1/2 is how many tournaments are going to be left on the Senior Tour in a couple years. It seems like they’re losing two or three a year.”
Another worrisome indicator came when equipment manufacturer TaylorMade laid off 70 employees in recent weeks. PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem tried to make a pre-emptive strike by meeting with players to spread the basic message of being extra nice to each week’s title sponsors.
via PGA Tour feeling crunch in tight economy.
Mike Luckovich - Feb 2
* Mayor Bloomberg insists his threat to eliminate 23,000 city jobs unless Albany comes up with extra cash is no bluff.
“We’re not bluffing about anything. We don’t have any extra money,” he said Sunday.
The mayor said Albany should divert a slice of money from the planned federal stimulus plan to support the city schools.
If not, the layoffs could include as many as 14,000 teachers.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTVuc6Je12g&eurl=http://news.google.com/news?rlz=1C1GGLS_enUS291US303&sourceid=chrome&hl=en&um=1&tab=wn&q=jobs+cut&]
* DANVILLE – City administrators will be notifying in person today at least 20 city workers whose positions will be eliminated later this month in an effort to trim expenses and balance the city’s budget.
via The News-Gazette.com: Danville laying off at least 20 city employees.
* GRENADA, Miss. (AP) – The city of Grenada has laid off 11 full-time employees in several departments.
via WXVT-TV Delta News – More Local News and Weather WXVT.com | City of Grenada eliminates 11 jobs.
* The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office today announced plans to lay off dozens more employees later this month.
61 people will lose their jobs on February 19th…. another 13 people will be reduced in rank and pay. These cuts are in addition to 94 layoffs since the start of December.
* Citing a severe downturn in orders and requests from customers to delay shipping orders already placed, Noujaim Tool Co. Inc. said Friday it laid off three workers — the first layoffs in the 24-year history of the Waterville tool-making company.
via Noujaim Tool layoffs first in company history The Republican-American .
* Local search and performance ad firm Marchex has shed 15 jobs–about 4% of its 300-plus workforce–as the company reorganizes operations and eliminates redundancies after completing several acquisitions during the past few years.
via MediaPost Publications Marchex Lays Off 15, Realigns Business Units 02/02/2009.
* MIDDLEFIELD — Zygo Corporation, headquartered in Middlefield, announced Thursday it would be reducing its workforce by 7 percent as well as forcing unpaid furloughs and pay reductions for some remaining employees.
via Zygo announces layoffs, pay cutbacks – The Middletown Press : Serving Middletown, CT .
* Kmart will lay off about 90 Lubbock employees beginning in March as the Kmart Superstore transitions to a Big K format.
via Officials: Kmart layoffs coming, workers will have Lubbock employment options – News.
* Charles Russell is offering its lawyers the chance to work a four-day week as it emerges that the firm has also launched a formal redundancy consultation with 18 staff members under threat.
Mike: Now this is a classy way to let your employees know of a layoff:
* Another round of layoffs for local workers, this time it’s an auto supplier. Bridgewater Interiors is using an automated phone message to tell workers they’re not needed. The company makes parts for General Motor’s Delta Township assembly plant. Just last week GM announced big production cuts at the factory. These new layoffs come as a big surprise to workers.
– Recording: “This is Nicole calling from Bridgewater, I’m calling to let you know that you are currently being put on an indefinite layoff due to the loss of the second shift.”
via WLNS TV 6 Lansing Jackson Michigan News and Weather – WLNS.COM | Local Company Cuts Jobs.
* SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – A second round of layoffs has hit a Pella Corp. plant in Sioux Center in northwest Iowa.
The company says 86 workers have been laid off. Pella spokeswoman Kathy Krafka Harkema says the layoffs were necessary because of the credit crunch, which led to a decreased demand for building materials throughout the country.
via Pella lays off 86 workers in Sioux Center — chicagotribune.com.
* Deere & Co. revised slightly upward the number of workers who will go on indefinite layoff later this month at the Moline farm-equipment giant’s big factory in Davenport, Iowa to 200 from the previously announced 190.
via Deere ups layoffs –– chicagotribune.com.
* Global games publisher THQ will lay off about 100 employees as it restructures its mobile development division to focus solely on smartphones.
via Gamasutra – THQ Lays Off 100, Shifts Wireless Development to Smartphones.
