Mike: Jobless Claims will be the news of the day.
* The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time claims for unemployment insurance rose to a seasonally adjusted 652,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 644,000. That is slightly above analysts’ expectations.
The total number of people claiming benefits are up 122,000 to 5.56 million, significantly higher than economists’ projections of 5.48 million.
via More than 5.5 million are getting jobless benefits – Yahoo! Finance.
* The number of people collecting state unemployment benefits has reached yet another new record, jumping 122,000 to a seasonally adjusted 5.56 million in the week ending March 14, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of these claims rose 123,750 to 5.33 million, also a new record. For the week ending March 21, first-time claims for benefits rose 8,000 to 652,000, a level that is 78% higher than the same period in the prior year.
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- IBM to cut 5,000 jobs in U.S
- 6,000 in UAW accept buyouts at GM
- Agilent to cut 2,700 jobs
- Trican slashes payroll by 13% (200)
- Hundreds lose jobs at Disney World
- Google to cut 200 jobs from sales force
- Plantronics to close plant, cut 670 jobs
- University of Alabama to cut 1,000 jobs
- Navistar plant lays off 170 in Arkansas
– Microsoft/Google/IBM and other Rumors & News –
Mike: While companies are designed to improve the bottom line, there should be some recourse for the taxpayer when a company decides to move thousands of jobs overseas. IBM has received US government contracts worth $1,622,287,510 in 2008 and $328,358,670 so far in 2009 (Opensecrets.org). It would be interesting to know what percentage of those government contracts are spent on IBMs overseas operations.
* A short two months ago, IBM CEO Sam Palmisano sent an e-mail to employees, thanking them for sprinting Big Blue past the $100 billion revenue mark for the first time ever.
“We had a strong fourth quarter and a great 2008,” he wrote. “I want to thank you for everything you have done to help achieve this impressive performance.”
Palmisano praised two units in particular – Global Business Services and Global Technology Services – that delivered pre-tax profit growth of 32 percent.
On Thursday, about 4,000 U.S. employees in Global Business Services – a unit that includes IBM Sterling Forest in Orange County, IBM Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County and IBM Research at Ossining – will be laid off, and their jobs will be sent to India, according to Lee Conrad, national coordinator for Alliance@IBM, a union-backed group.
via IBM layoffs to hit Orange County, Dutchess County – recordonline.com – The Times Herald Record.
* IBM (IBM.N) will cut about 5,000 jobs in the United States, adding to similarly large cuts in the past few months, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
The job cuts will account for over 4 percent of IBM’s U.S. workforce, which totaled around 115,000 at the end of 2008. The sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue, said the cuts will mostly be in IBM’s global services business, which includes outsourcing and consulting services.
Mike: The following site has plenty of comments about the IBM layoff that you may find interesting.
* IBM (IBM) is planning to cut a large number of U.S. jobs from its services business, moving their workload to IBM employees in India, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing “people familiar with the situation.”
via Tech Trader Daily – Barron’s Online : IBM Cutting 5,000 Service Jobs; Moving Work To India (Updated).
* The severance package IBM Corp. is expected to give employees selected for a layoff includes a lump sum severance payment as well as counseling and financial planning services.
IBM is expected on Thursday to lay off as many as 4,000 to 5,000 employees in its Global Business Services Unit, according to the Alliance@IBM.
via IBM plans lump sum severance for those laid off.
* TORONTO — IBM Canada Ltd. is cutting an unspecified number of jobs across the country, according to a spokesman for the computer and software company.
Mike Boden told The Canadian Press that IBM Canada is in the midst of cuts that will affect “a wide range of jobs and positions,” from executives to customer service staff.
via The Canadian Press: IBM Canada spokesman says company cutting jobs across the country.
* SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Google Inc (NasdaqGS:GOOG – News) is cutting its sales and marketing team by roughly 200 employees, saying it had over-invested in certain parts of the company.
Reuters – A man walks past Google Inc. headquarters in Mountain View, California, May 8, 2008. REUTERS/Kimberly White …
The move is the Web search leader’s latest effort to cut costs amid a tough economy and a broad slowdown in advertising spending. In January, Google laid off about 100 recruiters and it said up to 40 people would be laid off in February, when Google pulled the plug on its radio advertising effort
via Google to cut 200 jobs from sales force – Yahoo! Finance.
Jobless Claims
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8:30 AM ET
* WASHINGTON (AP) — For a 10th straight week, the number of people who are continuing to claim jobless benefits increased, fresh evidence that the labor market remains weak despite other hopeful signs that the recession may have bottomed out.
New claims for unemployment benefits last week rose to a seasonally adjusted 652,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 644,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The total number of people claiming benefits jumped to 5.56 million, worse than economists’ projections of 5.48 million, a ninth straight record and the highest total on records dating back to 1967.
via Jobless claims set new record; GDP down more in 4Q – Yahoo! Finance.
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8:30 AM ET* DeWitt, NY — The owners of the New Process Gear plant in DeWitt have agreed to meet with federal officials to discuss a last-minute aid package that could keep the auto parts factory from closing, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said Tuesday.
via Federal aid package could keep New Process Gear from closing.
Mike: I have to give the French credit for being involved with their worker rights!
* Pithiviers, France — Workers at a factory operated by the U.S. firm 3M today released the French manager they had held hostage for more than 24 hours until a deal on conditions for laid-off staffers was reached.
* SEATTLE – A local developer is offering a unique incentive to catch the interest of potential buyers.
For the next two months, Stellar Developments is offering anyone who buys a condo at Thornton Place in Northgate a guarantee that if they lose their job, they won’t lose their new home.
via Condo buyers offered layoff protection plan | Business | KING5.com | News for Seattle, Washington .
* It’s been nearly two weeks since Gov. Rick Perry told Washington to take its stimulus and shove it.
(Or, more accurately, to take our stimulus and shove it.) The unemployment insurance funds he rejected include Texans’ tax dollars, which will just be redistributed to other states if the Legislature doesn’t come up with a way to keep them.
For the sake of workers, and business owners alike, let’s hope they do. The debate is still raging in Austin, though. And my question is, besides politics, why?
via Falkenberg: Perry’s logic on stimulus is misleading | Front page | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.
* OTTAWA — A smaller bureaucracy at City Hall, with 44 more people laid off on Wednesday, will deliver better service for Ottawans, the mayor and city manager say.
via More jobs cut at City Hall; manager says services will improve .
* QUINCY — Quincy, IL – Like many businesses Quincy Notre Dame is facing some tough decisions.
School officials notified staff and students earlier this week it has to cut three teachers and will not fill a fourth open teaching position.
via Notre Dame plans staff cuts : News : KHQA .
