Mike: Wednesday proved to be an active layoff announcement day, especially for a number of international firms, including UBS and Air France. US layoff announcements were also active and it appears that municipalities are finally having to disclose job cuts. Some of those cuts, such as LAs 5400 cuts will be painful to the citizens.
Tomorrow brings the all important Jobless Claims report, which is expected to show jobless claims rising slightly form last week to 658,000. They will also likely report the revised numbers from the previous week and it will be interesting to see if those numbers are revised up or down.
Don’t forget that today is the last day to file your taxes in the US! Although banks, insurance companies, hedge funds and auto makers can delay and renegotiate their government bailout terms and they can refuse to disclose how TARP funds are allocated, you need to show that you are more responsible than those corrupt institutions. If all else fails, at least file for an extension by midnight tonight. Remember, it’s easier for the IRS to drag down and audit the average taxpayer than it is for them to go against the corrupt banks and firms that have the capacity to throw expensive and talented lawyers against the overworked and underpaid IRS legal teams. While the IRS is here to serve you, you don’t want it to serve you a subpoena.
Mike: One of this blog’s readers sent the following note to me this past weekend. He personally knows the situation at NYC Health and Hospitals Corp. and wanted to share his views. It shows the more personal side of layoffs and not just the number of layoffs reported by the media:
FYI: This concerns layoffs in the NYC Health and Hospitals Corp., i.e. public hospitals. At Coney Island Hospital, for example, 4 school based psychiatric programs and a busy satellite medical clinic are being closed. Staff that are no longer “needed,” of course, will be laid-off. The mayor uses the threat of layoff to press unions to negotiate contract reductions. Similar layoffs are threatened in the Board of Ed. Aside from a few notices there is very little specific information being reported.
The original announcement for NYC H&H:
– Nearly 400 jobs will be lost and community clinics that serve more than 11,000 patients will close, according to Aviles.
Mike: If you live in the NYC area or you just want to comment about some of the draconian cuts to NYC Health and Hospitals Corp., you can write the following people:
Alan Aviles, president of New York’s Health and Hospitals Corporation: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mailhhc.html
You can go to DEPUTY MAYORS AND TOP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS and see a list of contacts.
Remember, that with your input your elected and appointed officials will merely do as they please and you know that their decisions are not always based on what’s best for the community they serve………….
Marshall Ramsey - Apr 15
– Microsoft/Google/IBM and other Rumors & News –
Mike: Take your pick from the Cisco stories below. If you have any additional Cisco layoff information, pass it along to The Layoff List in the comments sections or by emailing me at Mike@layofflist.org:
– Maybe not. In a note summarized by TheStreet.com, JPMorgan analyst Ehud Gelblum predicted today that Cisco could announce a 10% headcount reduction, which could save the company $900 million a year. Cisco could announce layoffs as part of its earnings report next month, another analyst told TheStreet.
via Cisco Could Cut 10% Of Staff (CSCO).
– Cisco Systems has dismissed predictions of a 10 per cent reduction in headcount from a JPMorgan analyst.
Ehud Gelblum has gone out on a limb and said Cisco “could” announce the 10 per cent cut and “could” save the company about $900m (£600m) a year through the move according to report by the Silicon Alley Insider. The Insider cites TheStreet.com. Let the whispering games begin.
via Cisco dismisses ‘hefty’ layoffs rumor • The Register.
– The exodus of some more Yahoo employees might continue as Yahoo is said to be planning on announcing another round of layoffs during its first quarter financial report on Tuesday.
– Still, the drop in March was steeper than expected. The Federal Reserve said production at the nation’s factories, mines and utilities dropped a seasonally adjusted 1.5 percent, matching February’s decline and worse than the 1 percent decline analysts forecast.
via Industrial production drops more than expected – Yahoo! Finance.
MBA Purchase Applications
![[Report]](http://bloomberg.econoday.com/images/bloomberg/byreport_butt_new.gif)
7:00 AM ET
– April 15 (Bloomberg) — The number of mortgage applications in the U.S. fell last week for the first time in more than a month, indicating any stabilization in housing will be slow to materialize even as borrowing costs drop.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of applications to purchase a home or refinance a loan decreased 11 percent to 1,113.2 in the week ended April 10, the lowest level in a month, from 1,250.6 the prior week. The group’s refinancing gauge and purchase measure each dropped 11 percent.
via U.S. MBA Mortgage Applications Index Fell 11 Percent Last Week – Bloomberg.com .
