The Booming Economy

LAUSD--5,400 jobs proposed for layoffs
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We are nowhere near the end of this mess, unfortunately.
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The Booming Economy

Several teaching positions are being eliminated from Ashland, Oregon's school district because of budget shortfalls.
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The Booming Economy

Pioneer announces 10,000 job cuts.
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Employers who want to save money on paying unemployment benefits are trying to screw over employees they claim have committed "misconduct. " Employers often hope employees won't fight it because of the time and expense.
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The Booming Economy

It's too bad, so sad for those H1B workers who were brought into this country to undercut American workers' wages and salaries.

Cry me a goddamned river.
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You can't make this shit up:

The climate is warm, there's no shortage of exotic food, and the cost of living is rock bottom. That's IBM (NYSE: IBM)'s pitch to the laid-off American workers it's offering to place in India. The catch: Wages in the country are pennies-on-the-dollar compared to U.S. salaries.

Under a program called Project Match, IBM will help workers laid off from domestic sites obtain travel and visa assistance for countries in which Big Blue has openings. Mostly that's developing markets like India, China, and Brazil.

One of the industry's leading CIOs, Ralph Szygenda, talks about what it takes to be a CIO and what tomorrow's CIO will have to do to prepare.
"IBM has established Project Match to help you locate potential job opportunities in growth markets where your skills are in demand," IBM says in an internal notice on the initiative. "Should you accept a position in one of these countries, IBM offers financial assistance to offset moving costs, provides immigration support, such as visa assistance, and other support to help ease the transition of an international move."

This is as appealing as wading across the Ganges River.
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More Booming Economy

Starbucks is laying off 6,700 and closing 300 stores.
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The Booming Economy

A job layoff was to blame for a father killing his family in Los Angeles.

The children, whose pictures are posted on the sidebar of the article, were adorable. What a horrendous tragedy.
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Student protests against Governor Jim Gibbons' proposed draconian higher education budget cuts will likely have an impact on the legislature.

I am rather disappointed the turnout was relatively anemic given the fact UNR was providing transportation to Carson City.
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The WSWS lists some recent layoffs--as recent as the past couple of days--in this piece.
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The utility company in this outrageous case should be charged with murder.

It's just too bad, so sad the 93-year-old man froze to death. It was his fault, after all:

Local officials have reacted with callousness. The electricity commissioner and the mayor attempted to pin the blame on Schur. “I’m certain if there had been some communication we could have solved this without the tragedy that occurred,” Newston said.
“It’s just unfortunate that this gentleman didn’t reach out,” Mayor Charles Brunner said. “We would have been there. We would have pointed him in the right direction or put him on some sort of payment plan.” Brunner is among the Michigan mayors who lobbied Congress for a bailout of the auto industry, and was recently in attendance at the inauguration of President Barack Obama, who in his inaugural address said American people were to blame for the economic crisis because they had failed “to make hard choices.”

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The Booming Economy

One in eleven Nevada workers, including yours truly, is jobless.
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Best Buy will be laying off employees.
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The Booming Economy

Home Depot to slash 7,000 jobs.
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Nevada's unemployment rate is now at a 25-year high.
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GM--2,000 jobs cut.
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Why is it a Republican has to be the one to question H1Bs in layoffs:

These work visa programs were never intended to allow a company to retain foreign guest workers rather than similarly qualified American workers, when that company cuts jobs during an economic downturn," Grassley wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The letter asked Microsoft to detail the types of jobs that will be eliminated and how those cuts will affect the company's H-1B workers.

"It is imperative that in implementing its layoff plan, Microsoft ensures that American workers have priority in keeping their jobs over foreign workers on visa programs," Grassley added.

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Sprint--8,000 jobs to be cut.
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Pfizer--8,000 jobs cut.
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Caterpillar--20,000 jobs cut.
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ING--7,000 jobs to be cut
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More than 71,400 job cuts have been announced today alone.
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The Booming Economy

Union Pacific is looking to shed 3,150 jobs and possibly more.
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I think it is good of Obama to criticize companies that are squandering taxpayer-funded bailouts.

Companies should be held accountable for the money:

Moving forward, the president said, it would be necessary to pass reforms
ensuring the kind of “oversight, transparency, accountability that’s going to
be required in order for the American people to confidence in what we’re
doing.”

