Incomplete list of U.S. Mining/Industrial/Logistics job loss announcements and shutdowns for June 2016.
Arizona: Switzerland owned solar panel maker ABB shutting down its Phoenix-Sky Harbor factory and moving to Italy and Latvia! At least 89 U.S. jobs will be lost.
California: Maker of foam cushion products Carpenter Company issued a shutdown WARN for their Lathrop factory, 198 jobs gone by mid-August! ‘Product development’ company Thermo Fisher issued a layoff WARN for their Carlsbad ops, 33 jobs gone by October. Los Angeles based independent film distribution company Alchemy preparing for bankruptcy. Republic of China (Taiwan) owned, but Newbury Park based, Giant (aka Giant USA, Giant Bicycles) warned of mass layoffs due to “flattish sales”. The bicycle maker says ‘soft market conditions’ have forced them to begin consolidating sales and distribution operations, which means people will lose their jobs. France owned security camera and equipment maker Pelco laid off at least 43 people in Clovis. Administrators say the current economy is forcing them to “focus” their operations. In San Francisco, British empire United Kingdom based BAE revealed it laid off 54 people in May. Alcoa issued a layoff WARN for their Fontana operations, 189 jobs gone by August! National Retail Transportation issued a shutdown WARN for its Fontana location, 125 jobs gone by the end of July! Also in Fontana, Ryder laying off 47 people by August. Bankrupt Sports Authority shutdown their Fontana distribution warehouse, 122 people jobless! In Chowchilla, Brake Parts continues its shutdown, 65 people laid off by the end of July. Benz Sanitation-Propane issued a layoff WARN, 132 people in Tehachapi jobless by August! Bearings maker SKF USA issued a layoff WARN for San Diego, 55 jobs gone by the end of September.
Electric car maker Tesla has been caught directly importing migrants to work in The Golden State! The San Jose Mercury News reports that the migrants are not legal H-1B workers but are illegal immigrants. The newspaper tracked an immigrant from Slovenia who worked for Tesla. When confronted Tesla administrators flat denied employing the immigrant. Irvine based hobby industry remote controlled vehicle maker Novak Electronics (aka TeamNovak) suddenly shutdown after 38 years: “We are announcing that we have decided to close down our operations effective today. This decision was difficult to make, as this has been a family business spanning two generations.”-Novak family statement
Save Mart issued a shutdown WARN for their Vacaville distribution center, 325 jobs gone by mid-August! Food packager Pactiv shutdown their Vernon operations, 106 jobs gone! In Salinas, Foothill Packing has been fined $235-thousand USD for falsely firing U.S. citizens and replacing them with H-1B migrants: “The employer claimed the workers — who were U.S. citizens — had failed to meet production standards. Investigators found that many of them had consistently exceeded the production of many of the foreign workers doing the same jobs, yet Foothill did not terminate these foreign workers.“-U.S. Department of Labor press release
Colorado: Bankrupt Arch Coal eliminating 80 jobs at its West Elk Mine. Denver based Triangle USA Petroleum now chapter 11 bankrupt busted.
Connecticut: Korea owned Doosan Fuel Cell America revealed it laid off at least 33 employees in the past few months. The mayor of South Windsor said company administrators told him they had to “regroup”. The company makes 4-hundred kw natural gas powered fuel cells. Packaging maker Norampac New England shutting down their Thompson operations, 63 jobs gone between July and August.
Florida: Caterpillar issued a WARN for its Work Tools ops in Jacksonville, 63 jobs gone by the end of November.
Georgia: Maker of fake grass AstroTurf chapter 11 bankrupt busted after losing a legal fight over patent rights. General Dynamics owned Gulfstream Aerospace ‘offering’ voluntary buyouts of employees, starting in August. It was revealed after news was leaked to local news media by employees. In December 2015, it was revealed that Gulfstream Aerospace eliminated 1-thousand 1-hundred U.S. jobs.