![[Star]](http://bloomberg.econoday.com/images/bloomberg/star.gif)
8:30 AM ETThe Labor Department said its closely watched consumer price index fell 0.1%, after increasing 0.4% in February. On a year-over-year basis, consumer prices were down 0.4%, the first 12-month decline since August 1955.
via Consumer prices dip in March, post 1st annual drop since ’55 – USATODAY.com.
– (CEP News) – Manufacturing activity in the New York region continued to decline, but at a slower rate than previously thought according to a survey from the New York Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
The New York Fed’s Empire State Manufacturing survey rebounded to -14.65 in April from the previous month’s record low reading of -38.23. The results are better than the consensus forecast for a -35.0 reading.
The reliability variance of the index is +/- 8.6 points. A reading above zero indicates growth in the manufacturing sector, while a negative reading indicates slowdown.
via Pace of New York Manufacturing Decline Slows Sharply in April | CEP News.
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– – Autoblog reports, “As GM teeters on the brink of insolvency, it’s become clear that Saturn will get no new vehicles sourced from within GM and some dealers have decided to close up their stores. Since January 1, two dozen Saturn outlets have shuttered bringing the current total down to 394 with four more in Wisconsin due to close this week.”
via Many Saturn Dealers Closing Shop – U.S. News Rankings and Reviews .
Mike: The following story shows Michigan’s deteriorating unemploymeny numbers. But what needs to be addressed is that those numbers are not the “true” unemployment numbers. When adding the other unemployed to the equation, the unemployment rate in Michigan is more likely near 17%.
– Michigan’s unemployment rate jumped to 12.6 percent in March, but job losses have slowed in recent months, good news for the hard-hit state.
Still, the rise from 12 percent in February to 12.6 percent announced Wednesday is likely to keep Michigan in the spotlight as the state with the nation’s worst unemployment rate. The national unemployment rate in March was 8.5 percent.
via Mich. unemployment rate jumps to 12.6% in March – Forbes.com.
Jack Ohman - Apr 15
Mike: I get a kick out of these reports, such as the one below, where they headline that something “soars,” yet when you look at the numbers it’s more bad news. It’s like the kid coming home from school with his latest report card and he goes, “Mom, my report card numbers soared!” After further investigation, the score soared from 9 to 14 in the scale of 50 being passing. While 14 is better than 9, soaring is a bit of an overstatement. Improved, increased, or rose might be more appropriate. While exploded upward, skyrocketed, or soared is misleading.
– LOS ANGELES (AP) — The National Association of Home Builders says its housing market index posted its biggest one-month jump in five years in April as many homebuyers seized on lower prices and incentives.
While still near historically low levels, the Washington-based trade association said Wednesday the index rose five points to 14, it’s highest reading since October.
Index readings lower than 50 indicate negative sentiment about the market.
via Homebuilder sentiment index soars 5 points – Yahoo! Finance.
Mike: Government departments and agencies are starting to cut the jobs that they had to in order to balance their budgets. The stimulus package will eliminate some job loss, especially at schools, but most states and cities will be cutting jobs, and with that, services.
– LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Board of Education has voted to lay off as many as 5,400 teachers and support personnel for the upcoming school year.
The vote came Tuesday as employees protested raucously outside the meeting. The board had voted hours earlier to save the jobs of 1,996 elementary school teachers using federal stimulus funds.
via LA school board votes to lay off 5,400 employees.
– The Enlarged City School District of Troy plans to remove a total 62.8 fulltime equivalent positions by the end of its fiscal year to balance a proposed $95.11 million budget, which the public will vote on in May.
– The Clark County Superintendent calls it a “sad day” for the school district. Tuesday, trustees approved massive budget cuts that call for the elimination of about 850 full and part time positions.
via Las Vegas Now | CCSD Trustees Pass Budget with 850 Job Cuts.
– The Utah Department of Corrections will eliminate as many as 160 full-time jobs — more than 6 percent of its work force — by July 1.
via Corrections to cut 6 percent of jobs – Salt Lake Tribune .
