Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:
California: Corporate executive security company, Security Industry Specialist, warned they will kill off 335 jobs in October! San Francisco based legal drugs pusher Exelixis warned it will kill 160 jobs! The company’s drug for a specific type of thyroid cancer failed to work on prostate cancer. More proof the internet is not killing brick-n-mortar stores; Los Angeles based internet women’s clothing company Nasty Gal laid off at least 28 employees. Company officials said it was part of their “vision of the future”. In Burbank, Warner Brothers movie maker trying to kill hundreds of jobs through buyouts! It’s blamed on Aussie Rupert Murdock backing out of his takeover offer, and parent company Time Warner’s (Turner Broadcasting) ordering of massive job culling across all its operations. In Simi Valley, Too Big to Jail Bank of America warned it will kill 36 jobs in October.
Colorado: What housing market recovery? West Metro Fire Rescue is recommending job killing and a 3% pay cut due to voters rejecting a levy that would have increased local tax funding. Fire administrators blame their lack of funding on crashing home values. The ignorant firefighters don’t seem to realize that you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip, in other words the taxpayers are maxed out due to their own crashing revenues and even unemployment! “It’s the economy, stupid!”-attributed to Bill Clinton
Florida: In Myrtle Beach, after only a few years the Celtic themed Tilted Kilt pub shutdown, despite having 17 years to go on their lease! According to local reports the franchisee owner sold out to somebody else, and company administrators refuse comment.
Georgia: Fort Valley University laid off 14 employees due to a 38% crash in enrollment ( what I call Disappearing Student Syndrome, DSS). School administrators said more “tough measures” will follow.
Louisiana: A company connected to the 2010 Gulf (why do so many Canucks and New Englanders pronounce it Golf?) of Mexico oil spill is now chapter 11 bankrupt busted. Matagorda Island Gas Operations was one of four companies accused last year by federal regulators of refusing to comply with an order to hand over documents relating to the 2010 disaster. This bankruptcy might be a way the company is trying to get out of paying fines, because its assets far out way its debts.
Maryland: More proof the internet is not killing brick-n-mortar stores; Zenimax Online Studios killed an undisclosed number of jobs, despite claiming to “invest heavily” in its new online game. In the Port of Baltimore, state administrators killed off plans by CSX Transportation railroad company to use double stacked container cars. CSX has promoted the plan for five years, saying it’s needed to deal with demands for increased freight shipments, which would have created more jobs.
Michigan: Detroit based Compuware was sold off, company administrators warn massive layoffs to follow. Compuware is now owned by California based Thoma Bravo. Detroit Public Schools are so desperate they’re now in the business of selling used cars! Specifically, the school system auctioned off 18 surplus police cars. I couldn’t find any reports on how the school district got a hold of the former cop cars. More proof Michigan is a failed state; the Michigan League for Public Policy reports that overall wages have crashed 10% since 1979. When you break it down by sex and education, low wage earning men saw a whopping 31.2% decline in pay, while adults with no high school diploma saw a 46.3% crash in earnings! God refuses to stop the shutdown of the Saint Louis the King Church in Detroit. Catholic administrators blame crashing membership (rapture?): “Most of these churches, if you go into them, you see very small congregations….The contributions, even when merged with all three churches, are very low, so, you can’t maintain everything.”-John Karpiej, 38 year church goer who was apparently ‘left behind’
Missouri: Noranda Aluminum is killing 200 jobs and halting its expansion of a smelter! Company administrators blame skyrocketing utility costs. They even asked the state utility commission to grant a 25% reduction in their electricity bill, which was denied: “The long-term future of this plant depends on our ability to secure an affordable and competitive power rate.”-Kip Smith, CEO
New Mexico: After 35 years Cottonwood Printing shutdown by the city of Albuquerque, 12 jobs lost. Albuquerque city A-Holes are seizing the property under their Imminent Domain law, so they can build a road.
New York: It was revealed that Obama Care killed jobs with Rural/Metro Medical Services, last month. Company administrators finally notified the state that they were forced to consolidate their medical billing services, killing off at least 68 jobs. In Endicott, Jim’s Formal Wear warned it will shutdown in November, 61 jobs to be lost between December and January. In Bronx, SCO Family of Services’ warned it is shutting down their homeless shelter in November, 27 jobs lost.
North Carolina: I warned back in February that iconic cereal maker Kelloggs was about to launch its job killing operation Project K. Local news reports say Project K has begun with the first victims, numbering 161, to be made unemployed in January! The job killing under Project K is said to last until 2018! Company officials say they’re hopeful they can cut their costs by $475-million over the next four years, meaning they are not optimistic about any economic recovery! North Carolina’s tax breaks for the TV-Movie industry are proving to be a big fail. Producers of the series Banshee are moving to Louisiana, blaming it on the high cost of doing business in the Old North State. State administrators claim they will lose $40-million as a result!
Oregon: In Portland, Produce Row Cafe beer bar shutdown: “It is with a heavy heart that we close Produce Row today for an indefinite hiatus. We understand this is a surprise for many and know that we could not be more grateful for all of your support over the last 40 years.”
Pennsylvania: In Lemoyne, after 18 years Bob’s Bagels & Philly Style Hoagies shutdown.
Rhode Island: Providence Newspaper Guild killed 22 jobs, it’s the result of being taken over by New Media Investment Group. Local news reports said non-Guild positions were killed off as well. After 31 years French restaurant Basil’s of Narragansett shutdown because the greedy property owner refused to reduce the rent. Local news reports say the owners of the restaurant were active in supporting the community.
South Carolina: In Eutaw, after 29 years Chef’s Choice Steakhouse shutdown: “These are difficult times. Financially, steak prices are really high. It is hard to make ends meet. It was a tough decision for us to make.”-Dareen Bell Connor, co-owner
Utah: In Saint George, Iowa based Blue Bunny shutdown an ice cream factory, 100 jobs lost! company administrators claim they must consolidate operations back to Iowa to “remain competitive” in this suck-ass economy.
Virginia: Tysons Corner based newspaper USA Today killed more jobs. This time as many as 70 people rendered unemployed. Company administrators said they are shifting to “self sufficient reporters producing publication ready copy”, which probably means reporters who can handle all aspects of news gathering like being their own assignment editors, camera operators, writers, copy editors, etc. (hey, I’ve done that for almost two decades, working for small market NBC TV affiliates, and now BBN!) In Troutville, after 32 years the Waffle House shutdown. The restaurant owners claim they are moving to a new location that can increase profits, in other words the old property owner wants more rent.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shutdown. It doesn’t count people who get a severance for being laid off.
“Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security…That’s what makes America different. That’s what makes us exceptional.”-Barack Obama, 10 September 2013