Idaho: 15 years after shutting down their Power County phosphorus operations FMC declared their EPA superfund site is now ready to be the new home to Rupert based Valley Agronomics‘ new fertilizer plant (Valley Agronomics is owned by Minnesota based Land O’Lakes). The arrogant ‘christian’ governor of Idaho, Butch Otter, proudly boasted that this was a sign the area’s economy has “risen from the ashes” and then flat lied by saying “…when somebody says we’re gonna return, we’re gonna come back! You can trust us that we will keep our promise in coming back. I want you to remember this day Valley Agronomics and FMC because they told us that! They told us that we can trust them…” This is a lie because it’s not FMC “coming back”, and Valley Agronomics never operated out of the site before! The so called Phoenix Site (as declared by Otter) will employ a measly 50 people once it’s up and running in 2017 (incompetent local TV stations have been reporting 70 jobs created, but those are the temporary construction jobs). I don’t think that qualifies as a local economy that’s “risen from the ashes”.
Otter also quietly revealed to local news media that the once touted Solar Farm project at the Pocatello Airport is dead.
Illinois: Rex Energy shutting down their petroleum extraction ops near Bridgeport, 102 jobs gone by mid-August! The Aurora Laundry Company issued a shutdown WARN, 64 jobs lost by August due tot the linen supply business being sold. Trunk Club shutting down its Goose Island distribution center, 250 jobs lost under a new deal with retailer Nordstrom! In Elgin, design company Southern Graphic Systems issued a shutdown WARN, 30 jobs gone by the mid-July. In Edwardsville, wholesaler United Pet Group issued a layoff WARN, 48 in-house employees unemployed by mid-August due to their jobs being contracted-out. In Bedford Park, Northstar Aerospace lost their contract, 226 jobs gone! In Chicago, Georgia packaging maker WestRock issued a layoff WARN, 173 jobs gone due “to market conditions”! Pony Tools revealed they laid off 61 people back in mid-May. Lake Forest based car parts maker UCI Holdings-International now chapter 11 bankrupt busted, including their subsidiaries Airtex, ASC Industries and Champion. Chicago based bicycle parts maker SRAM laid off 12 people due to 12 months of down sales: “The quarters before were soft as well. It’s been cumulative. Certainly the softness of the last 12 months has not helped. It’s definitely lowered the water level and exposed the rocks.”-Stan Day, president
Indiana: General Electric (GE) shutting down its Bloomington fridgerator factory. The remaining 329 employees to become unemployed due to a 76% crash in sales since 2008! 130 people were laid off in 2013. In Middlebury, motor-home builder Evergreen RV suddenly shutdown (employees were simply told not to come to work) 4-hundred jobs lost! Local news reports say up until the sudden shutdown employees were told the company was doing well financially, and was actually in ‘growth mode’. Some employees had just been hired. Motor-home dealers confirmed they were told the company is dead, because when a company goes out of business the product’s warranty is void. So far company administrators have refused to explain what is going on.
Iowa: What automotive industry recovery? The maker of CO cooling systems for Jeep Liberty, Modine Manufacturing, announced more layoffs at their Washington factory. An additional 60 people becoming jobless on top of those already laid off, in preparation for production to move to Mexico. Canadian Pacific Railroad shutting down their Nahant maintenance shop, 21 jobs lost. In Spencer, Ireland based Eaton Hydraulics eliminating 70 U.S. citizen jobs over the next 12 months. Administrators claim the economy is worse than they thought and they need to “expand some of our restructuring and cost-reduction activities this year.” However, the Sioux City Journal revealed that “Eaton had been training Chinese nationals here in recent months.”
Kansas: LMI Aerospace shutting down a Wichita sheet metal factory and moving it to Mexico, due to the crashing U.S. aircraft manufacturing industry: “With customer demand on these platforms declining significantly, and in a competitive pricing environment we had to make the difficult decision to close this operation and move its remaining work….”-Joe DeMartino, coo
Kentucky: Blackhawk Mining issued a shutdown WARN, more than 2-hundred jobs gone between now and August!
Maine: De-inking mill Cascades Auburn Fiber shutting down in July, 45 jobs lost due to the crashing paper market. Twin Rivers Paper Company shutting down paper machine 3 at its Madawaska mill, 49 jobs gone by July. It’s the result of $12-million USD in upgrades to make the paper mill more efficient.
