Mike: Good day to you all and thanks for dropping by. I thought using the word “hiatus” (a break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.) was an accurate description of what follows for The Layoff List and I explain that below.

While I thoroughly enjoy bringing you layoff and economic news of relevance, which I hope you find useful in sorting out our continuing economic crisis, I need to take a break from posting The Layoff List in its entirety on a daily basis. There are a few reasons for this decision and here they are:

First a little history. I started The Layoff List back in October 2008 after I lost my full-time technical writing position for a large manufacturing firm. With a little more time on my hands, I was hunting for layoff news and information to see how the rest of the world was  handling job losses. I was surprised to find that there were few sites that had listings of layoff announcements and unemployment news. Sure, Forbes and Tech Crunch have their lists, but  they are more geared toward larger corporations that grab headlines, but there weren’t any sites that presented the smaller layoff announcements, which affect people and communities at a smaller, but no less important, scale. So I decided to try and be the site that presents the smaller layoff announcements.

As the first months passed, I realized that just showing this list of US layoffs was insufficient, since corporations and governments are now so globally interconnected, that layoffs in US have an affect on Europe, or what happens in Japan can lead to job losses in US – you get the picture. So, I started adding international news and economic reports. What started out as an hour a day fling into US layoffs, developed into a four to five hour (sometimes more) a day gig trying to find as many layoff announcements and employment related reports that I could find. It became obvious to me last month that I couldn’t personally and financially afford to continue putting that much time into this venture. The Layoff List is a one-person operation, which means that everything you see here, from the web site layout and its upkeep to the listings and rants, is work that I have done solely.

I fully enjoy doing The Layoff List and giving you a quality product, but I can’t afford the costs. So I’ll be scaling back the content starting today. I want to spend some time deciding where I want to go next with The Layoff List.  Here’s a list of my goals for the next few months regarding The Layoff List:

  • I’d like to develop an interactive site that promotes discussion about personal layoff experiences, how layoffs are affecting various locations and how to find a new job, for example.
  • I’d like to change the site layout to make it more useful. I want to add numerous pages that are dedicated to various employment and unemployment topics that you can use. As an example, I added a Resources page, so I want to expand that and add relevant information. I want to add other pages that contain links, graphs and commentary about the current state of unemployment and how to manouver through the financial struggles of unemployment.
  • I’m hoping that The Layoff List readers will offer their suggestions on what they want to see from the new site. Do you want the site as it is, or should it be made more specific, such as US layoffs only or are the economic reports unnecessary. Your input will help, so I encourage you to participate.
  • The money thing. While The Layoff List has a few thousand readers a week, it fails to be of enough value to generate donations or advertising income. I refused to add advertising links within posts because I think they are obnoxious and distracting. My other efforts failed to generate any revenue.


In conclusion, for the next few months I’ll have to focus my limited time and financial resources on a smaller scale of commentary about important, but less discussed matters of employment. Digging through the news stories for small layoffs will end for both the US and international sections. There are some other fine sites – a couple I list below as well as others on the sidebar – where you can get layoff information:

Show them your support, so that they can continue to bring you important layoff announcements.

While on hiatus The Layoff List won’t have some of the details you have become familiar with, but there still may be reasons for you to visit, so try it before you drop it from your browser favorites or RSS feeds. Again, I apologize for having to temporarily cut back on the daily layoff announcements.


Thank you for your continued support.


Mike



Mike Thompson

Mike Thompson

To see how long you can collect benefits in your state, visit: http://money.cnn.com/news/storysupplement/economy/unemployment_benefits/index.html for an interactive map.

ueduration

Have a break, have a manatee

2 Comments to “The Layoff List – Hiatus and more……..”

  1. layofflist says:

    David,

    I’d be glad to discuss your thoughts on the matter. I sent you an email a few weeks back with a few of my thoughts.

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