Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:
Who said internet businesses are making money? Internet game provider GameSpy no longer exists, it was killed off by its new owner Glu Mobile.
California: In South Lake Tahoe, Barton Hospital warned of massive layoffs due to Obama Care, is offering employees bribes to voluntarily quit. Already 42 employees have volunteered to quit in May. According to local news reports, and no thanks to Obama Care, California’s Medi-Cal system pays the lowest reimbursements of any state in the Union! In Buena Park, Easy Life Furniture announced they will shutdown in June, 47 jobs lost. In Fullerton, Metalclad announced they were shutting down in June, 100 jobs lost! In San Diego, civil engineering company URS warned they will layoff 193 people in June!
Florida: In MacDill Air Force Base, taxsucker Leidos killing 93 jobs. The company lost their USCENTCOM contract.
Georgia: Atlanta based CNN (Cable News Network) eliminating or reassigning 50 jobs. Some employees were told they could stay employed, if they took huge cuts in pay! In Tybee Island, after six years Doc’s Bar shutdown due to rent issues.
Illinois: In Rockford, Schnuck Markets killed 163 grocery store jobs! Schnucks began “restructuring” operations at its two largest stores, and shutdown two smaller stores that were suffering from crashing sales. In Freeport, health insurance provider MetLife shutdown their office. An undisclosed number of employees got laid off, while others will be working from home.
Iowa: In Sioux City, after 29 years Hatch Furniture & Flooring shutdown for good.
Michigan: In Detroit, India based generic legal drugs pusher Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories shutting down their factory, 178 jobs lost in June! They had 450 employees in 2009. The company is controlled by India’s Sun Pharma, and has been in trouble with the U.S. FDA for years now (for example: drugs for diabetics had been found contaminated with metal shavings!).
Missouri: As a result of Obama Care, the largest pharmacy benefit management company in the U.S., Saint Louis based Express Scripts, killing 1890 jobs across the country, and shutting down two operations in Texas! ‘Front End’ pharmacy operations in Florida will also lose 400 jobs!
Nevada: The city of Reno approved the layoff of 35 firefighters. It’s blamed on the loss of federal funding. But don’t feel too bad about firefighters, it turns out the average firefighter makes bank off the taxpayers in Reno: “The average pay for the firefighters in this city is $129-thousand.”-Dwight Dortch, city councilman
New Jersey: In Medford, 7 Deuce Sports fitness center shutting down. The pro-football player-owner said his football career comes first.
New York: Who said the internet is making money? E-commerce site Fab killing 60 jobs in June. In Oneonta, the etc. etc. store shutdown. In Watertown, Convergys kills more jobs, this time 200 call center employees to go hungry! Convergys continues to loss contracts. In NYC, Aéropostale announced it will shutdown 125 children’s P.S. clothing stores across the U.S., hundreds of jobs lost! Company officials blame it on the changing spending habits of ‘mom shoppers’. Media company Fuse shutdown, 102 jobs lost! In Farmingdale, Model Power, a major internet model railroad retailer, is being killed off by Too Big to Jail banks: “After nearly 50 years serving the hobby industry, our 3rd generation family business will be closing effective immediately to the public. We will be reaching out to our clients over the next few weeks to settle any demand needs that they may have.
In 2007, our banks began an aggressive deleveraging process. They no longer approved of a profitable and paying client such as ours, which had been reliant on inventory. This is why one of the industry’s most extensive lines, had begun to see much of its products unavailable on the market. Now it will no longer be seen at all.
During these past 7 years, we had made changes to the business in order to accommodate and adjust to the changing nature of the business relationship with our lenders. We had offered multiple solutions to our lenders in order to ‘fix’ our situation, all were rejected, came with different restrictions, or offered too little too late. In all our efforts, no arrangements by our lenders would allow for Model Power to arrive at a position in which we could get back to fill our customer needs.
We would like to take the time to thank all of those whom we have worked with the past 50 years. To our customers and competitors within the industry, we thank you.
Sincerely,
The Model Power Family”
I’ve been reporting on the deleveraging conspiracy by the Too Big to Jail banks, read the articles and weep: De-leveraging will continue until the economy improves, and that means you!, it’s called Deleveraging and it’s a sign we’re in a “Terminal Downturn”!, 4,000 people stranded when….airline is suddenly deleveraged, All part of the IMF’s orders to deleverage!, IMF pushes for U.S. consolidation, code for even more drastic deleveraging!
North Carolina: Obama Care more powerful than God, as Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center kills 350 jobs: “At the end of the day the Affordable Care Act is just reforming payments, it’s not really reforming health care!”-John McConnell, CEO
Ohio: Ashland, maker of Valvoline petroleum products, to kill 800 jobs by the end of this year! On top of that the company plans to offshore 1-thousand U.S. jobs! Despite being an oil company, they claim to be losing tens of millions of dollars. The Cincinnati Enquirer laid off 14 employees. The newspaper laid off 300 people between 2012 and 2013!
Oklahoma: The city of Tulsa eliminating 216+ jobs! Most of the jobs have been vacant for awhile. City officials blame a $14-million USD shortfall on crashing tax revenues. In Norman, OfficeMax shutting down their call center, 125 jobs lost in June! Blame the merger with Office Depot.
Oregon: In Portland, after 17 years, Jackpot Records shutting down in June. The owners claim they aren’t blaming the landlord and city officials, but they really did: “…the rents have gone up over the years and the city we all love and contribute to continues to change in ways that both help and hurt local businesses like Jackpot, these factors really don’t play into this decision as much as they could.”
Vermont: Keurig Green Mountain (aka Green Mountain Coffee) laid off 12 people: “Over the past several months, we have combined our Massachusetts and Vermont-based consumer-facing teams, allowing us to have a single approach to our consumer care. As a result, we expect a reduction in the number of incoming calls the team will handle directly…”
West Virginia: In Saint Albans, Active Sports Complex shutdown. No official reason was given. The fitness center had been for sale for the past six years, but nobody wanted to buy it.
Wisconsin: In Denmark, after more than 32 years butter/cheese maker Land-O-Lakes shutting down their soft cheese factory in July, at least 90 jobs lost. Company officials say soft cheeses are no longer profitable. An employee who worked there since 1982 called it “a kick in the gut”.
30 April 2014: “…we must act now!”
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 shut down.
“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