ECON Layoff shockwaves spreading across corporate America

Layoff shockwaves spreading across corporate America



Reuters
Page 3
2008-10-19 01:04 AM Fonts Size:

Shock waves from the global financial crisis are now being felt in almost every corner of working America as companies press the eject button on increasing numbers of employees.

While the ax has been falling for months in the financial and home-building industries - where the current economic downturn started - as well as the Detroit auto industry, makers of everything from soft drinks to water filtration systems have unveiled hefty rounds of job cuts in recent weeks as they brace for what some predict could become a long and deep recession.

In the past week alone, companies including PepsiCo Inc and Danaher Corp said they would lay off thousands of workers, while the state of Massachusetts disclosed plans to cut its payroll by 1,000 as it faces a tax shortfall.

The situation is poised to worsen as the holidays approach and many businesses scrutinize budgets for the coming year. The sad truth is that Christmas layoffs are common in tough times.

"It's a fairly grim outlook," said Michael Goodman, director of economic and public policy research at the Donahue Institute of the University of Massachusetts. "I don't know of any sector of the economy that will be spared."

A four-week moving average of new U.S. government jobless claims last week hit its highest point in seven years.

Ed Yardeni, chief investment strategist for Yardeni Research, is hoping that the U.S. government's US$700 billion bailout package will slow the job cuts.

"If this rescue plan doesn't work, then... you could see something much worse that could feel like a recession or a depression, with all sorts of people losing jobs," Yardeni said.

A survey of more than 100 chief financial officers and other senior executives - conducted Wednesday - found 56 percent expect to reduce payrolls over the coming year. A majority polled by CFO Magazine also predicted falling revenues and plan to cut operating costs by at least 5 percent.

Workers are scared. Some 47 percent polled last month by Workplace Options said news of the financial crisis made them fearful about job security, and 25 percent said they had begun scanning help-wanted ads or updating their resumes.

"I'm being more conservative about spending - I'm concerned," said Donald Gaunt, a 52-year-old construction worker from Smithville, Rhode Island.


http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=766643

October 17, 2008


BMW to lay off up to 733 temporary workers

By Jenny Munro and Rudolph Bell
STAFF WRITERS

As many as 733 temporary workers at BMW’s Greer plant will be laid off in December as the German automaker begins to feel the effects of the world financial crisis.

Job reductions at the plant that is a powerful economic engine sustaining thousands of jobs in the Upstate and across South Carolina are limited for now to temporary workers the plant employs through the MAU Inc. staffing company.

The plant has a permanent work force of about 5,400 BMW-hired workers, in addition to hundreds of contract and contingent employees.

Those jobs have a potent multiplier effect. An estimated � 23,000 jobs have been created through a network of companies in the Upstate that supply the automotive parts and services. How this reduction could play out through that network was unclear late Thursday.

The company said, however, it remains focused on its planned expansion of the plant, which now makes the X3, X5 and X6 models. It plans to launch a diesel-power X5 this year and a hybrid X6 next year.

Bobby Hitt, a spokesman for BMW, said the company “is not unlike any other manufacturing facility in that it is not immune to uncertain circumstances that we are all witnessing in the economy and, more specifically, the automotive industry.”

The layoffs come after a drop in BMW’s U.S. sales in September. Sales of BMW-branded vehicles plunged nearly 30 percent, compared to the same month last year, the company said. Counting Mini-brand vehicles, the sales drop was 25.8 percent.

For the first nine months of the year, sales of both brands were down 4.8 percent, to 236,327 units, compared to the same period in 2007.

Other automakers reported even worse results for last month.

Currently, BMW is exporting about 72 percent of its production, a sign that U.S. sales are soft, Hitt said. But production at the plant is continuing to be relatively strong.

The last day of 2008 production will be Dec. 19, he said. BMW usually closes the plant shortly before Christmas through the end of the year.

Problems resulting from the softening of the automotive industry are not unique to the Greer plant, he said. Several plants in Germany are idling their lines for a week or so in the next few weeks.

“While BMW must manage based on today’s market conditions, we remain focused on our future expansion efforts to produce the next-generation BMW X3 in 2010 along with the X5 and X6 models,” Hitt said.

Despite the worsening economic conditions, the company is in the midst of a $750 million expansion of its Greer facility, which includes a bigger paint shop and a second assembly facility that would increase production capacity from 160,000 vehicles a year to 240,000.

The layoffs of contract workers at BMW are the latest sign of pain in the U.S. auto industry, where employment has fallen 14 percent since last year, said Raymond Sauer, an economics professor at Clemson University. The industry shed 52,000 jobs in the third quarter.

Sauer blamed the credit crisis plus a downturn that he believes is now a full-blown recession.

“We’re getting impacted here on Main Street by the developments that have taken place on Wall Street,” he said.

Curtis Simon, also an economics professor at Clemson, said South Carolina is more sensitive to recession than other states because of its greater reliance on manufacturing.

In manufacturing, Simon said, the work force is more of a “variable input” than it is in other economic sectors, such as services.

“When the assembly line shuts down, you send the workers home,” he said.

Notification of the layoffs has been sent to the workers who could be affected, said Randy Hatcher, president of MAU, a Georgia-based staffing agency.

Most of those affected will be production workers, he said, adding at least 500 workers would be laid off. MAU also provides logistics and administrative workers for the plant.

A report filed by the company said the number could be 733, according to Kara Borie, spokeswoman for the state Department of Commerce.

“We were informed by BMW there will be changes for the last quarter of 2008 and early 2009,” Hatcher said, citing the completion of the production run of the Z4 roadster and coupe at the plant and the overall problems of the automotive industry.

“The BMW contingent work-force strategy was designed to manage our labor requirements through production fluctuations, such as the build-out of the Z4 this fall,” Hitt said. “Given the challenging economic conditions, managing contingent staffing is a vital business requirement. Decisions related to our workforce requirements will be driven by the market impact to our production volume.”

Hatcher said, “We know we will be laying off some people,” but the numbers won’t be final until shortly before the layoffs.

“Any time anyone loses their job, it’s an unfortunate situation,” Borie said. But “it’s important to look at the total impact of BMW. They continue to have a positive impact on the state,” she said, citing as an example the approximately 600 construction workers on the $750 million expansion project now under way at the plant.

In addition, the company has generated total economic output of more than $8.8 billion over the life of the plant from its inception in the early 1990s. A report released recently by the University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business also attributed the support of 23,050 jobs to BMW, its suppliers and support businesses. That does not include contract employees.

“Those are strong benefits to capital investment,” Borie said, adding none of the positions being eliminated are connected to any state incentives to BMW.

“BMW is a world-class company. We feel confident and hopeful that those jobs will come back,” she said.

