Archive for January, 2009
Saturday, January 31st, 2009
According to Reuters, WSJ and CNBC: “Sears Holdings, which operates Kmart and Sears department stores, laid off 300 corporate jobs on Friday”.
“The layoffs represented about 4.3 percent of the company’s 6,900 corporate workers and will come out of the firm’s headquarters in Illinois as well as facilities in Michigan and New York city.”
~News submitted by upthecreek
Posted in Retail, US | No Comments »
Saturday, January 31st, 2009
As of Sunday, more New York employers will have to give workers a heads-up about a proposed plant closing or mass layoff, and give the notices much earlier.
The state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification act, or WARN, is a tougher version of a federal law with the same name:
- It covers companies with at least 50 full-time employees, versus 100 under the federal law.
- It requires at least a 90-day written advance notice for a mass layoff or plant closing, versus 60 days under the federal statute.
- It is triggered when at least 25 employees are laid off, if they make up 33 percent of the workforce, or when a company lays off at least 250 full-time employees. That contrasts with the federal provision, which is triggered when a company lays off 500 employees or 50 to 499 workers, if they make up at least 33 percent of the workforce.
Source: Newsday.com
Posted in FYI | No Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
A logic bomb allegedly planted by a former engineer at mortgage finance company Fannie Mae last fall would have decimated all 4,000 servers at the company, causing millions of dollars in damage and shutting down Fannie Mae for a least a week, prosecutors say.
Unix engineer Rajendrasinh Babubha Makwana, 35, was indicted Tuesday in federal court in Maryland on a single count of computer sabotage for allegedly writing and planting the malicious code on Oct. 24, the day he was fired from his job. The malware had been set to detonate at 9:00 a.m. on Jan. 31, but was instead discovered by another engineer five days after it was planted, according to court records.
Source: Wired Blog
Posted in FYI | 3 Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
According to Bloomberg: “Bankrupt Tribune Co.’s Los Angeles Times newspaper will cut about 10 percent of its 3,000 employees, including 70 newsroom positions, as part of a reorganization that includes eliminating a standalone local news section.
Publisher Eddy Hartenstein announced the reductions today in a memo to employees. He didn’t provide specifics on how the job cuts will be implemented or when. “
Posted in US, media, newspaper | No Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
Caltech announced Friday that it will lay off 100 employees due to economic concerns stemming from its endowment and alumni contributions. The university will also freeze hiring for some unfilled positions, though it will continue to hire faculty, albeit at a reduced rate.
- Caltech, one of the top scientific research universities in the country, employs about 3,600 people
Source: Pasadena Star-News
Posted in California, Education, US, University | No Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
Rheem Manufacturing officials announced Thursday that the company will recall all 700 workers laid off from its plant here last year.
The air conditioner plant laid off workers in August and again in October, with about 400 people losing their jobs in the second cuts. Human resources manager John Anthonysaid said the seasonal nature and the struggling economy made it difficult to predict what will happen this year.
Source: Macon Telegraph
Posted in FYI, Manufacturing, US | No Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
According to CNNMoney: “The bulk of the job loss news occurred on Monday, when several major U.S. companies announced sweeping job cuts, pushing the day’s total to more than 70,000.”
Top 3 Jobs cutters of this week:
Pfizer (PFE, Fortune 500): -20,000 jobs
Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500): -22,110 jobs
Boeing (BA, Fortune 500): -10,000 jobs
- The U.S. economy lost 2.6 million jobs in 2008. This includes 21,137 mass layoffs (a 7-year high)
- The Council Board forecast 2 million job losses for 2009.
Posted in FYI, US | No Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
According to AP, CNBC: “Dow Chemical Co. said Friday it would cut between 400 to 500 jobs near its Midland, Mich., headquarters as part of a previously announced global layoff plan.
The nation’s largest chemical maker said last month it would slash 5,000 full-time jobs — about 11 percent of its total work force — close 20 plants and sell several businesses to rein in costs amid the economic recession.”
~News submitted by upthecreek
Posted in Manufacturing, US | No Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
According to CNBC: “Caterpillar said it was laying off an additional 2,110 workers, bringing the week’s total to about 22,000, as the company scrambles to cope with a downturn in demand for its construction and mining equipment.”
“On Monday the company said it was cutting nearly 20,000 jobs and warned of a tough year ahead, with worldwide economic weakness gutting orders for it earth-moving equipment.”
~News submitted by upthecreek
Posted in Manufacturing, US | No Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
According to Guardian News :”NEC and Hitachi, the Japanese electronics makers, will between them cut at least 27,000 jobs worldwide to try to counter falling demand and plummeting prices.”
NEC is “aiming for 20,000 or more,” NEC’s president, Kaoru Yano, told a news conference. “It is regrettable that we have to announce such a big downgrade. We must cut waste.”