– Governor Deval Patrick cut an additional 750 jobs from state government yesterday and said he will furlough 5,000 executive branch employees for up to five days, a response to relentlessly plunging state revenues that have forced the governor to make an unprecedented series of spending reductions.
via Patrick cuts another 750 jobs, orders furloughs – The Boston Globe.
– On Monday, the Kaneland Community Unit School District 302 Board of Education voted to eliminate 11 teacher assistant positions in the district.
via The Chronicle | Kaneland cuts 11 teacher aide jobs.
– SOUTHFIELD — Facing declining enrollment and rising costs, Southfield Public Schools expects to lay off some 150 employees before the 2009-2010 school year, according to Ken Siver, deputy superintendent for the district.
via 150 to be laid off from Southfield Public Schools.
– Four South Redford teachers will be told they will be laid off for the 2009-10 school year as part of a budget reduction program to deal with an anticipated $1,185,759 budget shortfall.
– BATON ROUGE (AP) — The Louisiana Department of Revenue is laying off 29 workers, but not until after tax day.
via La. tax agency laying off 29 | theadvertiser.com | The Advertiser.
– BOULDER, Colo. — In response to a recession that has hit medical providers across the country, Boulder Community Hospital is cutting expenses and hoping voluntary staff departures will help it avoid layoffs while maintaining top-notch care.
via Boulder Community Hospital facing hiring freeze, cuts : County News : Boulder Daily Camera.
– By a 4-2 vote, the City Council agreed to lay off the remainder of its already downsized staff, saying development was not generating enough fees to support it.
via Petaluma council cuts city planners | Petaluma360.com | Petaluma Argus-Courier | Petaluma, CA.
Mike: More people out of work equals more crime, but cities don’t seem to get the connection. Layoff some administrators or contractors for a couple years, but keep the police and protective services intact – you will need them…
– KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A broadcast report says cuts to the Kansas City budget could take as many as 100 police officers off the street.
– US and some Canada Layoff News –
– The University of Washington will eliminate about 1,000 employee positions — including a yet-to-be-determined number of layoffs — by the beginning of May, the school’s president said Tuesday.
via UW to eliminate about 1,000 jobs by May 1.
– PITTSBURGH (AP) — ArcelorMittal SA, the world’s largest steel maker, plans to idle a plant in Indiana and lay off about 400 workers due to global economic turmoil that has dampened demand for the metal.
– The Chronicle has reached a tentative agreement with a major union that could allow for the elimination of more than 80 driver positions as part of the newspaper’s campaign to cut costs in order to stay afloat.
via Chronicle, Teamsters agree on job cuts.
– The company said it eliminated about 10 percent of its jobs, placed some workers on short weeks, and cut down on spending to cope with challenging economic conditions. It is also looking to end some supply chain contracts it signed late last year.
At the end of 2008, Lufkin employed about 3,000 people.
via Lufkin says 1Q profit dropped, makes job cuts – Forbes.com.
– MOORESVILLE — UST Inc., which was bought by Altria Group Inc. in January, said yesterday that it was eliminating 74 jobs at its operations at 124 Bandit Lane in Mooresville.
via UST plans to cut 74 jobs at its plant in Mooresville.
– The company also said it cut 25 jobs in recent weeks, in addition to reducing its worldwide headcount by 17 percent to about 285 employees at the end of last year.
via UPDATE 1-Cynosure sees Q1 loss, cuts 25 jobs | Industries | Healthcare | Reuters .
– Russell Athletic, once a dominant Alabama company and a huge employer, has said it plans to close an Alexander City plant and eliminate the 250 jobs there.
– Reed Business Information is to cut 7% of workforce, including around 15 staff at Variety magazine, a week after long-time editor Peter Bart was moved aside after 20 years running the venerable Hollywood trade title.
via Variety to lose 15 jobs as Reed Business Information cuts 7% of staff | Media | guardian.co.uk .
– HERNANDO – Kawneer officials said Tuesday that 250 employees at the Kawneer aluminum manufacturing facility in Hernando will lose their jobs when the plant closes in June.
via Desoto Times Tribune > Archives > News > Kawneer to close; 250 to lose jobs.