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/app...D=/20081017/BUSINESS/310170001/-1/YOURUPSTATE

Yahoo to announce jobs cuts
By Elise Ackerman


Mercury News

Article Launched: 10/17/2008 07:00:00 PM PDT


In a flashback to the dot-com bust, Yahoo is expected to become the next Internet giant to announce layoffs when it reports its third-quarter earnings Tuesday.

Sources say Yahoo is likely to shed at least as many employees as it did in January, when it fired 1,000 workers, including 328 in Sunnyvale and Santa Clara. Despite those cuts, Yahoo had roughly the same number of employees — around 14,300 — at the end of June that it had in December 2007, before the January job cuts.

In early October, eBay announced it was laying off 10 percent of its 16,000 workers.

Meanwhile, Google has been quietly trimming its contractor workforce, which includes about 10,000 people, though the search giant is still expanding in some areas. In a conference call Wednesday, Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette said Google hired 519 new permanent employees during the third quarter, bringing the number of official Googlers to 20,123 and the total workforce to about 30,000.

Google declined to disclose how many contractors have been let go, but the job cuts helped Google report a third-quarter profit that beat analysts' expectations.

"Google is showing discipline, and, dare we say, maturity by keeping its expenses in check," Ben Schachter of UBS wrote in a research note Thursday.

In an interview with the Mercury News, Google co-founder Sergey Brin said, "There is no question that the numbers (of contractors) are too high."


http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10750945?source=most_viewed

Definitely disturbing news

Not unexpected by any means but the ripple affects of these layoffs are widespread throughout the economy. I feel strongly that even darker days are ahead

Dana Corp. plans more local layoffs


By JORDAN RAUBOLT of the Tribune’s staff
Published Friday, October 17, 2008
Columbia’s Dana Corp. auto parts manufacturing plant is cutting 45 jobs as it phases out production of a type of axle currently being supplied to General Motors, a spokesman for the local plant said yesterday.

Max Dunlap said the possibility of the layoffs was first communicated to employees in July and was formally announced last month. He said the 45 jobs - which will be cut by Dec. 1 - are in addition to the 29 employees let go this summer because of the general weakness in the automotive industry.

"Market conditions are difficult and continue to deteriorate," Dunlap wrote in an e-mail response to questions. "Additional cuts are possible if sales reductions outpace our normal attrition rate."

Toledo, Ohio-based Dana Corp. supplies brakes, axles and other parts to auto manufacturers and employs about 35,000 people in 26 countries. Dana Corp.’s Columbia plant at 2400 LeMone Industrial Blvd. manufactures axles for Ford, General Motors and Nissan vehicles and currently employs 252 people, which is down from 366 last year.

Until recently, Dunlap said, the plant was able to avoid permanent layoffs through normal employee departures. But with volatile economic conditions hitting an already struggling industry, he said it became clear that slow vehicle sales would not rebound anytime soon.

"Higher gas prices, tighter credit and lower consumer confidence resulted in substantial vehicle sales reductions in the second and third quarters of this year," Dunlap wrote, adding that current auto sales are down about one-third from this time last year and Dana’s employment level has dropped by the same amount.

In its second-quarter filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Dana Corp. reported $140 million in net losses, compared with $133 million in the second quarter of 2007. Gary Convis, CEO of Dana Holding Corp., said in an Aug. 7 statement that the company would scale down its North American operations through plant consolidations and about 3,000 layoffs. The company’s third-quarter results are expected to be released Nov. 6.

"This latest announcement is a stark reminder of the difficulties in the automotive sector and the conditions that are expected to continue well into 2009," Dunlap wrote.

Bernie Andrews, president of Regional Economic Development Inc., said the news is unfortunate, but he said it likely will have little impact on the local economy and employment base. He said manufacturing jobs make up about 9 percent of the work force.

"Manufacturing jobs in Boone County have historically been a small percentage and getting smaller," he said. "It’s unfortunate and bad timing, but layoffs are always bad timing. There’s always things nationally you can’t control, and the auto market right now is certainly one of those things."


http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Oct/20081017Busi001.asp

My son was laid off last week. He worked as an apprentice mechanic for a statewide dealership (Fremont Motors) here in Wyoming. The management company cut the apprentice program, and many others to save $$$.

Last year at this time, the dealer had done $130,000 by this time of the month. This year, only $30,000. I suspect ALL dealerships are doing the same.

Son now looking for mech. work, and has a few opps available.

Still, it sucks.

Rich

More layoffs at Tenneco Automotive
Written by Diana Meder


Tenneco Automotive in Owen Sound has announced another round of layoffs.

This time 21 people have been let go right across the floor.

Human Resources Manager Mark Beaul says their workforce flexes up and down depending on the needs of their customers.

He says unfortunately with the decline in the automotive sector he doesn't see the employees returning before the end of the year and admits he has no idea when things might turn around.

Beaul says they actually held off as long as they could, with some workers sitting at home until the company absolutely needed to issue the layoff notices.

He says however the employees still working at the Tenneco plant can take some solace in the fact that in order to meet their customer requirements heading into next year, they'll need their workforce to remain at 370 employees.

In July, the former Monroe plant laid off more than a hundred workers as the direct result of GM cutbacks.



http://www.radioowensound.com/news.php?id=15422

Hard times in the Heartland
Layoffs hit the Whirlpool appliance plant in Iowa, but the economic pain doesn't end at the factory gates.
By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: October 17, 2008: 1:04 PM ET

AMANA COLONIES, Iowa (CNNMoney.com) -- The turmoil on Wall Street has come to the Pit Stop, a bar in the blue-collar town of Marengo, Iowa.

That's where Al Powell spent a recent Sunday afternoon thinking about his future after he and his wife were laid off from their assembly line jobs at the nearby Whirlpool factory.

"There's a lot of pain going through that place right now," said Powell, sipping a $2 Bud while the juke box played "Chicken Train" by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. "A ton of people got hurt this year."

Powell and his wife, who have two children, join 440 of the factory's 2,000 workers in losing their jobs. Whirlpool blames the cuts on the international economic downturn, which has dried up demand for its high-end refrigerators.

Powell and his wife were making about $15 an hour, which covered the mortgage payments on their $60,000 three-bedroom house. But they just started working at Whirlpool last year and the layoffs were carried out in terms of seniority, from the bottom-up.

Powell, who has worked at other factories nearby, said the plant sometimes hired back laid-off workers, but he wasn't sure what was in store for him.

"I don't know whether I'm going back in three months or six months. They don't tell ya," he said.

In the past month, there's been a lot of talk - on the floor of Congress in Washington and in kitchens and at office water coolers throughout the country - about how the global financial crisis is hurting Main Street. Powell and others in this community have heard all of it. But more to the point: They are living it.