Exactly.
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In more good news, Obama says he is going to keep the estate tax.

If anything, he should increase the estate tax on the wealthiest individuals.

The estate tax is absolutely crucial in this country not only to raise revenue but to prevent an inherited aristocracy. The lack of an aristocratic class in this country is one characteristic distinguishing the United States from so many others despite the best efforts of the GOP right to create one.
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Obama says his new stimulus package is on target.

There is a video of his remarks:


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The latest housing and unemployment figures are far worse than economists anticipated.
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Harley-Davidson plans to cut 1,100 jobs.
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There May Be a New President,

but the layoffs continue:

Microsoft--5,000 jobs

More:

Interstate Hotels & Resorts -45

Stealth Layoffs at IBM

Huntsman -1,175

Jobless Claims Rise 589,000

Truseal -25

Hawker Beechcraft 2nd Round

Williams Sonoma -1,400

Philippines Fear 60,000 Job Losses

FLSmitdth Group -600

Jeld-Wen in Bend Oregon -51

Layoff Report in Audio

Solar Companies Laying Off

Davidson County Sheriff's Office -36

Nichols Aluminum -55

Costco Store in Billings, MT -22

Dow Seadrift -50

CSX Corp. -1,600

Bluegreen Timeshare

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Schools -40

Hitchcock Schools -20

Sterling Jewelers Inc. -114

City of Vacaville -5

City of Indian Wells -16

Retail Shutdown and Layoff List

ABX Air 30 More

The Layoff Daily is a must-read for those interested in the continuing massacre of the nation's workforce.

By the way, home construction is at its lowest since the 1950s.

The Booming Economy

Many of the jobless are hopeful yet skeptical the new administration can do something about their plight:

As John Arnette sat beneath the pale glow of the fluorescent lights, waiting to inquire why his check had suddenly stopped, he worried that Mr. Obama was promising to spend money the country did not really have, adding to long-term debts.

“You’ve got all the money that’s been given to the financial sector, plus all the money that’s going to the Big Three auto companies,” he said. “Where’s the money going to come from?”

The answer is simple: The government pours money into job creation, even if it means going into debt, thus creating more taxpayers, which means filling up the government coffers and paying down the debt.
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Bank of America--4,000 jobs to be cut

The Booming Economy

Circuit City has decided to liquidate its remaining stores.

Another 30,000 will be added to the unemployment rolls.

GE Capital is cutting as many as 11,000 jobs.

Today alone:

Circuit City Closing Down -30,000

GE Capital Cutting up to 11,000

Hertz Gets Hurt -4,000

Masterbrand Cabinets -170

Haynes -95

Advent Solar 2nd Round -55

Solar & Wind Power Laying Off Too

Bury Partners Inc. -30

Novavax -18

Alliance Entertainment -462

Sandusky International -16

Goetz Boat Maker -75

Advertising Specialty Companies Cut -54

Presstran Industries Cuts Again -128

Ballard Spahr Law Firm -65

De Beers Cuts Production and Jobs

Wellmont -86

Mountaineer Casino -175

Pfizer Cut Count up to -2,400

Fox Chase Cancer Center -70

TTM Technologies -12

AMD Another 1,100 Cut

McCormick Sawmill -13

Brenner Tank Layoffs

84 Lumber Closes 11 More Stores -100

Cope & McPhetres Boat Dealer Closes All 13 Stores

Blue Cross Blue Shield -1,000

Circuit City to Liquidate Remaining Stores

Vicor -66

Sheridan -35

Flight Options -63 Pilots

WellPoint Inc. -1,500

Big Y Foods Inc. Laying Off

GE Transportation Systems -230

Temp Layoffs at GM Transmission Plant -239

Modine Mfg. Co. Closing Plant -65

E-One, Fire Truck Mfg -75

Orvis Co. -38

Trimble Navigation -10%

O'Reilly Media -30

BB&T Layoffs Coming

Timken -40

CGW -12

Oversee.net -38

Vulcan -50

Pharr Yarns -25

Boat Makers Sinking

Mercy Health Partners -90

Saks -1,100

Hartwick College

Riverside National Bank -35

Paccar Inc. Closing -430

Oil Rig Jobs Drying Up

PolyOne -370

Cardinal IG -70

Angus Chemical Co. -17

FL Dept. of Corrections -66

Mohawk -73

Xerox -50

Winterthur Museum-14

CGL -160

Sears Logistics Services, Inc. -19

Barefoot Flooring -23

Ashland Hospital -40

Cymer -100

Calamos -47

Metso Corp. -70

I'll include this link on the sidebar.