Maryland: In an example of what I call Ripple Effect Layoffs, Baltimore based sports clothing maker Under Armour (they claim to be an American company yet spell ‘armor’ the British empire way) admitted the massive bankruptcy and shutdown of hundreds of Sports Authority stores will cause Under Armour to lose $23-million in its 2nd quarter of 2016! Japan owned plastic maker Hedwin laying off at least 129 people in Baltimore, by the end of August! Hedwin is moving operations to Delaware, and the Baltimore property has been sold to a developer.
Michigan: What automotive industry recovery? Detroit based General Motors (GM) is creating 7-hundred new jobs, not in the United States but across the northern border in Toronto, Canada! Local news media confused as France based vehicle interior maker Faurecia North America has been caught firing employees just as fast as it hires new ones! 105 employees in Sterling Heights will be laid off by July, yet 90 new employees will be hired at the same time at the same location. The new hires are partially paid for by a $350-thousand USD taxpayer funded state grant! So much for the ‘free market’, welcome to covert socialism. The consolidation of Midland based Dow Chemical and Dow Corning will result in 2-thousand 5-hundred jobs lost and the shutdown of a factory in North Carolina and in Japan! Independent drug wholesaler Frank W. Kerr Company suddenly shutdown due to “an unexpected business circumstance.”
New Jersey: Aquity Brands Lighting issued a WARN, 168 people in Edison jobless by mid-August!
New Mexico: Peabody laid off 65 miners at its El Segundo and Lee Ranch mines. Texas based oil field service company Baker Hughes admitted to laying off employees in Farmington, due to “consolidation” ops, but refused to say how many.
New York: Toy maker Fischer Price laying off 75 people at its Aurora toy factory. The jobs will now go to a cheap-o contractor from another country! Process equipment designer Buflovak issued a shutdown WARN for their Buffalo operations, 53 jobs gone by the end of September. In Jamaica, Ultimate Aircraft issued a mass layoff WARN, 145 employees unemployed by August!
North Carolina: What automotive industry recovery? Ryder shutting down its Charlotte GM (General Motors) logistic operations, 124 jobs gone by the end of August! Germany owned truck maker Freightliner laying off 8-hundred people in Gaston County, due to crashing sales!
North Dakota: Maker of mini-excavators Bobcat eliminating 140 jobs at their Gwinnier factory, by Xmas! They’re consolidating operations.
Ohio: Bendix laid off eight people at its commercial vehicle brakes factory in Elyra, and another 16 employees elsewhere, blaming the trucking industry: “Since the start of 2016, build levels at truck and trailer manufacturers have declined rapidly. This decline has now trickled to the industry’s primary suppliers, including Bendix. The layoffs were the result of the down market conditions….”
Oklahoma: Kimray laying off 120 people by Friday, blaming the oil industry BS! Oil field company Seventy Seven Energy chapter 11 bankrupt busted and turning itself over to its bond holders, due to $1-billion USD in debts. D&L Oil Tools conducted a second round of layoffs, 53 jobs lost. In February they laid off 78 people.
Oregon: In Portland, Germany owned truck maker Western Star laying off 170 workers due to crashing sales!
Pennsylvania: Chemical company Koppers issued a shutdown WARN for their Clairton factory, 46 jobs gone by August due to the crashing aluminum industry. Victor Paving and Construction fined $115-thousand USD for failing to pay employees for overtime worked during the past three years! The U.S. Department of Labor says company administrators actually ‘doctored’ employees’ pay records to make it look like they did not work overtime. Japan based Fujifilm shutting down their Hunt Chemicals factory in Dayton, 84 jobs lost. Like most corporations Fujifilm-Hunt is being consolidated.
South Carolina: British empire Canada based bicycle distributor Hawley-Lambert laid off 13 people at its Lexington office. Those jobs are being consolidated back to Canada due to crashing sales.
Tennessee: In Chattanooga, after 45 years MetalTech shutting down their machine shop, 46 jobs lost. General Electric (GE) shutting down three Alstom factories, 235 jobs gone by Xmas due to the crashing railroad industry!