The factory
The sprawling Whirlpool factory emerges from a land of corn fields, soy beans, silos and 19th century farmhouses. The number of workers at the plant, post-layoff, is roughly equal to the 1,500 residents who live in the Amana Colonies, a collection of seven villages established in the 1850s by a religious commune of German farmers. (The Amana appliance company, which was named for the area, was bought by Whirlpool in 2006.)

Many of the plant workers come from small towns within 10 miles, like Marengo and Walford, or from the larger city of Cedar Rapids, about 20 miles away. Workers have grown accustomed to the cyclical layoffs and periodic unemployment, but this time it feels different: Not only is the number of job cuts larger than usual, but it occurs amid a time of deep financial uncertainty.

Whirlpool, a Michigan-based corporation with about 73,000 workers worldwide, announced the job cuts on Oct. 9, and said they would occur between Oct. 13 and 20.

"I think what makes these layoffs significant in many people's minds is the backdrop in which they have occurred," said Whirlpool spokesman Jeff Noel. "It is, in fact, a reflection of uncertainty in the marketplace. Consumers won't be buying the kind of appliances they need and deserve in order for us to maximize production."

The most recent data from the Federal Reserve shows that production at the nation's factories fell by 2.8% in September - the worst month-to-month drop in 34 years.

The cheapest refrigerator produced at the Whirlpool plant in Amana retails for $1,500. Such pricey appliances can be a hard sell these days. Retail sales dropped 1.2% in September, the worst month-to-month decline in three years, according to the Commerce Department. Appliance sales in North America fell 17% in September compared with last year, according to Longbow Research analyst David MacGregor.

"It's in our best interest to operate that plant at full capacity to make products and get them out the door," said Noel, noting that medical benefits for laid-off workers will be extended to the end of the year. "[But] like a lot of companies, we have to play the cards that have been dealt to us in the global economy."

A worker leaving the factory at the end of his second shift put it succinctly: "The markets are soft and people aren't buying."

Three pillars of the economy
The economy in the Amana area depends on three sectors: manufacturing, which is dominated by Whirlpool; tourism, centered on the historic homes and farms constructed in the 1800s by the agricultural commune; and farming, specifically for feed corn and soy beans.

Farming and tourism draw their income from sources other than manufacturing, but they are still dependent on the future of the Whirlpool plant.

John Peterson, chief executive of the Amana Society, is hoping there's an ace in the deck for Whirlpool. The Society is a home-grown corporation of 17 local companies - including utilities, farmers and small local businesses - that was formed in 1932, when the German commune transformed itself into a shareholder-based company.

"Whirlpool is an important member of our community for a number of reasons," said Peterson, whose organization supplies power to the plant. "Since they're 82% of our electricity load, we're very concerned for their health."

Kristie Wetjen, executive director of the Amana Colonies Convention and Visitors Bureau, which organizes tourism in the area, said, "If the plant was to close down, it would have a huge impact on the community, financially and emotionally."

Tourism and farming were hit hard by summer floods that inundated 2,000 acres of the Amana Society's farmland, ruining crops and making the area temporarily inaccessible to tourists. The farmers' hardships are offset somewhat by high prices for corn and soy, said Wetjen, while the tourism industry rebounded in the fall, with its most lucrative Oktoberfest in more than 40 years, she said.

John Vought became the head of his 500-acre family farm more than 50 years ago, when his father was killed in a farming accident. He later married a descendant of the German farming community and raised four children, two of whom worked temporary stints at the Whirlpool plant.

On a recent afternoon, Vought harvested soy beans from behind the wheel of his combine. Like many farmers, Vought is land-rich but cash-poor. His house, located just a couple miles from the Whirlpool plant, is dwarfed by the farm machinery parked outside.

"I've been broke all my life," said the 70-year old farmer, who said he can't afford to retire.

Vought doesn't see his profession as an option for laid-off factory workers, because of the enormous overhead costs in agriculture.

"Your average factory worker is not going to come out and start farming," Vought said. "It's too big an investment. I'm talking about investment in the millions."

First Published: October 17, 2008: 8:41 AM


http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/17/new...htm?postversion=2008101713&eref=ib_topstories

Prayers said for all those laid off from the companies mentioned.

A

Plant all but 'gone by Christmas'
TheRecord.com - Business - Plant all but 'gone by Christmas'
Kitchener Frame continues to wind down with 170 workers laid off yesterday, more to go next month

Michael Hammond
RECORD STAFF


KITCHENER

Another 170 Kitchener Frame employees were laid off yesterday and another round of layoffs is expected in mid-November, as the auto parts plant winds down most of its operations.

Mike Devine, president of the Canadian Auto Workers Local 1451, said 500 workers remain at the plant, but most won't have a job in the new year.

"There's still going to be some minor things to be done after Christmas, but the bulk of the plant will be gone by Christmas," Devine said.

"And the bulk of the workforce," he added.

As recently as last year, there were 800 workers on the floor at the Homer Watson Boulevard plant, which employed 3,000 people in the 1970s.

The General Motors plant in Moraine, Ohio, Kitchener Frame's largest customer, will close Dec. 23. That means plans to wind down Kitchener Frame's operations by next April will be accelerated.

The former Budd Canada plant also makes engine cradles for Cadillac vehicles and suspension components for Cami Automotive, but its No. 1 product is a frame for Chevrolet Trailblazer and GMC Envoy mid-sized sport utility vehicles, produced in Moraine.

GM is halting production of its fuel-hungry vehicles in response to plummeting consumer demand in the United States.

There was hope Kitchener Frame would continue operating until July 2010, after the CAW and Kitchener Frame's parent company, Martinrea International, reached a deal to extend the life of the plant. That deal was contingent on the Moraine plant remaining open.

On Monday, a job action centre for laid-off Kitchener Frame employees will open at 44 Beasley Dr.

The centre, called Frameworks, will open quietly but will stage an official grand opening in mid-November.

Kitchener Frame's imminent demise provided an undercurrent to the election race in the federal riding of Kitchener-Conestoga, as CAW members campaigned against Conservative incumbent Harold Albrecht.

He won the race handily ahead of his nearest rival, Liberal Orlando Da Silva.

During the election, the Conservatives pledged $80 million to restart Ford's Essex engine plant in Windsor and an additional $400 million in assistance for the manufacturing sector.

Devine said that although the CAW was unable to unseat Albrecht or other local Tories, he was pleased it raised the profile of the auto sector's issues.

"Hopefully, the new federal government will take some strong, hard positions on the manufacturing job losses and try and put some safeguards in place for Canadian workers," he said.

mhammond@therecord.com


http://news.therecord.com/printArticle/431402

My oldest, who has been living and working in Portland Oregon these past 7 years, just lost his job in tech two weeks ago. With zero job prospects in the PNW, he packed up and came back to live with us. He's 25 years old.

On the flip side of the coin...

We're currently hiring about 10 people a week...and will continue to do so for the foreseeale future...