The Booming Economy

The Democrats have unveiled a budget winch to pull the country out of the economic ditch.
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Companies are trying other options besides layoffs in order to save money during these shitty times. Unfortunately, not enough companies are doing this.
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The UAW decides to sell out its workers by foregoing the right to strike.

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The banking industry is poised to ask for MORE handouts with more of them going down the tube.
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Retailer Gottschalks has put itself up for sale and may file for bankruptcy.

Another store I happen to like is about to hit the skids.

More retailer problems:

Hayward, Calif.-based Mervyns LLC, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July, is now liquidating inventory at its remaining 149 stores and winding down its business.

Reading, Pa.-based Boscov's Department Store LLC filed for bankruptcy reorganization in August. Analysts say they are monitoring the York, Pa.-based department store chain Bon-Ton Stores Inc., which has also been struggling.

National chains that have been hammered include Circuit City Stores Inc., which filed for bankruptcy protection in November, said last week it's in talks that could result in a sale or additional financing. Toy seller KB Toys, which filed for bankruptcy in December, is liquidating its stores and will shut down. Goody's Family Clothing announced on Jan. 6 that it was liquidating and on Tuesday it filed for bankruptcy protection.

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Harry & David lays off 100 workers, some ten percent of its regular labor force.
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The Great Recession

I have been so busy with other stuff, like doing nothing, I forgot to post this link to WSWS about the worsening economy, including some corporate layoffs not previously mentioned on this blog.

These layoffs include Boeing, Caterpillar, and LPL Financial.

The Booming Economy

I strongly suspect the latest jobless figures are conservative; I wouldn't be surprised if the jobless rate is 10 percent.
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Boise Cascade will close down its White City, Oregon, plywood plant and lay off 110 workers thanks to the horrible housing crisis. More than half of the workers have been with the company for more than 10 years, with some as long as 42 years.
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The Booming Economy

The greedhead Friedmanites never did stop to consider that when you export all of the goddamned manufacturing jobs overseas and leave little left but crap jobs in the United States for all but the very few, when the economy goes into the shitter in this country, EVERY country's economy also goes into the toilet.

In other words, this country CANNOT be solely a consumer country; we have to have manufacturing as well as "services." Toyota, like every other company is going through plant closings, while China is possibly facing riots as a result of job losses.

Way to go Friedmanites.

The Booming Economy

Pay cuts and job losses continue to mount in this country.

Some layoffs of note:

Mass layoffs continue to mount in the US and worldwide. The global advertising giant Omnicom has announced plans to fire up to 5 percent of its 70,000 global workforce. Two insurance corporations recently announced mass layoffs: Aetna will cut 3 percent of its workforce of over 36,000, while Genworth Financial will lay off 1,000 workers, over 13 percent of its employees. Newell Rubbermaid, a manufacturer of household storage products, has announced it will cut as much as 10 percent of its salaried labor force and will put in place a wage and salary freeze for 2009. The hard-drive maker Western Digital Corp., will eliminate 2,500 jobs, approximately 5 percent of its global workforce.

The financial services firm Northern Trust Corp. will cut 450 jobs in 2009. Baldor Electric Co. will eliminate 900 jobs by June. Microcontroller producer Atmel will purge 11 percent of its workforce in North America, while pharmaceutical firm Bristol-Myers Squibb will cut 10 percent through 2010, according to the AP, including 800 immediate layoffs.

The video game maker Electronic Arts Inc. has announced layoffs of 1,000, about 10% percent of its workforce. One of its rivals in the video game industry, Midway, will cut 25% of its employees.
It is also rumored that Microsoft, the giant software producer controlled by Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, will shortly announce major layoffs.

The Booming Economy

Mass layoffs continue, and the unemployment rate doubtless underestimates the extent of the problem.
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It seems on the surface the workers who staged a sit-in at Republic Windows and Doors have won a victory of sorts.
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The Booming Economy

Citigroup--53,000 additional jobs

The Booming Economy

Sun Microsystems--up to 6,000 jobs cut

International Game Technology--300 jobs to be cut