* WATSONVILLE — The Pajaro Valley school board cut 222 jobs late Wednesday.
The custodians, school secretaries and other classified staff will join the nearly 200 teachers who received pink slips earlier this month.
via Pajaro Valley school board cuts 222 jobs – San Jose Mercury News.
* GREENSBORO — Guilford County Schools Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green announced today he is proposing eliminating nearly 100 positions from next year’s budget.
via Guilford superintendent previews proposed cuts : News-Record.com : Greensboro, North Carolina.
* STUART — The Martin County Clerk of the Circuit Court has laid off nine workers in response to a steep decline in revenue from court fees and traffic fines.
– US and some Canada Layoff News –
* Agilent Technologies Inc (A.N) is reducing its workforce by 2,700 people, or 14 percent, in response to a steep reduction in revenue expected for 2009 due to the weak economy and “no prospects for a meaningful recovery in the foreseeable future.”
* The plant, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January, employed about 170 employees, many of whom are unionized. About 130 were called back to work last month.
via Mountain Top plant closing today | News | standardspeaker.com – The Standard Speaker.
* Cindy Robinson has been working for Alatech for two decades, and says this is all she knows.
She says, “This is the only thing that I’ve done for 20 years, it would put three of my family members out of work because my husband and daughter work here too.”
Soon that could be taken away from her and fellow co-workers. Alatech holds a contract with AID, but AID is considering not renewing its contract with the Eufaula plant, and is moving its business overseas.
* The move, which affected about 150 employees, is the latest effort by the wealth manager to cut costs following layoffs of less than 10% of its branch support staff and several hundred rookie brokers in December and February, respectively.
via Merrill Cuts, Shifts Jobs Of Some Wealth-Management Managers.
* Man Group Plc, the largest publicly traded hedge-fund manager, said it will cut its workforce by about 15 percent after fiscal year profit dropped and assets under management declined by a third.
via Man Group to Cut Jobs as Profit Falls, Assets Drop (Update1) – Bloomberg.com .
* Guthrie would reduce its $28 million budget by 14 percent — about $4 million — for the fiscal year that begins April 1. Those savings would come from senior-management pay cuts, a weeklong furlough for the theater’s nonunion employees, some layoffs and a reliance on presenting outside shows on the theater’s proscenium stage instead of producing them in-house.
via Guthrie Theater to cut jobs, salaries to slice $4M from budget – TwinCities.com.
* In addition to the temporary layoffs, the plant is planning to make more longer term cuts.
“Right now we currently have approximately 130 employees on “indefinite layoff” and as we go through the year, we anticipate another 100-110,” explains Graham.
via Corvette Plant Employees Laid Off Again .
* More than 6,000 UAW members have accepted buyout and early retirement packages offered by General Motors Corp., which will allow the struggling automaker to reduce its hourly ranks as part of its restructuring plan, the Free Press has learned.
* BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—The Bakersfield Californian will lay off 26 staffers and implement a 5 percent company-wide pay cut as the newspaper tries to balance its budget amid shrinking advertising revenue.
via Bakersfield newspaper to lay off 26 workers – San Jose Mercury News.
* Halliburton this week laid off another untold number of workers at its Grand Junction facility.
via Another round of layoffs at Halliburton.
* CORVALLIS — The Children’s Farm Home in Corvallis will lay off nine people as part of a workforce reduction announced Wednesday by Trillium Family Services.
via Farm home lays off nine – News , Local | Albany Democrat-Herald.
* More layoffs have been announced at Hamilton County’s largest employer. Electrolux Home Products announced that 129 people will face temporary layoffs at the washer and dryer plant in Webster City effective this Monday, March 30. With this latest announcement, 369 people have been laid off since at Electrolux since last November.
via Radio Iowa: Electrolux lays off more workers in Webster City.
* BETHLEHEM — Owens Corning put 60 workers at its Selkirk plant on furlough Tuesday.
via Owens Corning furloughs 60 — Page 1 — Times Union – Albany NY.
* The Globe needed 50 newsroom employees to take buyouts by last Friday but only 24 have signed up. Employees have a week to rescind after applying for the buyout and the final deadline is tomorrow.
via 24 Globe employees accept buyout – BostonHerald.com.
* MANSFIELD — Swedish-owned Sandvik Mining and Construction USA will shutter its Mansfield plant in October and lay off its 90 employees in three phases, starting in May, company officials said Wednesday.
via Mansfield plant closing to cost 90 jobs | Arlington | Star-Telegram.com.
* Broken Arrow, OK – Natural gas compression unit manufacturer Exterran says it will close its plant in Broken Arrow by the end of May, resulting in the loss of 150 jobs.
via Broken Arrow Plant Closing|NewsChannel 8.
* Automotive supplier Columbus Components Group has decided to part with 135 employees starting next month, according to a published report.
via Columbus auto supplier shedding 135 jobs | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star .
* The Statesman Journal newspaper reports that the notice was issued in compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires employers to alert community leaders of mass layoffs.
* The University of North Carolina at Greensboro will be forced to make job cuts.
Chancellor Linda Brady sent a letter to employees recently alerting them of potential layoffs. The university said more than 100 jobs would be cut if the state ordered a 7% budget cut.
via UNCG to Make Job Cuts Due to Budget Cuts – WGHP.
* MacLean said officials hope to see 47 faculty members resign or take early retirement and then those employees won’t be replaced.
via Queen’s University cuts programs, 47 faculty jobs.
* In a sign of a deepening pullback in the oil industry, Trican Well Service Ltd., one of Calgary’s largest oilfield services companies, has laid off 200 people, or 13 per cent of its workforce, in response to low activity levels.
via Trican slashes payroll by 13% .
* Thirty-two of the approximate 400 employees at the Chittenango plant were laid off this week, said Jeff Nguyen, site manager. Twenty-six of them were in manufacturing and six of them were office employees.
via Chittenango factory lays off 32 people.
* Trinity Industries notified its employees today of the company’s intent to idle two manufacturing facilities. The layoff affects 156 hourly and administrative employees.
via More layoffs for East Texas railcar company.
* And it announced a new round of job cuts that includes the company’s CEO Kenneth Chahine and other executives.
via Avigen chops execs and readies liquidation plan – FierceBiotech.
* Job cuts at three companies in Indiana will put 400 more Hoosiers into the unemployment line.
via 400 jobs cut in three Ind. cities | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star .
* About 200 jobs will be eliminated at the Pennsylvania site, Fairchild said.
via Fairchild Semi to close 2 sites, cut 200 jobs – Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal: .
* NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Times Co laid off 100 employees on Thursday and cut salaries for the rest of the year by 5 percent, and said it might cut newsroom jobs at its namesake newspaper if it cannot get union employees to agree to a similar cut.
via New York Times lays off staff, seeks pay cuts | Entertainment | Industry | Reuters .
* Plantronics Inc. plans to cut about 670 positions and close its manufacturing plant in Suzhou, China to improve profitability of its Bluetooth headset product line, the company said Thursday.
* Disney, which is Central Florida’s largest employer with about 62,000 “cast members,” refused to say Thursday how many jobs it has eliminated. But one person familiar with some details of the cuts said he was given an estimate of 450.
via Disney World layoffs: Hundreds lose jobs at Disney World — newsday.com.
* HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) – The University of Alabama System chancellor says its three campuses will shed some 1,000 jobs over the next 18 months because of a deepening budget crisis.
via WSFA 12 News Montgomery, AL |University of Alabama to cut 1,000 jobs.
* Marian University announced Thursday that it will cut 15 jobs in the 2009-10 school year and reduce hours for 23 other positions as part of a plan to cut its operating budget by 10 percent.
via Marian to cut 15 jobs, $1 million from operations | fdlreporter.com | Fond du Lac Reporter.
* CONWAY, Ark. – A school bus plant owned by Warrenville, Ill.-based Navistar has laid off 170 more workers in Arkansas.
via Navistar plant lays off 170 in Arkansas — chicagotribune.com.
* The Dechert law firm said Thursday it has laid off 125 lawyers and staff firmwide due to the economic slowdown.
via Dechert lays off 125 – Philadelphia Business Journal: .
* Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge is laying off about 60 people
via 125 Laid Off at Dechert; 60 Cut at Edwards Angell | ABA Journal – Law News Now.
* Clifford Chance (CC) has announced a new round of redundancies in its New York office, with 24 associates to be laid off from transactional practice groups.
* WACO – A spokesman for Trane has confirmed that 80 employees at its McGregor facility have been laid off. Severance packages and outplacement support is being provided to those being laid off.
* * Impinj, a Seattle maker of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, has laid off 23 employees, cut back its contract workers, and is making unspecified cuts in spending in response to the economic downturn.
via Impinj lays off 23: bizjournals.com Business News – MSN Money.
* The United Steelworkers expects to see as many as 30 workers laid off at a Wellsburg paper plant in early April.
via Union: WVa paper plant to lay off about 30 workers – Forbes.com.
* According to Mary Ann Rhyne with GSK, employees from the Customer Response Center in RTP were let go. Rhyne also said the lay offs were part of the cuts that were announced in November.
via GSK Lays Off Employees At RTP Location – Wake County – MyNC.com.
* Hollywood-based TOUSA Inc. filed notice today with the state that it plans to cut 67 construction jobs between May 22 of this year and Dec. 31, 2010.
* MUNSTER — About 50 workers will lose their jobs this spring when the Amazon.com distribution center here closes, company officials said Wednesday.
* Entropic Communications, which makes networking chips that can connect home electronic products connected by coaxial cable, said it is cutting 55 employees or 18 percent of its work force as part of a restructuring effort.
* Printing press maker Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG on Thursday announced plans to cut as many as 2,500 more jobs as it deepens a cost-cutting drive amid a slump in demand fueled by the global economic crisis.
* BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP.AX)(BLT.L) has cut about 400 jobs held by outside contractors at coal mines in Australia, the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union (CFMEU) said Thursday.
* Crystal producer Swarovski announced yesterday (Weds) it would lay off 600 workers this year and 500 more later on at its Tyrol headquarters facility.
* MORE THAN 500 teachers who provide English language support to foreign nationals will lose their jobs as a result of budget cutbacks.
* A food packaging factory is to close with the loss of 62 jobs, only a year after it was rescued.
Anson Packaging, which is based at Wrexham’s Queensway industrial estate, has issued redundancy notices after a consultation period.
via BBC NEWS | UK | Wales | North East Wales | Packaging factory set for closure.
* Fears are growing that 70 jobs may be lost at the Dell-owned subsidary Alienware’s facility in Co Westmeath.
via Dell-owned firm expected to cut 70 jobs – The Irish Times – Wed, Mar 25, 2009.
* The La Martinière group plans to cut 44 jobs in France as a first step to reduce costs over the next three years.
via La Martinière to cut 44 jobs | theBookseller.com.
* Since October, the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Office (UPSVaR) in Zvolen (Banska Bystrica region) has been notified of a total of 1,250 planned lay-offs in the region’s districts of Zvolen, Detva and Krupina, TASR was told on Thursday.
via Tlačová agentúra Slovenskej republiky.
* One thousand workers, out of the current workforce of 3,500 are, therefore, expected to go home with the bulk of them coming from the Eastern railway line. Revenue generation of the company has dropped to its lowest ebb of 10% over the past years. As a result of this, management could not pay the End of Service Benefit to some of the workers who were laid off sometime ago.
via Ghanaian Chronicle – Online : The current time is 6:44:12 AM on 3/26/2009.
* Polestar is set to shed around 90 jobs with the planned closure of its Worcestershire-based polybagging facility Newspac and a reduction in finishing staff at its flagship gravure site in Sheffield.
* UTi did not specify how many jobs have been eliminated and a company spokesman was not immediately available early Thursday. The company said the cost cuts would reduce operating costs for fiscal 2010 by about $50 million.
via UTi posts 4Q loss on charges, lower volumes – Forbes.com.
* Fishing company Sealord today confirmed it will transfer fish processing to a freezer-trawler and move to a single shift and the loss of 130 jobs at its Nelson fish plant.
* Liberty National Life Insurance Co. has established a branch office in Jacksonville and will interview job applicants April 8.
via Liberty National hiring for Jacksonville branch – Jacksonville Business Journal: .
* Liberty National Life Insurance Co. plans to hire 650 commissioned-based sales agents, including 100 people in the Richmond area
via Liberty National plans to hire 100 in Richmond area | Richmond Times-Dispatch.
* Lafarge is recalling 50 fulltime workers laid off six weeks ago from the cement plant in Bath, southeast of Napanee.
via Mix 97 | News Team » Blog Archive » Lafarge recalls 50 laid off workers in Bath.
* For Andersen, that meant recalling 180 of the 560 workers it laid off in January.
via Andersen recalls 180 workers because of window tax credit.
* ELLENBORO, W.Va. — Simonton Windows is recalling 80 of 115 workers who were laid off from its Ritchie County operations in January.
* Kansas City has been chosen by a U.S.-British consortium for an assembly plant expected to employ 200 people manufacturing all-electric powered delivery vans, according to government officials.
via Electric jolt: 200 jobs coming to KC | Dollars & Sense.