– SHELBY — Bernhardt Furniture said Monday that it plans to close a plant in Shelby by June 12, cutting more than 100 jobs, unless there is a dramatic change in furniture sales.
via Bernhardt Furniture to close plant in Shelby, cut 100 jobs.
– POCATELLO, Idaho — Administrators at Idaho State University plan to lay off 73 employees because of a $17 million shortfall expected during the next fiscal year.
via ISU to lay off 73 workers to help shore up budget | Idaho | Idaho Statesman .
– All 31 University employees who were scheduled to be laid off by June 30 have now been informed of their termination, according to an e-mail sent by top administrators to faculty and staff Tuesday morning.
via The Brown Daily Herald – Layoffs of 31 U. employees made official.
– WICHITA – Hawker Beechcraft’s new chairman and CEO told employees Tuesday that more layoffs are in store as the planemaker reduces its production rates this year and next.
Bill Boisture, who replaced Jim Schuster last month, said in a memo that work force reductions will extend across all levels of the company and will occur in stages throughout the year.
via Hawker: More layoffs coming | Aviation | Wichita Eagle.
– About 50 people lost their jobs this month at Gentex Corp., a company spokesman said. The Simpson contractor has laid off about 100 employees since the beginning of the year.
via Gentex expands layoffs | Business | citizensvoice.com | The Citizens’ Voice .
– The latest law firm layoff announcement hit five offices of Seattle-based Perkins Coie this week with the cut of a dozen associates and 26 nonlawyer staffers.
via Law.com – Perkins Coie Cuts 12 Associates, 26 Staffers .
-Ingersoll-Rand has laid off another 25 employees at the Southern Pines plant, again attributing the move to the economic slump.
via ThePilot.com : Ingersoll-Rand Lays Off 25.
– A company spokesman has confirmed that Finning Canada, headquartered in Edmonton, will lose jobs as part of 170 total layoffs in Western Canada.
via Finning Canada to lay off 170 Western Canadian workers – Daily Commercial News.
– SPOKANE, Wash. — Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane will eliminate about 90 jobs, adding to what is already the highest unemployment rate in Spokane County in years.
via Spokane hospital announces 90 job cuts.
– CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Raleigh County electronics manufacturing plant is closing at the end of the month, leaving about 40 employees without jobs, a company official said this week.
– LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A Texas-based company will be closing its Meadow Gold dairy plant in Lincoln, costing about 60 people their jobs
via Dairy plant closing | dairy, plant, dean – NOW – Odessa American Online.
– CAMBRIDGE – Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences faces a projected recurring annual deficit of $220 million within two years if it does not cut spending substantially and reshape its academic ambitions, Michael D. Smith, the group’s dean, warned yesterday.
via Harvard dean of Arts and Sciences details need for spending cuts – The Boston Globe.
– The move will mean closing the company’s current headquarters on Soldiers Field Road in Boston and reducing the company’s staff by 12 to 15 employees.
via Mascoma to Cut Staff, Leave Boston | Xconomy.
– In reports the carriers file with the Surface Transportation Board, the railroads said that as of mid-month they employed 156,997 workers, down 2,500 or 1.58 percent from a month earlier. That was also 6,100 workers fewer than at the same point in 2008, for a 3.74 percent year-over-year drop.
via Big Rails Cut More Workers | Journal of Commerce.
– More than 130 workers at Ecolab in Licking County recently learned that they will soon be out of jobs.
via The Columbus Dispatch : 131 to lose jobs as Ecolab closes Hebron plant.
– St. Edward Mercy Health System announced Wednesday (April 15) that 64 full-time
jobs will be cut immediately. Hospital officials said a “vast majority” of the jobs cut were non-direct care givers.
via St. Edward cuts 64 jobs | The City Wire .
– BUFFALO LAKE, MN — A high level of arsenic in the well water of a beef slaughtering facility here has forced the plant to close, costing more than 200 workers their jobs, according to an April 15 Star Tribune article.
via Water Technology Online :: Brought to you by Grand View Media.
– EDMONTON — Petro-Canada is chopping 200 staff from its oilsands operations, mostly in Calgary and Fort McMurray.
– Switzerland’s biggest bank, UBS, has said it will seek to cut costs by shedding 8,700 jobs by next year.
via BBC NEWS | Business | Swiss bank UBS to cut 8,700 jobs.