We just opened a new 100+ person facility in Birmingham, and now I am making plans for an additional 100+ person facility there, to open probably during Q1 or Q2 of 2009.

It looks like I will be adding around 8 new IT positions in 2009 to support our growth and the additional skills we need.

Kris

Dennis Olson said:

My oldest, who has been living and working in Portland Oregon these past 7 years, just lost his job in tech two weeks ago. With zero job prospects in the PNW, he packed up and came back to live with us. He's 25 years old.

Click to expand...

No shame in that whatsoever.


At whatever age.

Mittal Steel at Burns Harbor, In. is asking employees to voluntarily take 3-6 months off with being on recall at any time . Due to a reline of furnace and slack orders. Hourly would get 90% of pay ....

Unfortunately most have not put away in the good times for the lean times that we should of known are coming. Now obviously I can't use that as a blanket statement as many have been living check to check and frugally for a long time, or on a fixed income.

However for all these skilled professional workers and those that have had high paying jobs with plenty of overtime in the past if instead of putting away for the hard time if they instead spent their largess on second homes and toys they didn't need then I don't feel quite as sorry for them as many of the other people.

I believe that the layoffs will increase if the socialist gets elected. Small and large business will see the writing on the wall and will cut staff so that they can develop a reserve when things get real tough due to higher taxes, etc.

Grantbo said:

I believe that the layoffs will increase if the socialist gets elected. Small and large business will see the writing on the wall and will cut staff so that they can develop a reserve when things get real tough due to higher taxes, etc.

Click to expand...

Your a little behind. He's been in office for 8 years already. Surely you jest at McCain creating any jobs that don't require illegals? He will have all that work force ready to fill all the vacant spots for his corporate "friends" if elected. In case you don't know most manufacturing jobs have already gone to other countries by the tax dodgers. Bush's tax cuts didn't seem to stop that from what I can see. The final socialist conversion is our banking and finacial industry failures. Thanks to Bush ... our Government is know redistributing our wealth.

et2 said:

Your a little behind. He's been in office for 8 years already. Surely you jest at McCain creating any jobs that don't require illegals? He will have all that work force ready to fill all the vacant spots for his corporate "friends" if elected. In case you don't know most manufacturing jobs have already gone to other countries by the tax dodgers. Bush's tax cuts didn't seem to stop that from what I can see. The final socialist conversion is our banking and finacial industry failures. Thanks to Bush ... our Government is know redistributing our wealth.

Click to expand...

Your points are all valid. With a pure socialist things will be much worse. Afterall, Bush cut taxes where a socialist would never.

Lear announces cost-cutting plans, layoffs
Associated Press 10.15.08, 10:00 AM ET



SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - Lear Corp. on Wednesday announced cost-cutting measures, including an unspecified number of layoffs, aimed at saving the auto supplier $150 million over the next 12 months.

The company said it will reduce program development costs to conform with a significantly lower production outlook, accelerate low-cost engineering and sourcing initiatives and consolidate its supply base, among other actions.

Permanent and temporary layoffs and "additional thrifting of personnel-related costs" are also among the plans, the company said in a statement.

Mel Stephens, a company spokesman, declined to say how many workers would be laid off.

Last month, Lear (nyse: LEA - news - people ) said it would lay off nearly half the 245 workers at its plant in Hammond, Ind. In early 2006, the company laid off more than 100 workers at a Virginia plant because of declining demand for sport utility vehicles.

"We have been very aggressive in reducing our costs as industry production has declined, and we intend to remain well ahead of the curve," Bob Rossiter, Lear's chairman, chief executive and president, said in a statement. "I fully expect the company to overcome the present challenges as an even more formidable competitor."

Lear said it would provide more details when it reports third-quarter earnings Oct. 30


http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/10/15/ap5557615.html

The synergy here is quite astounding. If the automakers are on life support or file for bankruptcy then it go's right down the chain. It doesn't just effect the auto workers but the parts suppliers up and down the chain as well. Pre WWII we had a huge manufacturing base and imported very little in the way of materials. It wasn't too hard to convert the automotive factories into weapons and munitions plants. Well, just about all that is gone now. We couldn't ramp up production if we had to and a lot of those skills are lost or moved overseas....not to mention the lack of materials here the the industry to fashion them into something useful.

Layoffs at Chemung County Company
Reported by: Staci-Lyn Honda
Email: shonda@wetmtv.com
Last Update: 10:09 pm



HORSEHEADS—
A Chemung County company is feeling the effects of a weak economy. Eaton Electrical in Horseheads will be cutting 15 full-time jobs and an unspecified number of temporary positions in November. In a news release, company leaders say the cuts are due to on-going business and market conditions. The company's located next to the former Toshiba plant. Around 250 people work at the Horseheads plant, so the cuts are just a fraction of its workforce.


http://www.wetmtv.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=81258e4d-eb5c-4798-bf04-18d4dbf0a115&rss=127

I work in one of the two industries here in Washington.
The two are: A; Work for Boeing
B; Work for some place that supplies something for Boeing.
I fit into <B> I work for a CNC shop that furnishes parts and tools (fixtures) to Boeing. I'm down to 3 days a week right now.
Up until a couple of months ago I could just walk in a place, tell them I'm a Programmer and they would ask me if I could start today. I used to even get unsolicited phone calls with job offers. I think those days are over for a while.

I went to Radio Shack today to exchange a cordless telephone battery. Door was locked. Sing in window read "Closed due to the economy." No beating around the bush with that announcement! No relocation, just closed.

My son in California is having to close his drum shop. Can't cover his $2000/mth rent for the store when he only brought in $600 for the month in sales and drum lessons. That's gross, not net. He and his wife have two children and a big interest-only mortgage on their house. IT's crunch time for them.

It's gonna get ugly as the dominoes fall.

I work for a Tier 1 auto supplier. We are going through volunary layoffs right now and the non-voluntary layoffs will begin in December. I hope I can hang on!

I found out last week that a friend of mine in Las Vegas is getting laid (layed???) off. He works in the IT/computer operations dept of a large corporation there. Unfortunately, he has a large mortgage (ARM) and owes more on it than what he can sell it for.

OldMan

With layoffs comes fear of ripple effect

Sunday, Oct 19, 2008 - 12:09 AM Updated: 04:04 AM

By JOHN REID BLACKWELL AND EMILY C. DOOLEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS
Herman Woolfolk lost his job at the end of May when Evergreen Packaging shut down.

That was before Reynolds Foil posted notice last month of 490 layoffs to come at its plants in downtown Richmond next year.

It was before Gov. Timothy M. Kaine cut 570 jobs statewide two weeks ago to make up for a budget shortfall. Then Qimonda AG announced last week plans to phase out 1,200 jobs in eastern Henrico County by the end of the year.