* Enterprise Rent-A-Car is opening a customer claims call center with about 200 fulltime jobs in Gainesville on June 1, the company confirmed Wednesday.
via Call center to bring 200 jobs | Gainesville.com | The Gainesville Sun | Gainesville, FL.
* The project is expected to create more than 200 construction jobs, according to airport officials.
via Airport Projects Bringing More Than 6,000 Jobs – Phoenix News Story – KPHO Phoenix.
* Holiday Inn Express and Suites will open for business today (March 26) in Lake Zurich.
via New Lake Zurich hotel provides 75 jobs for area :: News :: PIONEER PRESS :: Lake Zurich Courier .
* Another company plans to manufacture solar panels and put hundreds of people to work. Toledo and its suburbs are poised to harvest the power of the sun by making millions of solar panels. First Solar and Xunlight are taking off. Yesterday, a third major manufacturer announced it would set up shop in Perrysburg.
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Mike: More news later in the day……………………
Tom Toles - Mar 26
Mike: For an entertaining way to view a variety of blogs, take a look at http://alphainventions.com.
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
Mike: Hello to all and thanks for visiting.
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Mike: Below is another one of those school board decisions that make me shake my head. The school board must be completely clueless to the impression that a move like this makes on its constituents, they are in the hip pocket of the superintendent, or they are merely ignorant and uncaring. Wouldn’t there have been a better time to increase the salary of a person that’s already making $261,000! This is the problem with the school industrial complex; school administrators, or CEOs, will gladly chop the necessities for a fatter paycheck. The AIG syndrome continues to thrive on the taxpayer’s back.
* After axing 86 jobs because of a budget deficit, the Plainfield School Board approved a pay hike and a new contract for the district’s superintendent Monday.
School board members said job cuts are needed because of a $7.5 million shortfall. The board voted 5-1 for a staff reduction plan that eliminates teaching positions at elementary, middle and high school levels; and some support staff and administrative jobs……….
Harper’s salary is $261,959, including a contribution of about $24,000 to the Teachers Retirement System. He also receives a $15,000 annuity and a $380 monthly travel stipend.
Harper won’t get a raise in the first year of his new contract. The second through fourth years of the contract include raises of 3 percent or the cost of inflation, whichever is higher, not to exceed 6 percent. In the final year, his pay will increases by 4 percent or the cost of inflation, but not more than 6 percent. His annuity increases to $20,000 for the last two years of the contract.
via 86 jobs cut but school chief gets raise :: Herald News :: News.
Mike Luckovich - Mar 24
- NY Gov. orders 8,900 layoffs
- Shaw closing Calhoun and Valdosta yarn plants
- Synovus Financial announces additional job cuts
- Postal chief says agency crashing
- IBM to shift services unit jobs to India
- ‘Black Thursday’ at IBM?
- IBM Said to Be Cutting 5,000 Jobs
- CBC to cut up to 800 jobs
- Constellation plans workforce cuts
- Two Houston oil services firms reveal job cuts: BJ Services cuts 1500
– Microsoft/Google/IBM and other Rumors & News –
* March 25 (Bloomberg) — International Business Machines Corp., the world’s biggest computer-services provider, will cut about 5,000 jobs today and tomorrow, according to a person familiar with the matter.
* International Business Machines Corp. will shift jobs in its global-business services unit to India from the United States after layoffs at other units,
via IBM to shift services unit jobs to India: WSJ – MarketWatch .
* RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Thursday will be a bleak one for Big Blue workers, according to the Wall Street Journal and Alliance@IBM, the union seeking to represent IBM workers.
In RTP, some 300 people will be cut as part of what IBM (NYSE: IBM) calls a “resource action.” Alliance@IBM has been told. The union is already labeling March 26 as “Black Thursday.”
via ‘Black Thursday’ at IBM? More layoffs reportedly set, including hundreds in Triangle :: WRAL.com.
* Imagine traveling by rail at 200 miles per hour between cities, and then catching a local line to your final destination.
IBM on Wednesday plans to announce details of three rail projects outside the U.S. that bring that vision of efficient and convenient rail travel closer to reality. Overall, the projects in China, Taiwan, and the Netherlands show how rail travel can reduce urban congestion and cut down on pollution from transportation, said IBM.
via IBM hops aboard high-speed rail | Green Tech – CNET News.
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7:00 AM ET*NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. mortgage applications jumped last week as record low interest rates spurred a surge in demand for home refinancing loans, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, increased 32.2 percent to 1,159.4 for the week ended March 20. Refinancing accounted for 78.5 percent of all applications.
via U.S. mortgage applications jump; rates at record low – Yahoo! Finance.
8:30 AM ET10:00 AMThe Commerce Department said sales rose 4.7 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 337,000 from an upwardly revised January figure of 322,000. Even after the revision to January’s sales results, the month remained the worst on records dating back to 1963.
Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected February sales to fall to a pace of 300,000 units.
February’s sales were still down by more than 40 percent from the same month a year earlier. The median sales price fell to $209,000, a record 18 percent drop from the same month last year. The median price is the midpoint, where half sell for more and half for less.
via February new home sales rise unexpectedly – Yahoo! Finance.
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* * Salary and job cuts are becoming widespread at major chemical companies as the economy continues to take a toll on demand. In April, silicones maker Momentive Performance Materials will cut pay for its workers by 10% for senior leadership and nearly 8% percent for salaried employees.
via Chemical companies cut jobs, salaries amid downturn – Related Stories – ACC SmartBrief.
* STRASBOURG, France (AP) — A top European Union politician on Wednesday slammed U.S. plans to spend its way out of recession as “a way to hell.”
Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, told the European Parliament that President Barack Obama’s massive stimulus package and banking bailout “will undermine the stability of the global financial market.”
via EU presidency: US economic plans ‘a way to hell’ – Yahoo! Finance.
Jeff Stahler - Mar 25
* Wall Street may be seeing glimmers of a recovery, but UCLA economists are coming out with a new forecast today that offers a grim picture of the year ahead.
Nationwide, the unemployment rate will worsen — peaking late next year at 10.5%. And in California, which has been battered by tumbling housing, retail and manufacturing sectors, the jobless rate will soar to 11.9% by mid-2010, the latest UCLA Anderson Forecast says.
via UCLA Anderson Forecast: dark days – Los Angeles Times.
* WASHINGTON (AP) — Postmaster General John Potter said Wednesday the financially strapped U.S. Postal Service will run out of money this year without help from Congress.
The only lingering question, Potter told a House subcommittee, is which bills will get paid and which will not. He did say ensuring the payment of workers’ salaries comes first. But Potter also said other bills may have to wait.
