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Archive for January, 2009

Sears lays off 300 corporate workers

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

New NY law gives workers more advance notice of layoffs

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

Fannie Mae Logic Bomb Would Have Caused Weeklong Shutdown

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

Los Angeles Times to Cut 300 Jobs, 70 in Newsroom

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. “

100 workers to be laid off at Caltech

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

Rheem Manufacturing recalls 700 laid-off workers

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

More than 100,000 jobs lost in one week

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.

Dow Chemical to cut 400-500 Michigan jobs

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

Caterpillar Announces Second Layoff Wave This Week

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

27,000 jobs to go at NEC and Hitachi

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.

Reader’s question: layoffs at HR?

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]

Morgan Stanley, Goldman mull more job cuts

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

Dexia faces $3 billion loss, plans 900 job cuts

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

Chartered Semiconductor to cut 600 jobs

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

NEC to cut 20,000 jobs

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

STMicroelectronics to cut 4,500 jobs worldwide

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

Eddie Bauer to eliminate 193 positions

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

Indian Exporters Cut 1 Million Jobs as Orders Decline

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

Disney plans 5% job cuts at ABC group

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

Kodak Posts Loss, To Cut Up to 4,500 Jobs

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

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