Thousands of other jobs have been cut this year across Virginia at companies such as Wachovia Securities, Tyson Foods and Circuit City Stores Inc. in central Virginia; Lillian Vernon Corp. and Cox Auto Trader/Auto Mart in Hampton Roads; and Omniplex World Services Corp. and DALGlobal Services in Northern Virginia.

"It's kind of rough," said Woolfolk, 61. "The competition is fierce. I'm floating résumés all over the place."

The sheer number of layoffs announced this year is likely to send ripple effects throughout central Virginia and elsewhere in the state in the coming months, economists say.

People who have been laid off might not spend as much at restaurants and stores, thus reducing sales tax revenue to the state and localities. Vendors supplying services or goods to those businesses closing or reducing operations also could lose out, which in turn could lead to more layoffs.

The rash of layoffs floods the market with people searching for similar jobs. Area job counselors already have seen an increase in people seeking employment assistance.

"We have so many people hitting the labor market at the same time with the same type of skills," said Felecia McClenny, a work-force services consultant with the state. "It seems like every time we turn around, there is another [layoff notice]."

Counselors at the Goodwill Industries employment center on Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield County are busier than ever. Qimonda and state workers have already come calling.

The center used to see about 30 to 40 clients a day.

Last week, about 100 people daily were looking for job help, said Holly Maslanka, the coordinator at the center, which provides employment services.

"We've actually seen a tremendous increase probably in the last two weeks." she said. "It has just blown up."

Mary Pat Hudgins, a Goodwill career services program manager, spent Wednesday with employees of Wella Manufacturing in eastern Henrico County. The plant announced plans in September to lay off 60 people next month.

"There's a big variety of organizations laying off, but so many are in manufacturing," she said. "That just pits so many more people out there to compete for jobs in a field, that in this area, is decreasing."

The job losses across Virginia also affect other businesses, which in turn could lead to more layoffs.

For every job lost at the Qimonda plant, for instance, about 1.4 other jobs could be affected among various vendors, contractors and suppliers of the company, according to an analysis by Chmura Economics and Analytics, a Richmond-based research firm.

An additional job could be lost in consumer service industries such as restaurants and retailers, the research firm said.

Qimonda said it plans to lay off 1,200 workers, or about 40 percent of the plant's employees, by January as it shuts down a production line for 200 mm memory chip wafers. It has said it will keep open its production of 300 mm wafers.

The multiplier effect of job losses on the economy is higher for high-tech manufacturers -- especially for semiconductor plants like Qimonda -- because they tend to have a network of suppliers and pay high wages, Chmura Economics said. Qimonda declined to provide salary information, but the average annual pay for the semiconductor industry is more than $60,000, the economics firm said.

"Clearly, whenever you have layoffs, you see a pullback on spending on other discretionary items such as eating out or going to movies, so I would expect that to have an impact on the retail sector and services," said Christine Chmura, an economist and the firm's president.

For instance, Woolfolk, who operated production machinery that made liquid-holding cartons at Evergreen, said he and his wife never led an extravagant lifestyle. What they do for fun has virtually stopped.

"There's no more leisure activities," he said.

. . .

Employers small and large have laid off workers.

David Gallagher, chief executive officer of Dominion Payroll Services, said about 25 of his clients have shut down their businesses between July and September -- more than what he saw in all of 2007, he said. His Richmond-based company processes paychecks for 700 businesses throughout Virginia, ranging in size from 25 to 1,500 employees.

What's more, the number of employees among his remaining customers has shrunk in recent months, on average down about 8 percent.

"I think we've got some dark days ahead of us still," Gallagher said.

The credit markets have not loosened up enough, preventing some companies from accessing their credit lines, he said.

A customer in Suffolk closed last month, laying off about 25 workers. The owner couldn't get the capital to make payroll, he said.

"My fear is that scenario is not over . . . and we will have some more days ahead like that," he said. "The ripple effect is huge."

Some experts say central Virginia's diverse mix of businesses and employers helps cushion the blow of an economic downturn.

"Our saving grace is that we do have a very diversified economy," said Gregory H. Wingfield, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Richmond Partnership, a regional economic development group.

. . .

But the Richmond region's unemployment rate has risen markedly in the past year and job growth in the region isn't as healthy as it is in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.

"Over the past year, we have seen more layoffs in the Richmond area than in Northern Virginia or Hampton Roads," Chmura said.

In August -- the latest month for which figures are available -- the jobless rate stood at 5 percent in the Richmond region. That was higher than the rate for Virginia (4.6 percent), Hampton Roads (4.8 percent) and Northern Virginia (3.6 percent).

"What you are getting now are [a] lot of little layoffs from a lot of different employers across the industry spectrum," said William F. Mezger, the chief economist at the Virginia Employment Commission. "Over time, it is adding up. Then you have the slow job growth as people who were laid off don't move into new jobs as quickly. Over time, you get a build up of people."

Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads have fared better in creating jobs this year.

The growth rate through August stood at 2.2 percent in Hampton Roads, 1.1 percent in Northern Virginia but 0.5 percent in the Richmond region, according to the employment commission.

"Hampton Roads does better in a downturn," said Mezger, adding that it was the only region in Virginia not to see job loss during the 2001-02 recession. "That area is pretty stable."

In Northern Virginia, professional and business services, the technology industry and government sector continue to see job growth while construction work has slowed this year, Mezger said.

On the positive side for central Virginia, he said, is the expansion at Fort Lee, which is in the process of nearly doubling its size.

. . .

The job losses, coming during a slowing economy, have left many employees uncertain of where to look for comparable jobs now.

"I am a single mom, trying to raise a 16-year-old, and I am scared to death," said Amelia County resident Shery Lunato, who has worked for 10 years at the Reynolds Foil operation in Richmond.

"There are a lot of scared people," she said.

Lunato, like some other manufacturing workers, hopes to get help with job training and look for a new career. She said she previously worked for 10 years at another local manufacturing plant that also closed.

"I am four years away from 50," Lunato said. "I can't keep bouncing from factory to factory. I think that I am going to try to see if I can go back to school and get into something that I know is not going to be gone in a matter of years."
Contact John Reid Blackwell at (804) 775-8123 or jblackwell@timesdispatch.com.

Contact Emily C. Dooley at (804) 649-6016 or edooley@timesdispatch.com.


http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/business.PrintView.-content-articles-RTD-2008-10-19-0176.html

I work with automotive,tier automotive suppliers,and various manufacturing industries. They are struggling "BIG TIME". Sales are down 30% from 2007. Layoffs,cut hours,4 day work weeks,spending freeze are becoming daily expectation. What jobs are available are being filled with unskilled low wage employee's. Usually Arab,Mexican or other minorities.

What new machine tool purchases there is, are more into hands off manufacturing. Automation,robots,and technology are replacing what decent paying jobs that are left by eliminating the need for employee's.