Potter’s appearance came as the agency, which has lived on a reputation of serving through wind, rain and all sorts of obstacles, seeks permission to reduce mail delivery to five days a week. It also wants to change the way retiree health benefits are amassed to save money.
“We are facing losses of historic proportion,” he said. “Our situation is critical.”
via Call for Help: Postal chief says agency crashing – Yahoo! Finance.
Mike: The odd part of this layoff annoucement by Gov. Patterson is that a recent article also showed how the state has hhired 6,000 over the past year. So while 8900 proposed job cuts seems large, it would get the state back to the hiring level it had last year. And once the useless and dysfunctional NY legislature (I live in NY and I have seen the ongoing dysfunction) gets its hands on this proposal, they will end up hiring the 8900 as personal valets and limo drivers:
* ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Gov. David Paterson on Tuesday ordered layoffs that could total about 4 percent of state workers after unions refused concessions amid a staggering economic downturn that was projected to push the state’s deficit to $16 billion in the next year.
Budget Director Laura Anglin told The Associated Press that the layoffs of nearly 9,000 employees would be the first since the late 1990s after unions refused to even provide counterproposals.
via The Associated Press: AP NewsBreak: NY Gov. orders 8,900 layoffs.
*The Charlotte Area Transit System will lay off up to 10 employees over the next 30 days.
via CATS to lay off 10, reduce routes – Charlotte Business Journal: .
* Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is ramping up layoffs this week, cutting 534 of its 19,000-plus jobs and identifying more people who will be laid off if more cuts are needed.
– US and some Canada Layoff News –
* Shaw refers to these facilities as Plant 07 in Calhoun and Plant WL in Valdosta. About 600 employees will be affected between now and when production ceases at both facilities over the next several weeks.
* COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) — Synovus Financial Corp., which eliminated 650 jobs in its five-state banking network in September, says it is cutting 200 more.
CEO Richard Anthony says the latest cuts will include 74 jobs in Columbus, where Synovus is based.
via Synovus Financial announces additional job cuts – WHNT.
* Under the reduction plan, 110 full-time positions, including 80 in the Baltimore area, would be eliminated, company spokesman Thom Mocarsky said in phone interview Tuesday. About 71 percent, or 767, of the company’s 1,084 full-time employees work in Columbia, where the company moved its headquarters earlier this month. About 56 percent, or 269, of the company’s 484 part-time workers also work at the 275,000-square-foot campus.
* DAYTON — NCR Corp. is cutting its Dayton workforce — as well as “labor costs” throughout the company.
Company spokespeople would not say how deep the cuts will be or answer other questions.
via NCR to cut jobs in Dayton, elsewhere.
* The St. Louis-based pharmaceutical company and its subsidiary, Bridgeton, Mo.-based Ther-Rx Corp., wrote in a March 6 letter to the Texas Workforce Commission that it would lay off five sales employees in its Coppell office. In addition, eight employees will be laid off at the company’s Frisco office.
via KV Pharmaceutical cuts jobs in N. Texas – Dallas Business Journal: .
* Craftex Mills, which makes cloth, announced it will close its factory in Auburn. Eighty people will be laid off. Craftex Mills blames cheap foreign imports and the sagging economy for the planned closing.
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*Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center said today it will lay off 140 or fewer employees, using a combination of delayed pay raises, a temporary reduction in benefits, and donations from department heads to avoid far wider job losses.
via Beth Israel now projects layoffs at 140 or fewer – Daily Business Update – The Boston Globe.
* Danville, VA – A Danville plant is closing its doors, leaving 200 employees without a job. Corning Incorporated will shut down by the end of this year.
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* Thirty Eight people will lose their jobs. The company says they will be eligible for severance.
via National Starch Closing Plant – WABI TV5.
* Ingersoll Rand has made its third major job cut in the past four months at its Mocksville plant, eliminating 75 jobs by the end of March, the company said yesterday.
via Ingersoll Rand is cutting 75 more jobs in Davie.
* Bass Pro Shops and Tracker Marine eliminated 45 jobs companywide on Friday, company spokesman Larry Whiteley has confirmed.
via Bass Pro, Tracker Marine cut 45 jobs | News-Leader.com | Springfield News-Leader.
* The measures, which will trim Emory’s 2009 budget by about 1.8 percent, includes suspending employee retirement plan matches, reducing vacation time by up to 4 days and cutting vacation time buybacks by 50 percent, Emory Healthcare CEO John Fox said late Tuesday.
via Emory Healthcare announces $30M in cuts – Atlanta Business Chronicle: .
* The embattled Allentown truckmaker said Tuesday that it will lay off as many as 25 employees at its Lower Macungie plant in early May, in addition to holding three weeklong shutdowns in April and May.
via Mack Trucks announces more staff cuts, shutdowns — themorningcall.com.
* GLENS FALLS — The Post-Star today laid off 11 employees from its editorial, advertising and production departments.
via Post-Star lays off 11 employees :: Today :: PostStar.com.
* Twenty Bakersfield Californian employees were laid off Tuesday and a total of 26 jobs were cut.
via Twenty-six jobs cut at The Bakerfield Californian: Twenty laid off | KGET TV 17 .
* In its third round of cuts, the newspaper, a unit of Cox Enterprises Inc., is offering a “Voluntary Separation Program” to all full-time employees with more than five years of Cox pension vesting service and will eliminate 48 part-time staffers from the newsroom.
* Pulse~Link laid off as many as 45 employees, but a core group of 15 including the founders are still active in the company as it seeks new investors. A handful of UWB startups have already shut their doors or been acquired including WiQuest, Tzero and Artimi.
via EETimes.com – Pulse~Link lays off 40+, seeks investors.
* The Regional Medical Center at Memphis has laid off 88 employees and eliminated 62 vacant positions from all levels of the organization.
via The Med lays off 88 people, eliminates vacant positions – Memphis Business Journal: .
* Grady Memorial Hospital in March announced 150 job cuts, in response to severe economic pressures and an increase in indigent patients, officials said. Among those who left was the head of the Atlanta hospital’s cancer center.
via Grady Memorial Hospital cuts 150 jobs | ajc.com.
* The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. plans to cut up to 800 jobs to make up for a $171 million shortfall in 2009-10.
via CBC to cut up to 800 jobs, sell assets.
* ELKHART — Dexter Axle in Elkhart will eliminate more jobs than previously thought when the plant closes in July.
In January, the company announced it would cut about 90 jobs. Now, 119 workers will lose their jobs starting in May.
via More jobs lost at Dexter Axle in Elkhart | WSBT South Bend – Your Local News Leader | Local News .
* Constellation Brands Inc. announced today it will cut about 5 percent of its global workforce, now estimated at 8,000, but the number of positions to be trimmed locally is unclear. The announcement comes as the world’s largest wine company continues to look for ways to cut costs, according to a spokeswoman.
via Constellation plans workforce cuts – Canandaigua, NY – MPNnow.
* Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital in Phenix City plans to lay off 70 to 80 employees and reduce certain medical services as part of a restructuring plan, the hospital announced Wednesday.
Mike: Here again we see how company execs reward themselves for failing their employees. AIG syndrome continues to spread.
* Just weeks after outlining a plan to close three facilities and cut 400 jobs due to a disappointing 2008, Watts Water Technologies Inc. disclosed in a regulatory filing Wednesday that its senior executive team received an across-the-board pay raise and hundreds-of-thousands in perks that included car allowances, sports tickets and housing payments.
via Watts cuts jobs, boosts exec team’s pay – Boston Business Journal: .
* BJ Services has cut about 1,500 jobs, said Chief Executive Officer James Stewart today at the Howard Weil Energy Conference in New Orleans. The company has also frozen salaries until economic conditions improve, Stewart said. Pride has eliminated 300 jobs in the past month, CEO Louis Raspino said in an interview at the conference.
via Two Houston oil services firms reveal job cuts | Business | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.
* AURORA — Old Second National Bank laid off 62 employees this week, CEO William Skoglund said Wednesday.
* LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) – HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L)(0005.HK) is cutting about 1,200 jobs in Britain, saying the operating environment for the battered banking industry was “extremely challenging” and would remain so for some time.
* U.K. insurer Legal & General Group PLC (LGEN.LN) plans to cut staff at its domestic operations by around 10% this year to save on costs, Chief Executive Tim Breedon said in a briefing Wednesday.
“Last year, the staff in our U.K. businesses fell by 10% and we would expect not a dissimilar fall in headcount in our core U.K. business” this year, Breedon said.
He said the current headcount in the U.K. is around 6,500 and said the new cuts would come from “central services” and support functions like finance as well as staff from the life and pensions business.
via Legal & General To Cut Jobs In UK This Year –CEO – EasyBourse actualité.
* The company will be cutting 718 jobs from its Jyväskylä, Järvenpää, Hollola, Oulu, Tampere, Turku, Valkeakoski, Inkeroinen, and Varkaus facilities between now and 2010.
via EUWID: Metso to close facilities and cut 718 jobs.
* Insurance firm Legal and General (L&G) is to cut 10% of jobs in its 6,500-strong life and pensions division.
* More than local 50 jobs will be shed in the coming weeks, as the recession hits the Borders’ manufacturing industry.
via Border Telegraph | News | ‘Black cloud over Borders’ as 50 jobs cut.
* Qantas will shed 90 top management positions adding to 1,500 job cuts announced last year, it said on Wednesday.
* The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) plans to cut 18 jobs and impose a pay freeze for all employees.
via Builder and Engineer – RICS to cut jobs.
* More than 100 staff at Greencycle, a County Durham firm that collects and recycles household waste, have lost their jobs.
via BBC NEWS | England | Waste firm staff laid off.
* BANKING giant RBS is to axe almost 100 jobs in Yorkshire from its business dealing with personal loans, it was announced today.
via RBS to cut almost 100 jobs at Yorkshire site – Yorkshire Evening Post .
* LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) – British transport group Go-Ahead Group Plc has prepared for a potential 3 percent slump in rail passenger revenue on its routes into central London in 2009, while also cutting 500 jobs at its aviation division.
via Business Feed Article | Business | guardian.co.uk .
* THE job loss axe fell on Dysart and Moranbah yesterday as global coal mining giant BMA sacked more than 400 contractors.
* It’s never a good time to lose your job. But now isn’t so bad if you want to attend the Oregon Institute of Technology or Klamath Community College.
The presidents of the two Klamath Falls schools announced Tuesday that any Oregon resident who was laid off since October 1 can take classes for free during the spring term on a space-available basis.
via Education | Oregon Tech, KCC offer free tuition to laid-off Oregonians | Seattle Times Newspaper.
Mike: The layoff announcements picked up the pace during the afternoon with the IBM report of 5000 more layoffs and shipping jobs to India the big news. Tomorrow brings us the jobless numbers, so we can see how this economy is moving in the jobs area. I’ll end this post with a little banter between Bill and John. Should be an interesting 13 minutes. Till tomorrow………………..
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Mike: For an entertaining way to view a variety of blogs, take a look at http://alphainventions.com.
Tom Toles - Mar 24
– Microsoft/Google/IBM and other Rumors & News –
* Today, March 23, marks the last day on the payroll for Microsoft employees notified in January that their jobs were being cut. “They will receive their severance payout, additional pay for healthcare costs, and will continue to be eligible to use outplacement services for a defined period of time,” a company spokeswoman said via e-mail.
Mike: It is rather ironic that the many millions of taxpayers who work without health insurance fund the bloated health care plans of government workers and contribute to the trillion dollar bailouts of the wealthy, corrupt and clueless banking thieves.
* WASHINGTON (AP) — Cindy Ramer works full-time nursing the mentally disabled, making sure their medical needs are met.
But the 58-year-old widow hasn’t had a doctor’s checkup in more than three years, ever since the nursing home where she works decided it could no longer afford to offer medical insurance to its employees.
“I don’t think it’s fair that I’m caring for people and helping them with their health care, and I don’t have adequate, affordable health care of my own,” said Ramer, of Denver, Iowa.
American workers — whose taxes pay for massive government health programs — are getting squeezed like no other group by private health insurance premiums that are rising much faster than their wages.
While just about all retirees are covered, and nearly 90 percent of children have health insurance, workers now are at significantly higher risk of being uninsured than in the 1990s, the last time lawmakers attempted a health care overhaul, according to a study to be released Tuesday.
via Health insurance squeezes U.S. workers – Yahoo! Finance.
Mike: The following two news stories show a brightening mass layoff announcements picture. While that’s good news, its important to view these improved numbers against last years numbers, which show that mass layoffs have increased significantly. Monthly comparisons are fine for short term trend analysis, but longer term analysis is equally important.
* For the first time in six months, the number of Colorado companies laying off 50 or more workers at a time has dropped from the previous month, the U.S. Department of Labor said Monday.
via Mass layoffs decline in Colorado for 1st time in 6 months – Denver Business Journal: .
* Missouri had 38 layoffs of at least 50 workers in February, down from 62 in January and up from 19 in February 2008, according to statistics the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics released Monday.
