Incomplete list of U.S. internet/high-tech/communications job destruction and chicanery announcements in June 2018:
WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification
ARKANSAS: Consolidating state taxpayer funded data centers could cost $15-million USD
CALIFORNIA: Gov’na Brown forces taxpayers to give the movie/TV industry $330-million USD!
Taxpayer funded InfoTech company GDIT/CSRA issued a layoff WARN, 67 people in Santa Clara County losing their jobs, possibly in connection to the company being taken over by General Dynamics. Los Angeles based mobile game company Jam City suddenly eliminated an undisclosed number of jobs, apparently to focus on its Harry Potter game. OneStop Internet issued shutdown WARNs for locations in Los Angeles County, 126 jobs gone in August! In Cerritos, AT&T eliminating 107 jobs in August! Credit.org shutting down its Riverside ops, 111 jobs gone by July! Warner Music eliminating 57 jobs in Burbank, by the end of July. Chip maker Qualcom issued WARNs saying 43 people in San Diego and San Jose will be jobless by August. San Jose based ebay suddenly laid off 274 Californians, according to WARN filings posted the next day! San Jose based chip maker Broadcom eliminating 1-thousand-1-hundred jobs due to its merger with Brocade Communications Systems! Also in San Jose, Western Digital issued a layoff WARN, 79 jobs gone in August. Palo Alto based Tesla announced the elimination of 3-thousand-6-hundred jobs (already issued layoff WARNs saying 506 Californians will become jobless in August!) in an effort to increase the company’s profit margin (due to the fact the 15 years old company has yet to actually make a profit, and don’t forget the 1-thousand-2-hundred California jobs Tesla killed last year)! Palo Alto based Hewlett Packard (HP) warning of the elimination of 5-thousand jobs by the end of 2019, as part of its never ending restructuring plan (which began two years ago)!
COLORADO: taxpayer funded one-stop website for business registration, licensing
FLORIDA: Wisconsin based entertainment/convention promoter M.G. Design halted all ops in The Sunshine State due to “inability to secure funding from any lending source”. Taxpayer funded General Dynamics Information Technology issued a WARN, 70 people in Jacksonvile jobless by September.
GEORGIA: Georgia forcing state taxpayers to pay for attracting ‘Hollywood’ production companies!
KANSAS: Kansas outsourcing state taxpayer funded InfoTech jobs
KENTUCKY: New tax laws so confusing that tax dollars are being spent on a website to explain them!
LOUISIANA: spending tax dollars on website to monitor state tax spending
MARYLAND: California based engineering company AECOM eliminating 173 jobs in in Bethesda and Riverdale, due to a reduction in their taxpayer funded government ‘intelligence’ contract!
MASSACHUSETTS: Jibo Robot conducted a second round of layoffs since December 2017, this time saying the layoffs are “significant” and Jibo was conducting “other cost-cutting measures to allow ourselves additional time to secure additional funding or pursue an exit.” That’s code for the company is going down.
MINNESOTA: Watchdog nonprofit sues Minnesota for Amazon HQ2 details
MISSOURI: Healthcare tech outsourcing company DST Systems suddenly laid off about 850 employees globally, in order to “create a more nimble organization and prepare for the future”! Kansas City based H&R Block announced the shutdown of 4-hundred offices, due to the increased use of online tax services.
MONTANA: Hacktivists targeting state computers
NEBRASKA: Driverless shuttle arrives in Lincoln
NEVADA: How Tesla uses cash from Nevada casinos to boost its bottom line
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Concord Direct eliminated 40 jobs due to losing a contract.
NEW JERSEY: Crestron Electronics issued a WARN, 257 Rockleigh jobs gone by the end of August! TE Connectivity issued a WARN, 43 Budd Lake jobs gone by the end of August. Preferred Display issued a WARN, 75 Clifton jobs gone by the end of August. MIMEO.com shutting down its ten years old digital printing/data center ops in Newark, 116 jobs gone as the company looks for a new location (possibly in Tennessee).
NEW YORK: International digital advertiser Droga5 conducted a third round of layoffs this year, about 24 people now jobless, bringing the total layoffs since February to at least 84, due to loss of contracts. Software maker Aptos issued a shutdown WARN for its Newburgh location, 91 employees affected starting in October.
NORTH CAROLINA: Qualcom eliminating 241 jobs at its chip design center in Raleigh, in August! It’s apparently part of a plan to eliminate 1-thousand-5-hundred Qualcom jobs this year!
OHIO: Police to be replaced by drones in the sky
Data collector Teradata issued a shutdown WARN for its HQ in Miami Township, 306 jobs affected by the end of the year! CG Services issued a layoff WARN for its call center in Columbus, 123 jobs gone by August!
OKLAHOMA: Iconic media and conference organizer PennWell eliminated 130 jobs globally, 1-hundred of which were in Tulsa prompting one employee to tell local news media “It used to be a family business – and now, it’s a business.”
OREGON: Comcast settles Oregon property tax lawsuit, will pay $155 million
Computer chip maker Lam Research Corporation suddenly laid off 112 contracted employees, in Tualatin, due to “fluctuations in their build-plan forecast”!
PENNSYLVANIA: Drugs company Lash Group eliminating 202 jobs in Monroeville as it races towards using artificial intelligence (A-I) and machine learning to replace humans, company administrators called the layoffs “redeployment opportunities”! AT&T shutting down its Susquehanna/Harrisburg call center as part of consolidation plans (supposedly not in connection to the merger with Time-Warner), 101 jobs gone in August!
PUERTO RICO: Taxpayer funded Electrical Grid Still ‘Teetering’, despite that Tesla claims it has ‘about 11000′ energy storage projects underway in Puerto Rico.
RHODE ISLAND: Malware breach at 3 state agencies
TENNESSEE: Hardware company Griffon Technologies shutting down its La Vergne warehouse, 48 jobs gone by the end of July as part of consolidation ops.
TEXAS: Evil student debt collector Account Control Technology laid off 1-hundred people in Dallas, due to ongoing legal challenges regarding its contract with U.S. Department of Education! In a time of seemingly increased volcanic activity, Houston based seismic data company Geokinetics now chapter 11 bankrupt busted and for sale.
UTAH: Mystery Utah data center gets tax break approval
VERMONT: California based (but United Arab Emirates owned) cell phone chip maker GlobalFoundries eliminating about 125 jobs in Essex Junction, as part of its plan to eliminate 5% of its jobs worldwide!
VIRGINIA: Taxpayer funded Northrop Grumman lost its 13 years old $2-billion USD InfoTech contract with the state, 348 people now hoping a new InfoTech contractor will be hired!
WASHINGTON: Xerox created digital process services company Conduent issued a shutdown WARN for its Federal Way location, 304 jobs gone by the end of July!
WISCONSIN: California based Roche Molecular Systems shutting down its Madison ops, eliminating 79 technician, software engineer and scientist jobs by Summer 2020.
U.S. Tech/Communications breakdown, May 2018: “TO ACHIEVE PROFITABILITY.”