Taxes are just part of the problem for companies. However despite tax cuts and all the other tax loopholes they get, large companies still send jobs oversea's as it is a windfall for them. The manufacturing jobs that are left are targeted for those who will work for mininmum wage or not much more. Certainly not a wage that will support one individual much less their family.

Real Americans aren't afraid to work hard! They need jobs that will support themselves. Sure there was some abuse in the system with unions and so forth. But the union busting and sell out of American jobs has brought this country to it's knee's.

A complete and deliberate manipulation of our economy and it's infrastructure IMHO. Until Nafta is stopped, borders secured, and illegals sent home we will continue to become as many eastern countries currently are.

Were screwed!

Whiteville plant closing: 'All we've got is hope'
Sun. October 19, 2008; Posted: 04:45 AM

WHITEVILLE, Oct 19, 2008 (The Fayetteville Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- WMT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- The words came from nowhere, harsh and hard, because there is no other way to hear that you are being laid off.
Robert Bailey said he had no warning, just a rumor that Georgia Pacific's plywood plant was struggling in this battered economy.

"A week later, they come in and say, 'This is your 60-day notice,'" said Bailey, who has worked at the plant for 31 years.

About 350 Georgia Pacific workers were told Oct. 2 that they would be laid off indefinitely. They will be losing good jobs, paying an average of about $15 an hour and considerably more with overtime. Bailey said he made as much as $65,000 a year fixing equipment in the plant's maintenance shop.

But Georgia Pacific relies on the construction industry to use its plywood to build new homes. Only these days, few homes are being built because the nation's financial meltdown has led to bank failures and a credit crunch.

Perhaps few places in America have been hit harder than Whiteville, a town about 60 miles southeast of Fayetteville with a quaint red-brick downtown built around the three Ts -- textiles, tobacco and timber.

Textiles and tobacco collapsed here in the 1990s -- Columbus County lost more than 1,200 textile jobs from 1998 to 2001 -- and much of the timber industry is now on shaky footing.

Georgia Pacific says it isn't closing the Whiteville plant, just idling it for the foreseeable future in hopes that the economy will rebound and people will start building homes again. A skeleton crew will remain at the plant to keep the machines oiled and ready in case the demand for plywood returns.

But Bailey and other workers aren't holding out much hope. Why, they wonder, would the local community college be reaching out to retrain workers? Why would the state's Rapid Response Team be coming to hold job fairs and provide other services to help people find new work? Why, Bailey asks, would plant management tell him to take his tools home on his last day of work?

Plant manager Rex Hiers, in a letter to Whiteville Mayor Dial Gray, didn't sound optimistic, either.

Market conditions may determine the plant's future, Hiers wrote, and "market conditions are not expected to be favorable in the short term. It remains unclear when the plant will reopen, if at all."

A Georgia Pacific plywood plant in Talladega, Ala., shut down in May for the same reasons. Five months later, an estimated 380 workers have not returned.

People may not realize it now, Bailey said, but soon all of Columbus County will be hurting.

"There is going to be people in real trouble money-wise," he said. "It's all going to trickle down as time goes by. It's going to affect the whole community.

"If things keep going the way they are, I may lose my house."

An uncertain future

Bailey and three other Georgia Pacific workers sat around a kitchen table last week. Among them, they have a combined 107 years of employment at the plant.

Michael Lewis, the local union leader, is the oldest at 52. Donnie Hilbourn is the baby at 37. Hilbourn's father worked at the plant before him. Mike Worley's dad did, too. Worley's son makes it three generations of Georgia Pacific workers.

That's typical in small towns, especially when the pay is good and the work is steady. Worley has spent nearly two-thirds of his life gluing plywood sheets together. Hilbourn started working at the plant six days after leaving high school. Nineteen years later, he's still at it, working in the freezing cold of winter and in the broiling heat of summer. It's impossible to heat or cool such a huge plant.

But the four men have no deep-seated complaints against Georgia Pacific. They say the company has treated them well. It has provided good health benefits and a decent wage. It has provided them the means to buy homes and pickups and big-screen TVs. It put Worley's two children through college.

Yet now -- at least for the foreseeable future -- the security for these men is gone, and they are left wondering what their futures hold.

"All I've done is Georgia Pacific," Worley said.

None of these men is young anymore, nor are they highly skilled. The thought of commuting to a bigger city for work has little appeal. Moving has even less. They were born and raised here. Columbus County is home.

"There ain't no jobs in southeastern North Carolina, so where are we going to go?" Bailey asked.

The faltering economy has also robbed the men of a big chunk of their 401(k) nest eggs. And even if they did decide to move, they doubt their homes would sell quickly.

"I guess," Bailey said, "we're going to have to join those people with unemployment and fight to survive.

"It's not going to be much of a future, but we're going to try to make it be one."

Although unemployment benefits and the federal COBRA insurance program will help, the men say, at the end of the day they will have considerably less money to make ends meet.

"I might last a month or two," Bailey said.

'It's going to hurt'

Terry Mann, a Whiteville City Council member, stood in his men's clothing shop downtown, next to signs advertising half-price shoes and 25 percent off shirts. His grandfather founded J.S. Mann's in 1922.

Now Mann is beginning to wonder whether his business can hold on. Another stalwart downtown department store, Kramer's, closed earlier this year after 89 years in business.

The two Kramer's buildings now sit vacant, another sign of the times in Whiteville, where stores have fled downtown for the allure of being next to Wal-Mart on the outskirts of town.

Mann said his business had been holding steady, partly because he is getting the former customers of Kramer's.

But he said he has seen a significant drop since Georgia Pacific announced its layoffs. He attributes the decline to the layoffs, as well as the psychological mood of the country. People are holding on to their money.

"In the long term, it's going to hurt because I just don't know what's out there to replace them," Mann said.

Down the street, just one customer had walked into the Furniture Depot by noon Tuesday.

"It's probably going to be a bad Christmas season for us, with all the jobs we're losing around here and the economy," said Norman Nobles, a part-time clerk.

Losing 350 jobs -- and possibly 50 more if an adjacent Georgia Pacific plant producing another lumber product is shut down -- would hurt almost any town. But when you are small, like Whiteville, it can cripple. The town has about 5,000 residents, more than a quarter of whom live below the federal poverty level.

In Columbus County, more than one in eight people are out of work now. Idling the Georgia Pacific plant in December will only make matters worse. The county also is losing its Coca-Cola bottling plant, putting another 42 people out of work.

Whiteville City Manager Josh Ray is preparing for the worst as best he can. Last week, Ray said he planned to tell the City Council that he would order department heads to trim spending by about 5percent.

The main reason is a projected decline in sales tax revenues of 10 percent. Normally, Ray said, the town's sales tax revenues increase by 3 percent to 5percent annually. But the layoffs, and the nation's poor economy, are causing people to pocket their money. Sales taxes are Whiteville's second-biggest source of revenue, behind property taxes.