NEC, a major producer of semiconductors, said about half of the job losses would affect full-time employees and that 40% would be in Japan.
Company Info update (NEC): According the the company’s Web site, NEC and its more than 300 subsidiaries employ approximately 150,000. Several of NEC Corp.’s subsidiaries are in Silicon Valley, including Santa Clara-based NEC Electronics America, San Jose-based NEC Tokin America Inc. and Cupertino-based NEC FiberOpTech Inc. NEC Laboratories America has an office in Cupertino.
Update 1 (1-30-2009):
- NEC’s half the layoffs will be full-time positions.
- NEC plans to exit the liquid-crystal display (LCD) business.
Posted in General, Japan, Semiconductor, Technology, worldwide | 3 Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
A reader asks, “Has anybody heard layoff from HR department? I am wondering, for example, when BofA is implementing the massive job cuts plan, never heard HR staff got pink slips. Is it fair? The HR department has ever and never created any profits.”
Tell us what you think.
[polldaddy poll=1325800]
Posted in FYI | No Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Goldman Sachs (GS.N) are considering further cuts in staff, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Morgan Stanley is considering laying off up to 5 percent of its 47,000 employees, while Goldman Sachs is also contemplating further cuts in staff after letting go about 10 percent of its employees late last year, the paper said.
Source: Reuters
Posted in Goldman Sachs, US, banking, finance | No Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
French-Belgian bank Dexia (BE: DEXB) on Friday said it lost around 2.3 billion euros ($3 billion) in the fourth-quarter and plans to cut 900 jobs in 2009 as part of a major reorganization.
Source: MarketWatch
Posted in banking, finance, worldwide | No Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. said it would cut 600 jobs, about 8% of its global work force, as it swung to a fourth-quarter net loss amid a drop-off in demand and delayed deliveries.
90% of the job cuts announced will be in Singapore, chief executive Chia Song Hwee told BT in a telephone interview.
~News submitted by Steve~
Source: Singapore Retrenchment Blog
Posted in Electronics, Semiconductor, worldwide | No Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
Japanese electronics giant NEC Corp. said it will cut 20,000 workers worldwide as it tries to stanch widening losses from semiconductors and other businesses that have been hard hit by competition and the global economic slump.
The company hopes the job cuts, which will be split equally between Japan and overseas, will help save 80 billion yen over the next two years.
~News submitted by Steve~
Source: Singapore Retrenchment Blog
Posted in Electronics, Japan, Semiconductor, Technology, worldwide | No Comments »
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) is “targeting to reduce our costs by over $700 million in 2009 in respect to the Company’s fourth quarter 2008 cost base. The actions are a combination of the ongoing restructuring initiatives and new programs that are focused on resizing the Company’s manufacturing operations and streamlining expenses, and are expected to affect about 4,500 net jobs worldwide in 2009.”, according to the company’s Report, 4Q 2008
Posted in Technology, US, worldwide | No Comments »
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
According to AP and CNBC: “Outdoor and lifestyle retailer Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. said Thursday that it is eliminating 193 jobs. The company said the jobs represent roughly 15 percent of its non-retail staff.”
The cuts will be made at Eddie Bauer’s:
- corporate headquarters in Seattle
- information technology center in Chicago
- distribution center in Columbus, Ohio
- call center in Saint John, Canada
~News submitted by upthecreek
Posted in Manufacturing, Retail, US | No Comments »
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
Indian exporters have shed as many as 1 million jobs, more than 15 times a December estimate, amid the most protracted decline in overseas sales in a decade, the commerce ministry said.
“The job losses are very substantial and are likely to be of the order of 700,000 to 1 million, including temporary staff,” Commerce Secretary G.K. Pillai told Bloomberg News in an interview in New Delhi yesterday. Exports fell 1 percent in December and any recovery “is likely only by June,” he said.
Source: Bloomberg
Posted in India, worldwide | No Comments »
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) plans to lay off 200 people at its ABC division, a Disney executive familiar with the situation said, underscoring the media industry’s struggle with sliding ad sales.
The media giant intends to also freeze 200 vacant jobs, resulting in an overall 5-percent reduction of ABC’s workforce of about 6,500 to 7,000, said the Disney source, who declined to be identified because the company had not announced the cuts publicly.
Source: Reuters
Posted in Ad Industry, US, media | No Comments »
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
According to CNBC: “Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK) posted an unexpected quarterly loss and said it would cut up to 4,500 jobs this year after suffering a dramatic decline in demand for digital cameras and commercial printing equipment.”
“The company said on Thursday it would reduce its workforce by between 3,500 and 4,500 positions in 2009. Kodak late in 2008 had earmarked 1,000-1,500 jobs to be cut in 2009, and on Thursday said an additional 2,000 to 3,000 jobs will be cut.”
~News submitted by upthecreek
Posted in Kodak, Manufacturing, Technology, US | No Comments »