* Aegon has revealed it is cutting eleven jobs in its life and pensions marketing department as part of a restructure.
via Aegon to cut 11 marketing jobs – 2 February 2009.
* Two Michiana RV companies announced major layoffs on Monday. Keystone RV Company will layoff about 350 workers by April. Jayco Industries is expected to layoff about 250 workers.
* ADC Telecommunications Inc. on Monday lowered its first-quarter guidance and said it’s planning more layoffs in an effort to cut costs.
The Eden Prairie-based company cut 350 jobs worldwide in October, including between 180 and 190 positions in Minnesota. ADC (Nasdaq: ADCT) will announce how many additional jobs will be cut at a later date, a company spokesman said.
via ADC dials down outlook, plans more job cuts – Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal: .
* To lower its expenses in a tough market, Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LECO) has announced a handful of cost-cutting decisions that include reductions in staff, reductions in work hours and suspending the company’s match of contributions by employees to their 401(k) plans.
The maker of welding equipment said it is offering a voluntary separation program to all its 2,900 Cleveland bonus-eligible employees, regardless of years of service. Lincoln Electric also will continue to reduce the number of temporary and contract workers.
via Crain’s Cleveland Business: Lincoln Electric to cut jobs, hours at Cleveland operations .
* The Small Business Administration in Fort Worth has laid off 260 temporary employees hired in September to handle disaster loan processing related to Hurricane Ike, said Jane Cooper, a human resources manager with the agency. The winddown began Jan. 16.
via SBA lays off 260 workers hired after Hurricane Ike | Fort Worth | Star-Telegram.com.
* Hurt by weaker than expected holiday receipts and facing a customer that has stopped spending on luxuries, Macy’s Inc. today announced it will lay off 7,000 employees, reconfigure its management structure and pare a dividend.
via Macy’s to cut 7,000 jobs | Cincinnati Enquirer | Cincinnati.Com.
* Macy’s Inc. will close its Atlanta regional headquarters, eliminating 850 jobs.
The Cincinnati-based retailer (NYSE: M), which operates Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s department stores, announced restructuring of its central operations on Monday.
via Macy’s to close Atlanta HQ, cut 850 jobs – Atlanta Business Chronicle: .
* EASTHAMPTON – Berry Plastics, the largest employer in Easthampton, is laying off an unspecified number of workers, leaving local economic development officials scrambling.
According to Thomas W. Brown, chairman of the Economic Development Commission for the city of Easthampton, however, Berry laid off 100 to 150 workers from its staff of 515.
via Easthampton’s largest employer lays off workers – MassLive.com .
* JAMESTOWN, N.D. — Goodrich Corp. says it is laying off about 30 employees at its Cargo Systems center in Jamestown, citing a drop in customer demand.
via Goodrich lays off about 30 in Jamestown | Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks, North Dakota .
* Office-furniture maker Steelcase Inc. said Monday it will cut 300 jobs and lower its base salaries in an effort to save $25 million to $30 million annually.
via Steelcase to lay off 300 staffers, lower salaries – BusinessWeek.
* The closing of Largo CVS Caremark operations will leave 230 people without their jobs after March 31.
The mail service pharmacy facility at 8275 Bryan Dairy Road, Largo, is closing due to integration activities related to the 2007 merger of CVS Corp. and Caremark Rx Inc., said CVS Caremark Corp. spokesman Mike DeAngelis in an e-mail to TBBJ.
via CVS Caremark gives notice of layoffs as it closes Largo facility – Tampa Bay Business Journal: .
* Hours after announcing plans to close 35 restaurants, Brinker International Inc. laid off nearly 160 workers last week, including 55 in the corporate office in Dallas, a spokeswoman said Monday.
* Shriners Hospital for Children in Galveston has notified the Texas Workforce Commission that it will lay off 354 employees.
Shriners Hospitals for Children, which operates 22 Shriners Hospitals nationwide, announced on Jan. 23 that, in response to a $3 million shortfall in the Shriners International endowment fund, it was suspending operations at the Galveston facility, which has been closed since Hurricane Ike hit in September.
via 354 jobs cut at Galveston Shriners Hospital – Houston Business Journal: .
* Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Monday it will cut 20 employees, freeze salaries and suspend all bonuses as it deals with the economic downturn.
via Hollis-Eden to cut 20 jobs, cites downturn – Forbes.com.