The loss of sales taxes, coupled with the high price of gasoline, have Ray scrambling to find ways to save money without having to lay off any of his 71 employees.

Police are doubling up on patrols and buying tires for their patrol cars less often. The fire department is using a pickup truck to respond to fires before deciding whether to send a gas-guzzling pumper truck. Ray said some capital projects planned for the year will have to be put on hold.

Ray believes the cutbacks will be enough to pull the town through.

"But when this plant closes, we cannot handle another plant closing," he said. "We don't have enough to withstand losing another 100, 200, 300 more jobs at one time."

Encouraging signs

But some hope is on the horizon. The state opened a new prison near Tabor City in August that is expected to create more than 500 jobs, most of them correctional officer positions.

Last month, Piramide Mexican Foods, which makes tortillas, announced that it will become the first company in seven years to locate in Columbus County's Southeast Regional Park. Piramide plans to invest more than $1 million and create 20 jobs.

Plans are also in the initial stages to build another industrial park, which would straddle the border of Brunswick and Columbus counties.

Justin Smith, the Columbus County Economic Development director, said the park's aim would be to attract businesses that distribute goods once they leave the port of Wilmington. Smith said at least one potential suitor is eager to locate in the park.

He said Brunswick County likes the idea of sharing the park because tenants would be eligible for Columbus County's much more attractive state tax credits.

U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, whose 7th Congressional District includes Whiteville, has also vowed to help assist the area in getting new jobs.

"We will work with Columbus County and Whiteville leaders to explore Economic Development Administration strategy grants to assist in marketing efforts to attract new industries," McIntyre said Thursday in an e-mail statement. "Our commitment to do all we can to help those in this unfortunate time is unwavering and solid."

McIntyre said his office will also ensure that displaced workers qualify for unemployment insurance. He promised to work through the U.S. Department of Labor's Workforce Investment Act to provide the workers job bank information, financial management programs, skills training, child care and transportation.

Meanwhile, the state's Rapid Response Team visited the Georgia Pacific plant Friday, where the team met with company officials and began the process of addressing job services for the idled workers.

The state and federal assistance is welcome news in a town and county marred by a scarcity of jobs and high unemployment.

Although civic leaders accentuate the positives, those being laid off from Georgia Pacific tend to see their world through a different lens.

"The county, without more jobs, we're going to dry up like a grape on the vine," said Lewis, the union leader.

"Right now, all we've got is hope."

Staff writer Greg Barnes can be reached at barnesg@fayobserver.com or 486-3525.



http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock News/1953034/

Wiring producer will lay off 110
By Ed Shugert / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 10/18/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT


EL PASO -- Copperfield Inc., a manufacturer of copper wiring products, gave workers a notice of layoffs Thursday at its plant in West El Paso because of the loss of customers in automotive and appliance manufacturing, a company official said.
About 90 permanent and 20 temporary workers will lose their jobs, said Kevin Porath, director of human resources for Illinois-based Coleman Cable Inc., Copperfield's parent company. About 70 workers will remain at the Copperfield plant, he said.

The company gave letters to employees on Thursday announcing the layoffs. Some employees were told Thursday was their last day at work. According to the letter, Copperfield will continue to pay all the laid-off workers through Dec. 15. Most of those laid off will also receive severance of two to four weeks pay.

El Paso has experienced a net loss of manufacturing jobs for many years. Data released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission showed El Paso had 19,500 manufacturing jobs in September, 900 fewer than September 2007. In 2005, there were about 23,000 manufacturing jobs in El Paso, state data show.

Porath said the El Paso plant served the automotive and appliance industries in the region, though he would not name specific Copperfield customers.

"In terms of what was the cause (of the layoffs), obviously, the weak economy played a part but, more so, it's increasing raw material costs," Porath said.

"We still have a core of really good business partners that we plan to service



and we still believe there are some opportunities to take advantage of in this geographical area," he said.
Chaparral resident Keith Brown said he has 12 years experience in the wire industry but only started working for Copperfield in June, doing a variety of tasks, including rod mill operator.

"I thought it was seventh heaven," he said. "I worked for other wire companies. I've seen all aspects of it and when I got to Copperfield (the pay and benefits) it was great. I was happy."

Copperfield bought part of Interna tional Wire Group, including three facilities in El Paso, in December 2005. Coleman Cable Inc. bought Copperfield in April 2007.

The company had high hopes for growth in the area when Copperfield moved into a 401,000-square-foot building at 7811 Hoover in the Northwest Corporate Center last year and began consolidating its operations there.

Kathy Dodson, director of the city's economic development department, said Copperfield in March won approval from El Paso City Council for tax incentives if it hit certain hiring quotas over a five-year period.

"We actually worked closely with Copperfield when they were analyzing this area," said Bob Cook, president of the El Paso Regional Economic Development Corp. The layoffs, he said, are "a sign of the times, unfortunately, of what's going on in the national economy. We just need this national financial picture to clarify and for consumer confidence to be restored so we can put an end to this kind of announcement."

Cook said REDCo is currently talking to two manufacturers considering opening operations in El Paso.

"El Paso's economy is really performing counter to what the national economy is doing; we really are confident about the picture in El Paso," he said.

Brown, an Army veteran, said he learned technical and some computer skills working on Nike missiles. He hopes to use those skills to find a new career.

"I'm going to look for something (in the health industry). I'm not going to sit around. I've always worked."

Ed Shugert can be reached at eshugert@elpasotimes.com; 546-6352.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_10749930?source=most_emailed

Jackson, MS 10/19/08
At least 21,000 manufacturing jobs lost in state since July

Posted: Oct 19, 2008 04:08 PM PDT

Updated: Oct 19, 2008 04:27 PM PDT





JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - State officials say at least 21,000 manufacturing jobs have been eliminated in Mississippi since July 1st.

There could be even more cuts before the end of the year.

Northeast Mississippi's furniture corrider is reeling from hundreds of layoffs.

Leggett and Platt anounced 259 workers at plants in Tupelo and Saltillo would lose their jobs.

Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. announced last month it would lay off 200 workers at plants in Ecru and Ripley.

Another 257 jobs were lost at Hickory Hills Furniture in Itawamba County.

The state's unemployment rate is now at almost eight percent.


http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=9202882&nav=menu119_2

Here is another one to add to the list.

ARLINGTON, Wash. - More than 800 employees at a Snohomish County yacht-building plant will lose their jobs by the end of the year due to a permanent closure of the facility, company officials said.

Meridian Yachts, a subsidiary of Brunswick Corp. and a major employer in north Snohomish County, is closing its doors due to a dramatic decline in boat sales.

The decline in sales has accelerated in recent months, due to the slowing economy and the increase in fuel prices, company officials said.