Texas: Dallas based Maxus Energy chapter 11 bankrupt busted, blaming it on the cleanup costs for New Jersey’s Passaic River. Hercules Offshore now chapter 11 bankrupt busted. Draw Another Circle owned Hastings told 375 distribution and HQ employees in Amarillo they will become jobless within 60 days, due to bankruptcy! Weatherford International confirmed they laid off at least 90 people in Katy. The same place where it was revealed that most of the oil workers are migrants: “80 to 100 families have relocated to their home country primarily because of job changes and changes in the economy.”-Richard Rowell, business owner in Katy City
Vermont: Coffee products maker Keurig still in trouble, now 108 people being laid off as production of Keurig Kold is shutdown! It’s blamed on non-stop crashing sales.
Washington: Accell North America’s Seattle Bike Supply has been sold to British empire Canada based Hawley-Lambert. Boeing issued two layoff WARNs for their Puget Sound operations, 211 employees unemployed by mid-July, followed by 99 employees becoming unemployed by the end of August! Once again Seattle based Amazon is in trouble. This time it’s being fined $350-thousand USD by the FAA after United Parcel Service employees were sickened by a chemical reaction in some packages from Amazon. Those packages were filled with chemical cleaners, which are banned in the U.S. from being shipped by air. The chemical cleaning product is called Amazing Liquid Fire, and the UPS employees said they felt like they were burning after fumes came from the package.
Washington DC: The U.S. Department of Labor said the month of May saw the lowest new job growth since 2010, only 38-thousand new jobs created. Unofficial propagandists of unAmerican corporate America, main stream news media ‘experts’, had been promising at least 160-thousand new jobs! The U.S. Department of Labor tracks people considered “not in labor force” in their official unemployment reports, but for some reason the main stream news media refuses to publish the data.
The U.S. Department of Labor is also dealing with an issue I’ve experienced myself; your employer suddenly says you’re now a contractor, reduces your pay and ends benefits. It’s called Employee Misclassification.
Wisconsin: Ameridrives Power Transmissions issued a shutdown WARN for their Green Bay factory, 37 jobs lost by November. The maker of parts for heavy duty “off highway” vehicles is joining the rest of unAmerican corporate America in consolidating operations. In Manitowoc, after 60 years Groz-Beckert shutting down their Foster Needle felting needle factory, 64 jobs gone between July 2016 and January 2017. In Milwaukee, Global Industrial Services issued a shutdown WARN, 27 jobs lost by mid-August. Air Wisconsin Airlines also issued a shutdown WARN for their Milwaukee location, 53 jobs gone by mid-August.
Wyoming: Buckskin Mine laying off an additional 45 employees, local news media reports it brings total Buckskin Mine layoffs close to 6-hundred since 2010! Uranium miner Ur-Energy eliminating 12 jobs due to crashing demand (and prices) for the intensely radioactive metal.
U.S. FOOD CRISIS JUNE 2016 : MARYLAND KILLS PARK GEESE TO FEED HOMELESS!
IDAHO ECONOMIC DESTRUCTION JUNE 2016 : “RISEN FROM THE ASHES”? WE STRUCK OIL!
U.S. FEDERAL/STATE/LOCAL GOVERNMENT LAYOFFS JUNE 2016 : Local Sheriff says “WE’RE NOT TAKING CARE OF OUR OWN PEOPLE, THAT’S BULLSHIT!”
OBAMACARE JOB DESTRUCTION JUNE 2016 : “NO LONGER SUSTAIN THE FINANCIAL LOSSES”
U.S. CHRISTIAN SELF-DESTRUCTION 2ND Q 2016: “ALL THE CHURCHES ARE EXPERIENCING THIS DECLINE IN ATTENDANCE.” THE RAPTURE?
DUMBING DOWN THE U.S. JUNE 2016 : “MORALE IS REALLY LOW.” “THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE.”
WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification.
I found a 2010 AFL-CIO analysis (titled The Public Availability of WARN Notices: Lack of Accessibility and Disclosure…) which proves what I’ve been suspecting in my search of state WARN notices; most states are not complying with federal WARN regulations and are not publicizing or tracking mass layoffs.
Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed!
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.”