Missouri reported 3,538 initial claims for unemployment insurance in February, down from 5,239 in January and up from 1,127 in February 2008.
via Mass layoffs fall in Missouri, Kansas – Kansas City Business Journal:
Mike: It’s sometimes amazing that government is so unable to respond to crisis. Job losses have been piling up for over a year, yet government offices are understaffed, underfunded and technology deficient. Why don’t these government offices use some temporary services, such as Manpower, to work these unemployment lines to collect information, direct people to the right location, answer questions, distribute protocol information, etc. Sure budgets are tight, but going to the unemployment office seems more like cramming six lanes of traffic into one lane; it’s inefficient, unproductive and usually leads to accidents.
* Don Weidner figured he had plenty of time to get some fresh air.
“They just called number nine. I’m number 69,” he said while standing outside the Illinois Department of Employment Security office on Elm Street.
Weidner, a welder at Caterpillar Inc. in East Peoria, was among a large crowd of people hoping to claim unemployment benefits on Monday.
via Rolling layoffs at Cat mean long lines at unemployment offices – Peoria, IL – pjstar.com.
Jerry Holbert - Mar 24
Mike: The stimulus is going to keep many a government worker employed and that’s the main reason why I usually don’t list smaller potential layoffs of government employees:
* MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Nearly 3,800 Alabama teaching jobs that were in danger of being lost will be spared for at least two years thanks to the federal economic stimulus package, State Superintendent Joe Morton announced Monday.
via Morton: Stimulus to save 3,800 Ala. teacher jobs – NewsFlash – al.com.
* About 100 Clayton County teachers who were laid off earlier this month got their jobs back Monday.
School officials delivered contracts to 100 of the 400 teachers who were told two weeks ago that they would not have a job next school year. The board will vote later this year on the teachers’ employment contracts.
via 100 Clayton teachers get jobs back | ajc.com.
* ORANGE, Calif.—The Orange County Transportation Authority has voted to cut bus service by a quarter and layoff almost 400 drivers, supervisors and maintenance workers.
– US and some Canada Layoff News –
* Houston’s vast oil field services industry took another blow Monday with word that Schlumberger is preparing for its second round of layoffs since January.
The world’s largest oil field services company, which in January announced plans to cut 6 percent of its work force, now expects “a further reduction of a similar amount” in coming months, Chief Executive Andrew Gould said at the 2009 Howard Weil Energy Conference in New Orleans.
While the first round of cuts — eliminating about 5,000 of the firm’s 84,000 global employees — should be largely completed by the end of March, Gould gave no specific timetable for the next phase of layoffs. A company spokesman did not yet know how the company’s Houston operations would be affected.
via Schlumberger says another round of layoffs coming | Energy | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.
* CEO Andrew Gould said late Monday at the Howard Weil Energy Conference in New Orleans that the company — which is the largest oilfield service firm — is cutting another 6% of its work force in its second round of layoffs since January, according to published reports.
* LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Hospira, which makes drug delivery systems and devices, says it will eliminate 10 percent of its work force as part of a cost-cutting restructuring plan.
The reduction of about 1,450 jobs over the next 24 months is expected to save the Lake Forest, Ill.-based company between $110 million and $140 million annually.
* Oilfield services company Smith International Inc (SII.N) said on Monday it had cut about 10 percent of its workforce in response to the recent sharp downturn in drilling activity.
* Gannett Co. Inc, which is already mandating a one week of unpaid furlough for most of its employees this quarter, has ordered another unpaid furlough for many employees in the second quarter.
via Gannett orders second unpaid furlough – Phoenix Business Journal:
* The Ann Arbor News in Michigan said it would close in July and replace itself with a primarily Internet-oriented company called AnnArbor.com.
via Ann Arbor News to close up shop – MarketWatch .
* In addition to the 82 companywide layoffs – 60 full-time and 22 part-time employees – the Observer will reduce the hours of some employees.
via Observer to lay off 82 workers, cut pay | CharlotteObserver.com.
* Atop previous rounds of reductions via buyouts, the daily said today that it will cut pay from 5 percent to 10 percent depending on pay level and require unpaid furloughs of four days for full-time employees.
* HOUSTON: The Houston Chronicle says it is laying off about 12 percent of its work force………..
Sweeney did not specify how many jobs are to be cut or what departments they serve. Laid-off workers will receive two weeks of pay for each year of service, up to one year’s pay. They also will be offered career transition services.
via Hearst’s Houston Chronicle cutting 12 pct of staff – International Herald Tribune.
* Maxwell’s final day as executive director will be April 17. The part-time financial controller position will also be cut, effective April 10. The Red Cross’ regional chapter office in Grand Rapids will handle many of the financial tasks, but the Ottawa County chapter also needs volunteer accountants to make up the gap.
via Jobs cut at Ottawa County Red Cross – Holland, MI – The Holland Sentinel.
* The closing of the facility located at 537 Fitch Street in the City of Oneida will impact 70 employees.
via Hoffmaster to close Oneida plant; 70 impacted – NewsChannel 9 WSYR .
* Citing the global recession’s continuing impact on all of its businesses and markets, Corning Inc. announced Monday morning it would close the Danville Corning plant after the company decided to discontinue the two product lines produced at the local factory. The move is expected to affect about 200 workers.
via Corning to close Danville plant | WSLS 10.
* FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) – Between 30 and 25 workers at the Train air conditioner plant at Fort Smith are to be laid off today at a Fort Smith, according to a published report. Workers have known about the pending layoffs for a couple of weeks.
Mike: These are the layoffs that slip below the media radar. If you are closing two stores there are likely layoffs involved, but smaller layoffs aren’t required to report that important information.
* Active Ride Shop said Monday it sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and closed two Orange County stores.
via Retailer closes 2 O.C. stores, seeks bankruptcy protection – Orange County Retail – OCRegister.com.
* Cummins filtration says it laid off 127 workers Monday around the area.
Mark Land, a Cummins spokesman, says 44 people were laid off in Bloomer. Land says that leaves 175 people at the Bloomer plant.
Another 30 people were cut in Black River Falls Monday. That leaves 163 people at the Jackson County plant.
And in Viroqua, 53 people were laid off, leaving 265 people at that plant.
via Cummins Lays Off 127 in Western Wisconsin .
* Citing the “huge toll” wrought by the economic downturn, Sutter Medical Center Sacramento has announced that it will lay off 53 employees as part of a move to reduce costs.
* ANDERSON, Calif. — Two sawmills in Camino and Sonora are closing this summer, Sierra Pacific Industries announced Monday.
A difficult lumber market, along with reduced timber harvests on nearby national forest lands and state regulatory burdens are the reasons behind the closures, according to the company.
The closures will affect about 300 employees, the company said.
via Camino, Sonora Sawmills To Close – Money News Story – KCRA Sacramento.