Employees learned of the decision Thursday in an announcement by company officials.

"They gave us 60 days notice and told us they're selling the plant and moving back east," said Jim Brooks.

"It's like losing my right arm, hard to take for a lot of us," said Darlene McDaniel, who worked at the plant for 32 years.

As the only job McDaniel had ever taken, Meridian had become a big part of her life over the years.

"These people are my family. (Our) kids went to school together," she said.

"It's scary. Haven't had to look for a job in a long time," said Brooks.

Brunswick is the world's largest maker of pleasure boats and the owner of a wide range of brands, including Meridian, Bayliner and Boston Whaler.

"We are living and working in the most turbulent economic times in recent history," commented Brunswick Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dustan E. McCoy.

The company also is permanently closing two other plants - at Roseburg, Ore., and Pipestone, Minn. - and mothballing a third plant at Navassa, N.C.

All told, an estimated 1,450 employees will lose their jobs at all four facilities.

Three other plants are suspending production through the end of the year.

http://www.komonews.com/news/30703984.html

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/10/06/daily30.html

This really brings home the fact that instead of the gov telling people to shop, shop, shop, they should have been telling the public to save, save, save.

We will soon be looking at more & more people turning to food stamps and child welfare for support. Then we will see those programs cut, cut, cut. You can't have 1/3 of the country supporting the other 2/3. It just won't work.

with so many being laid off

the ripple affects will continue to spread throughout the country. It's a downward spiral that I fear will continue and accelerate.

mbo said:

No shame in that whatsoever.

At whatever age.

Click to expand...

As long as the kid is doing _something_ and providing for his own keep to some extent, there is nothing wrong with it. I think there is too much emphasis placed on living away from home and the "college experience." It is all about getting deep, deep into debt. I live at home for a while, but I worked nights, so never really saw my parents that much, plus I worked every day of the week. It allowed me to save up money to invest, which shot up to around $17Kish which then allowed me to buy a home. Once I knew I was secured in my job, I left. Would I go back...NO WAY!! I lived at home too long in my opinion, but I know now that I can live frugally and still make rent if need be at lower paying jobs.

I think if people would get this idea that it is horrible to live in extended families (the illegals are doing it and it is actually helping them achieve the dream) out of their head, then we wouldn't see so many suicides because people have "no where to go" when foreclosures/eviction is coming.

et2 said:

Your a little behind. He's been in office for 8 years already. Surely you jest at McCain creating any jobs that don't require illegals? He will have all that work force ready to fill all the vacant spots for his corporate "friends" if elected. In case you don't know most manufacturing jobs have already gone to other countries by the tax dodgers. Bush's tax cuts didn't seem to stop that from what I can see. The final socialist conversion is our banking and finacial industry failures. Thanks to Bush ... our Government is know redistributing our wealth.

Click to expand...

I find the above statement interesting and idiotic. If one looks at the history, it is not the fault of any one person or party. It isn't even the fault of any president as there is a division between executive, legislative and judicial branches. It seems that the moral fiber of many is unraveling and it is hard to trust anyone. I guess I have seen many lies in the coming election and feel sorry for those that take advertisements at full face value without looking at the facts.

I am not saying that Bush is perfect, but he was definitely voted in. The best thing to do is get ready for the worse, put your funds in a safe spot, and watch history being made.

Sorry, but there is no way in Hades I would ever vote for a liberal, lying Democrat. Guess I am too conservative to give all the hard work and earnings away to parasites.....

Ebay - Ebay laid off around 2000 or so from what I remember. That was two weeks ago. Also, Norton or Nasua tape is laying off people. not sure of the numbers.

et2 said:

I work with automotive,tier automotive suppliers,and various manufacturing industries. They are struggling "BIG TIME". Sales are down 30% from 2007. Layoffs,cut hours,4 day work weeks,spending freeze are becoming daily expectation. What jobs are available are being filled with unskilled low wage employee's. Usually Arab,Mexican or other minorities.

What new machine tool purchases there is, are more into hands off manufacturing. Automation,robots,and technology are replacing what decent paying jobs that are left by eliminating the need for employee's.

Taxes are just part of the problem for companies. However despite tax cuts and all the other tax loopholes they get, large companies still send jobs oversea's as it is a windfall for them. The manufacturing jobs that are left are targeted for those who will work for mininmum wage or not much more. Certainly not a wage that will support one individual much less their family.

Real Americans aren't afraid to work hard! They need jobs that will support themselves. Sure there was some abuse in the system with unions and so forth. But the union busting and sell out of American jobs has brought this country to it's knee's.

A complete and deliberate manipulation of our economy and it's infrastructure IMHO. Until Nafta is stopped, borders secured, and illegals sent home we will continue to become as many eastern countries currently are.

Were screwed!

Click to expand...

1.

I don't see NAFTA stopped with Obama. He has stated he only wishes to re-negotiate, possibly, worker's and environmental protections in the participating countries. In other words, nothing will change with NAFTA.

2.

Obama is even more pro-illegals than McCain. In addition to supporting amnesty, Obama also supports extending his new nationalized healthcare benefits to illegals.

3.

Exactly how are jobs going to be brought back to this country with proposed legislation like union "Free Choice" legislation, which effectively foists a union on a company without a formal employee vote? Or by expanding taxation? Or by increasing energy costs by stupidly forcing alternative energy mandates when they are not cost-effective given domestic alternatives such as natural gas or coal? How will new racial and gender affirmative action programs and regulations bring jobs to the United States or keep them here? Or by expanding other job-killing mandates and regulations?



Duh. If Bush was socialist, then just think how things will turn out with a real marxist.

Report: Circuit City considering closing 150 stores, laying off thousands

Monday, Oct 20, 2008 - 07:44 AM Updated: 08:06 AM

The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that Circuit City Stores Inc. is considering a plan to close at least 150 stores and cut thousands of jobs.

The Journal quoted unnamed sources as saying the store closings and furloughs would be an alternative for the troubled Henrico County-based consumer electronics retailer to filing for bankruptcy-court protection.

Earlier this month, Circuit City hired Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP -- the law firm that oversaw the Chapter 11 reorganization of Kmart -- as its bankruptcy counsel, the Journal said.

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.PrintView.-content-articles-RTD-2008-10-20-0172.html

Circuit City also retained FTI Consulting Inc. to develop a turnaround plan and investment bank Rothschild Inc. to guide talks with banks

I have been personally laid off four times this year from 3 different jobs. The nursery season ended last month, but I have that job secured for next year. The cabinet shop I worked for will probably have me back temporarily next month to build some doors. I just need to make it to March. I have several contractors I do some finish work for and have been getting a couple of days here and there. It's a tough job market out there.
I just stay resilient and keep on learning to do new things.



As an aside, this thread is about layoffs not politics, please try to stay on topic.



L.