-Air France-KLM has said it plans to cut between 2,500 and 3,000 jobs over the next two years.
via BBC NEWS | Business | Air France-KLM to cut 3,000 jobs.
– Atkins spent about £10 million on 1,200 staff redundancies in the last quarter of the financial year, the firm revealed today.
– The company has begun consultation with employees at the Rugby plant over making up to six redundancies out of a total of 120 employees.
via Rapak Europe plans small number of redundancies | Business | packagingnews.co.uk.
– Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, yesterday launched a job optimization and regrouping program to reduce labor costs in China.
Under the program, the company plans to relocate some of the mid-management staff at its stores to similar posts in the new stores that are being opened in China.
via Wal-Mart rejigs jobs in China.
– HONG KONG, April 15 (Reuters) – Japanese brokerage Nomura Holdings Inc (8604.T) has cut another 50 investment banking jobs in Asia, excluding Japan, sources close to the matter said on Wednesday
via UPDATE 1-Nomura cuts 50 investment banking jobs in Asia | Deals | Private Capital | Reuters .
– BRUSSELS (AFP) — US aluminium maker Aleris, in bankruptcy protection since February, has informed unions of plans to cut 770 out of 1,500 jobs at a plant in northern Belgium, local media reported Wednesday.
via AFP: US aluminium maker Aleris to cut jobs in Belgium.
– Xilinx, a Dublin-based technology firm, is to make more than a quarter of its workforce redundant over the next nine months due to the outsourcing of some operations from Ireland.
via Xilinx to let go 130 employees – The Irish Times – Wed, Apr 15, 2009.
– THE communications union says 2000 jobs may be lost from Telstra before the end of June as the company steps up redundancies ahead of chief executive Sol Trujillo’s departure.
via Telstra unions 2000 jobs may be lost | Herald Sun.
– On Monday Viking Window laid off 18 production workers, Postimees.ee cites Kuma Raadio.
via balticbusinessnews.com – Viking Window laid off 18 people .
– Johns Manville Slovakia, a producer of glass fibre, will probably lay off 56 more employees from its plant in Trnava.
via Radio Slovakia International.
– Trowers & Hamlins has made a third round of job cuts since the start of the year, with 17 fee earners and support staff laid off from the firm’s London office.
– VIENNA, April 15 (Reuters) – Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine (VOES.VI) said on Wednesday it will cut working hours for thousands more of its staff as the global downturn cripples demand for steel.
– CEBU CITY, Philippines – About 30 more workers of the Sauna World Philippines Inc. (Sawo) are expected to lose their jobs before the month ends.
via Sawo to cut 30 more jobs by end-April – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.
– BUDAPEST, April 15 (Reuters) – Hungarian steel maker Dunaferr, one of Hungary’s biggest employers, said on Wednesday it would lay off 400 workers and offer early retirement to several hundred more to survive the financial crisis.
via Hungary’s Dunaferr to cut hundreds of jobs By Reuters
– IN A further economic blow for Kerry it has been announced that car component manufacturer Beru is seeking 20 voluntary redundancies at its Tralee plant.
– Hiring News and News You Can Use –
– The top of the complete ranking–which, for ease, we have broken down into the two smaller lists, of the best big and small cities for jobs–is dominated by one state: Texas. The Lone Star State may have lost a powerful advocate in Washington, but it’s home to a remarkable eight of the top 20 cities on our list–including No. 1-ranked Odessa, a small city in the state’s northwestern region. Further, the top five large metropolitan areas for job growth–Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Ft. Worth and Dallas–are all in Texas’ “urban triangle.”
via Where are the Best Cities for Job Growth? | Newgeography.com .
– More than 2 dozen new jobs are headed to central Nebraska. Governor Heineman Tuesday awarded a $406,000 grant to Covenant Doors and Millwork Incorporated in Central City.
Tomorrow brings the all important Jobless Claims report, which is expected to show jobless claims rising slightly form last week to 658,000. Till then.…………………
Tags: COBRA, cut jobs, economic, employment, factory closing, firing, hiring, IBM, job loss, jobs cut, laid off, layoffs, plant closing, positions eliminated, redundancies, staff cuts, unemployment, workforce reduction