* DETROIT (AP) — General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC are offering blue-collar employees another round of buyout and early retirement offers as the automakers try to cut their work forces and reduce expenses, union officials said.
GM detailed its offers in an e-mail message to local union officials Monday, according to a union official who spoke on condition of anonymity because workers have yet to be notified of the packages.
Chrysler made its offers Friday to all hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers except those at the company’s Kenosha, Wis., engine plant, according to a memo detailing the offers that was obtained by The Associated Press.
via GM, Chrysler offer new retirement, buyout packages: Financial News – Yahoo! Finance.
* Bell Helicopter has issued temporary layoffs to 500 workers at its Mirabel plant. The layoffs will last for three months.
* Sand Springs – Another Tulsa-area company has undergone layoffs.
Officials with Smith Fibercast in Sand Springs say 31 employees were laid off last week. That represents about 24-percent of its work force.
via Layoffs Hit Another Tulsa-Area Company|NewsChannel 8.
* BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – The Great Falls Clinic says it will lay off its medical transcriptionists and save money by having a Massachusetts-based contractor do the work.
The clinic says it will lay off the equivalent of 42 full-time transcriptionists and expects they can find work with the contractor, Nuance Healthcare. Clinic spokeswoman Geannine Rapp Purpura says those hired would be able to remain in Great Falls and work from home.
via Montana’s News Station – Fair. Accurate. To the Point. -Medical transcriptionists face layoffs.
* THE University of the South Pacific will cut back on its staff, says Vice Chancellor Professor Rajesh Chandra.
He said the exact number was not final and that the redundancies were mostly in academic areas.
via Job cuts for USP – Fiji Times Online.
* DAVAO CITY, Philippines — At least 236 workers here in Southern Mindanao were laid off from work as a result of the financial crisis now plaguing certain parts of the world.
via 236 workers laid off in Southern Mindanao | Home >> Other Sections >> Breaking News .
* STOCKHOLM: Swedish air compressor maker Atlas Copco AB says it will cut 3,000 jobs worldwide as it faces declining demand because of the global financial crisis.
via Sweden’s Atlas Copco to cut 3,000 jobs – International Herald Tribune.
* BEIJING (AP) — China is considering new steps to boost cooling growth, its top economic official said in comments published Monday, as new data showed manufacturing shrinking further despite surging government spending.
“We may take further new, timely and decisive measures. All these measures have to be taken pre-emptively before an economic retreat,” The Financial Times quoted Premier Wen Jiabao as saying in an interview in London.
via Report: Wen says China considering new stimulus: Financial News – Yahoo! Finance.
* Approximately one hundred employees lost their jobs last weekend when their term of notice expired. Around 13,000 people are now unemployed in Iceland and their number is constantly increasing.
via IcelandReview – Online .
* Staff at IP Wireless in Chippenham are facing the axe after the company announced it is to make 34 jobs redundant at the town’s branch.
The company, based at Greenways Business Park, announced the news to its 125 staff members in December, giving those affected three months notice.
via 34 jobs to go at Chippenham firm (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald).
* Forty-three Wollongong-based steelworkers will be without a job by the end of the week after a decision by Transfield Services to cut its workforce by 10 per cent.
via Transfield Services cuts Wollongong jobs – Local News – News – General – Illawarra Mercury .
* US bank Morgan Stanley is set to eliminate further job losses this month. According to The Times, around 2,000 back-office jobs are set to go from its global workforce of 47,000.
* STAMFORD — The phones have been ringing off the hook at the office for 2010 U.S. Census in Bridgeport.
Office Manager Bill Gleason hopes it keeps up. He has to fill 730 positions for field workers — who earn $17 to $21.75 an hour — by March. The office will conduct the U.S. Census for Fairfield and New Haven counties beginning in April.
Mike: More news as the day progresses. it’s been a relatively quiet day for layoff announcements and that’s goodnews. Although there were thousands of layoffs, I can’t remember a layoff day this quiet for quiet sometime. If this is rhe beginning of a better news trend then that will help ease the pain of this recession……………
Tom Toles - Feb 2
Tags: cut jobs, employment, hiring, job loss, jobs cut, laid off, layoffs, plant closing, positions eliminated, unemployment, workforce reduction