* The company says it will lay off 135 workers on May 23 because of the continuing economic downturn. In February, Johns Manville announced 75-80 layoffs at its Waterville plant. The latter will take effect April 1
via WTOL.com, Toledo’s News Leader, News 11 | Johns Manville announces more layoffs.
* Lionbridge Technologies Inc., a provider of technology translation and testing services for companies expanding internationally, will lay off roughly 325 employees as a part of a restructuring plan to reduce overhead costs.
via Lionbridge to cut 325 jobs, 8% of staff – Boston Business Journal: .
* BRILLION, Wis. – A Brillion foundry is laying off 80 workers and furloughing others for two weeks.
via Brillion Iron Workers to shut down for 2 weeks — chicagotribune.com.
* Nearly 60 workers were expected to get the bad news here at the Alcan Sebree aluminum plant, more victims of the struggling economy.
via 14 News, The Tri-State’s News and Weather Leader-Alcan lays off nearly 60 workers at KY plant.
* Baltimore money manager Legg Mason Inc. laid off 20 employees — including 12 people at its Light Street headquarters — last week in response to continuing market volatility and its struggling financial performance.
via Legg Mason lays off 20, including 12 in Baltimore — baltimoresun.com.
*Empire Aero Center eliminated 35 positions at its aircraft maintenance facility Monday, citing the need to improve efficiency.
via Empire Aero Center cuts 35 positions – Utica, NY – The Observer-Dispatch.
* DETROIT — Dreaded white-collar job cuts at General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) started Tuesday as the wounded automaker began to deliver on promises to the government to shrink its work force so it can be profitable at lower sales levels.
On Tuesday morning, GM told 160 people at its manufacturing engineering operations in Warren, Mich., that they would be laid off as of April 1, spokesman Tom Wilkinson said.
via The Canadian Press: GM begins white-collar layoffs with 160 pink slips.
* A majority of partners at DLA Piper’s U.S. offices will see paychecks drop by 11.5 percent this year, according to a report by The Recorder, a legal trade publication in San Francisco.
via DLA Piper to cut partner pay by 11.5% – Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal: .
* Eastman Kodak is closing two divisions at its Windsor plant in a move that will eliminate 300 jobs.
The plant’s motion-picture film and lithographic plate units will be consolidated into other Kodak facilities in Rochester, N.Y. and Columbus, Ga.
via Kodak to cut 300 jobs in Windsor – The Denver Post.
* Subprime mortgage firm Accredited Home Lenders said it has laid off 38 at its West Chester Office, according to a filing with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
via Accredited Home Lenders lays off 38 in West Chester – Business Courier of Cincinnati: .
* Angus-Palm Industries told the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Friday that it laid off 181 workers between last August and last week.
via Angus-Palm lays off a third of its work force over 7 months – WHNT.
* The plant, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January, employed about 170 employees, many of whom are unionized. About 130 were called back to work last month.
via Mountain Top plant closing today | Hazleton, Pa. News | standardspeaker.com – The Standard Speaker.
* Exide Technologies has announced that it is temporarily closing its battery recycling facility in Baton Rouge, La.
via Recycling Today Magazine :: News :: Exide Technologies Idling Louisiana Battery Recycling Plant.
* In another blow to the region’s struggling manufacturing sector, U.S.-based Carlisle Company Inc. is closing its Brantford plant, putting 48 people out of work.
via TheSpec.com – BreakingNews – Brantford brakeshoe maker closing .
* Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) says it will close its Camino sawmill by June 12. The decision affects 164 workers. Also, SPI’s mill and biomass electric power plant in Sonora are being shutdown. That closure means the loss of 146 jobs by mid-July.
via Sierra Pacific Closing Camino, Sonora Mills | News10.net | Sacramento, California | Local News .
* A company started in Rockford in 1984 won’t finish its 25th anniversary year here because its parent company is consolidating operations in Pennsylvania, eliminating 25 local jobs.
via ABA of America closing in Cherry Valley – Rockford, IL – Rockford Register Star.
* Public relations tycoon Porter Novelli shed 15 percent of its staff at its D.C. office at 1909 K Street NW, according to a report by PR Week.
via Porter Novelli cuts 15% in D.C. – Washington Business Journal: .
* Special Metals, a company that makes material used in airplane turbine blades, has laid off 17 hourly workers, a spokesman said Tuesday.
via Special Metals in New Hartford lays off 17 hourly workers – Utica, NY – The Observer-Dispatch.
* St. John’s Hospital will lay off 38 people — primarily managers — from its 3,000-member workforce “to continue to address current economic trends while positioning St. John’s for future growth,” the hospital’s chief executive said today.
* German automotive cable and wiring supplier Leoni (LEOGn.DE) has cut 4,000 jobs since the start of the year as it braces itself for a sharp drop in revenue and a further hit to profits in 2009.
via Leoni cuts 4,000 jobs amid 40 percent drop in sales | Reuters .
* March 24 (Bloomberg) — HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe’s biggest bank by market value, may cut about 1,000 jobs in the U.K., according to a person familiar with the situation.
* TV3 HAS made 12 people compulsorily redundant, cut salaries and reduced its domestically produced programming in a move to trim costs.
via Compulsory redundancies at TV3 – The Irish Times – Tue, Mar 24, 2009.
* Three weeks after Off Haemek closed down, the decision has fallen: the bankrupt poultry slaughterhouse is heading for receivership. All of its workers will be fired with immediate effect, but that isn’t necessarily the end of the road for the cooperative, or its workers.
via All 200 Off Haemek workers to be laid off – Haaretz – Israel News .
* A CONFECTIONARY firm has laid off 25 staff as it battles changing buying patterns brought on by the recession.
via Staff laid off at Blackburn firm as profits fall (From Lancashire Telegraph).
* Finnish stainless steel maker Outokumpu Oyj (OUT1V.HE) said on Tuesday it would temporarily cut 1,830 staff at its Tornio, Finland site and halt some production due to weak demand, sending its shares lower.
* A British timber firm has announced plans to shut its plant in Co Laois with the loss of 14 jobs.
* Verizon Wireless in Hanover, seeking to hire 250 customer service representatives this year, is holding an open house from 2 to 6 p.m. April 3 and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 25 at its customer call center at 7401 Coca Cola Drive, near the intersection of Routes 100 and 295.
via Now hiring: Verizon Wireless seeks 250 workers.
* More than 150 people will begin working to reduce wildfire danger in southwestern Oregon this spring, thanks to roughly $3 million in U.S. Forest Service contracts funded by the federal stimulus package.
Mike: Till tomorrow..……………..
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Tags: COBRA, cut jobs, economic, employment, factory closing, firing, hiring, job loss, jobs cut, laid off, layoffs, plant closing, positions eliminated, redundancies, staff cuts, unemployment, workforce reduction
