Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:
California: God can’t stop Obama Care from killing off six Christian run hospitals in one fell swoop! Bankrupt Daughters of Charity Health System tried to sell-off six hospitals but nobody wanted to buy, so now at least 280 healthcare workers will become unemployed! Administrators stated that the current layoffs will barely “restore our hospitals to break-even status financially” due to Obama Care insurance reimbursement cuts. To make matters worse, and guarantee a total hospital system shutdown, government Obama Care administrators have told ten insurance companies to stop sending their customers to Daughters of Charity Health System! Riverbed Technology issued two layoff WARNs for June, saying 160 people will become jobless! After more than 50 years San Francisco’s iconic Capp’s Italian Dinners Family Style shutdown. The owners blame the greedy landlord and legalities with insurance for their closure. Also in San Francisco, Apollo Education issued a WARN saying 60 people will be laid off in June. In Bakersfield, oil field service company Halliburton laid off 14 people without warning. In Milpitas, SanDisk issued a layoff WARN for June, saying 61 people will be let go.
Florida: Albertsons issued a WARN saying they will shutdown their Clearwater grocery store in May, 86 jobs lost.
Maine: British empire Canada based AIM (American Iron & Metal) Development USA has begun layoffs in what will finally be the end for the Bucksport paper mill and power plant. The failed mill and power plant was sold to the Canadian owned AIM in January, for $60-million USD in cash, now the latest news reports say there is only 13 employees left. This is interesting because last year local news reports swore AIM was going to continue operating the power plant, but employees pointed out the power plant ran directly off heat generated by the paper mill’s natural gas boilers. AIM administrators now say they’ve realized it is too expensive to operate the former paper mill’s boilers just to generate electricity, so they’re considering shutting it all down.
Maryland: California based tax-sucker Jacobs Engineering Group announced they will eliminate 104 jobs at the U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Grounds, blaming lack of taxpayer funding!
Minnesota: Ohio based biomedical and natural gas company Chart Industries issued a WARN saying 65 people at their Owatonna factory will become jobless in June. That’s on top of the 50 people recently laid off in Wisconsin. Administrators blame “A significant decline in orders” as well as “dynamic energy prices and the stronger U.S. dollar”.
Missouri: What automotive industry recovery? The country’s largest car hauler, Jack Cooper Transport, issued a WARN saying they will layoff 95 people at their Claycomo op, in May.
New York: In Niskayuna, school bus company First Student issued a shutdown WARN for July, saying 62 people will become unemployed. Beverage distributor Windmill Distributing reminded state employment administrators that they are shutting down in May, 638 jobs lost! It’s the result of their merger with Manhattan Beer. In Bethpage, Goya Foods issued a shutdown WARN for July, 57 jobs lost. In Auburn, air conditioner maker Daikin Applied reminded state administrators that they are about to begin their 6th round of layoffs (in July). Once the shutdown is complete more than 3-hundred jobs will be lost! In Elmsford, after 21 years the Fairview Golf Center shutdown. The property was sold for big bucks to FedEx.
North Carolina: Raleigh’s last registered bed-and-breakfast, The Oakwood Inn, shutdown after 31 years. The owner blames “illegal” competition from internet company Airbnb saying “If I have to [be licensed], why don’t they have to do it? And if they don’t have to do it, then I shouldn’t have to!”
Ohio: In Short North, after ten years the Surly Girl Saloon shutdown, the owner indicated that demand for such a bar in Short North is crashing.
Pennsylvania: Snack maker Pepsi/Frito-Lay announced they will eliminate 7% of jobs at their Williamsport factory. It’s part of Pepsi’s ongoing plan to slash and burn operating costs (jobs). Crappy clothing op American Eagle Outfitters announced they’re shutting down their Warrendale distribution center in July, 2-hundred jobs lost! Administrators have been planning the shutdown for the past two years, which shows you how much confidence they have in the ‘recovery’.
Tennessee: In Chattanooga, after three years fitness center Thrive Studio shutdown.
Texas: US Steel has already laid off hundreds of people across the U.S., now The Lone Star State is about to lose 1,404 US Steel jobs! The WARN shows that all the jobs lost are related to supporting the oil industry. Houston based Halliburton revealed that since the beginning of the year it has eliminated 9-thousand jobs! In an interview with investors Halliburton president Jeff Miller admitted that oil companies are ‘stashing oil’ in 4-thousand undeveloped wells, and are preparing to begin “re-fracking” operations. Another Houston based oil company, Baker Hughes (in the process of being taken over by Halliburton) announced they will now layoff 10-thousand 5-hundred people in North America! Earlier in the year they said 7-thousand people would be laid off, but administrators say reduction in oil field services has been bigger than they estimated (and don’t forget that the takeover by Halliburton will create a lot of redundant jobs). A report by fuelfix says the top three oil field service companies in the U.S. (Schlumberger, Halliburton & Baker Hughes) have laid off a total of 39-thousand 5-hundred people, so far! 4th largest (according to fuelfix) Weatherford International is laying off 8-thousand!
15 – 18 April 2015: “a time of unprecedented and rapid change”
WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification
The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) no longer issues mass layoff reports: “On March 1, 2013, President Obama ordered into effect the across-the- board spending cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended. Under the order, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must cut its current budget by more than $30 million, 5 percent of the current 2013 appropriation, by September 30, 2013. In order to help achieve these savings and protect core programs, the BLS will eliminate two programs, including Mass Layoff Statistics, and all ‘measuring green jobs’ products. This news release is the final publication of monthly mass layoff survey data.”