March 27 – IBM jobs cut fallout continues – GM hiring, but wages cut in half – Johnson Controls to cut jobs, close 10 plants – Disney To Eliminate 800 Jobs – Wal-Mart axes 650 in Columbus, OH – Tyson chops 580 OK jobs – Amazon shuts centers, 210 affected – Merck readies job axe

“Starting next week several Hartford delivery teams will be working directly with fellow IBM team members from India to begin the second phase of our Global delivery solution planned for the Hartford account. The teams will be engaged in a multi-week effort to facilitate knowledge transfer to prepare for migration of specific work activities to global delivery counterparts later in 2009. Your continued support and leadership is critical to ensure our overall success and to ensure we continue to deliver high quality cost effective solutions that IBM committed to the Hartford. Please ensure you and your teams actively support this effort.”

via Alliance@IBM CWA Local 1701.

* International Business Machines Corp. came under fire from labor organizers Thursday on reported plans that it will cut 5,000 jobs and send work to India while seeking federal stimulus funds.

* Update: Google Inc. is planning to cut scores of jobs after saying it hired too many people into overlapping jobs.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending edged up 0.2 percent in February, in line with expectations. That follows a huge 1 percent jump in January that was even better than the 0.6 percent rise originally reported.

But the report says incomes fell by 0.2 percent in February, the fourth drop in the past five months, declines that reflected the sizable number of job layoffs that have been occurring because of the recession.

via Consumer spending up for second straight month – Yahoo! Finance.

via U.S. consumers’ mood improves slightly in March – Yahoo! Finance.

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More importantly for GM, the departures give the automaker room eventually to hire new workers at half the hourly wage, a key to helping the company slash costs and comply with a $13.4 billion federal loan package. The loans require GM and Chrysler LLC to bring wages in line with those paid by foreign automakers at plants in the United States.

via Buyouts at GM open door for hiring at lower wages | detnews.com | The Detroit News.

Mike: As I’ve said on numerous occasions, the current reported unemployment rate is less than actual unemployment, which could add another 5-8% to the total.

* Michigan’s jobless rate climbed to 12 percent, the highest in the country. South Carolina registered the second-highest at 11 percent and Oregon came in third at 10.8 percent.

via Mich. Senate approves 10% pay cut for politicians – NewsFlash – mlive.com.

via Daily Herald | Lake Zurich District 95 to cut 91 jobs.

* Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold plans to save nearly $6 million a year by scrapping more than 100 vacant government positions.

via Arundel’s Leopold proposes slashing 100 vacant jobs – Baltimore Business Journal: .

 

* The school board cut 222 jobs as part of a $14 million package of cuts and tabled a proposal to study the feasibility of a parcel tax a little before midnight Wednesday.

via PVUSD cuts 222 jobs amid news of potential additional losses in state funding – San Jose Mercury News.

 

Mike Luckovich - Mar 26

* Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is cutting its workforce by 106 positions.

via The Charlotte Post – CMS chops 106 jobs.

 

The Milwaukee-based maker of auto parts and building systems did not say how many employees will be affected or which plants will close. It says it will take the charge in its fiscal second quarter ending this month. The company expects to finish the restructuring in 2010.

via The Associated Press: Johnson Controls to cut jobs, close 10 plants.

* Auto-parts supplier Johnson Controls (JCI Quote – Cramer on JCI – Stock Picks) plans to cut jobs, close 10 manufacturing plants, and record an estimated second-quarter pretax restructuring charge of $200 million to $215 million as it battles a slump in vehicle production.

via Fairchild Semiconductor to close Pa. factory – Forbes.com.

* SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif.—The health care company that owns Barton Memorial Hospital at Lake Tahoe and clinics in Carson City and the Carson Valley says it is being forced to eliminate 43 jobs.

via The Med to layoff 86 more, total of 230 positions lost – Memphis Business Journal: .

* And with Merck and Schering-Plough destined to merge later this year, the job cuts are due to step up a notch. If the current round is part of the previously announced restructuring plan, they’re just a warm-up for an expected 16,000 or so additional cuts.

* More than 140 employees of the University of Florida would lose their jobs under worst-case budget plans being prepared by various UF colleges.

via Raheen firm to lay off 140 on Friday – Limerick Leader .

via UPDATE 1-Pursuit Dynamics to stop Brooklands plant, cut jobs | Deals | Mergers & Acquisitions | Reuters .

* Finnish state-owned arms maker Patria said in a statement Thursday it would cut 43 jobs and lay off a further 31 workers until further notice.

via CornerStone hiring up to 50 workers – Birmingham Business Journal: .

* With more than 5,000 crime fighters and villains in its library, Marvel Entertainment is looking for some help in adapting those characters into films.