More proof you brick-n-mortar store owners can’t directly blame the internet/high-tech competition for your demise. Incomplete list of U.S. internet/high-tech/communications job destruction announcements in July 2016:
Sweden based telecom company Ericsson warned of global layoffs, including in the United States, due to an 11% drop in sales and a 26% drop in profits.
Arizona: The Arizona Daily Star laid off nine poeple, reports say more newsroom employees could be let go.
California: Japan based Sony laid off as many as 1-hundred people in The Golden State, with insiders saying Sony’s Japan HQ is taking over direct control of their U.S. operations in an attempt to save money! Once iconic Playboy magazine laid off employees at its Los Angeles operations as part of its plan to attract a “millennial audience”. Indie movie maker Broad Green Pictures laid off employees as part of its plan to become ‘mainstream’. San Jose based ebay once again warned that its spin-off of paypal will result in at least 2-thousand 4-hundred jobs being killed, investors loved the news and jacked up the price of ebay stock! ‘Christian’ Disney owned multi-channel network Maker Studios laid off 30 people. Brisbane based digital lifestyle magazine Mode Media (Glam Media) laid off at least 30 people in the U.S. It’s more proof that most tech startups are not truly successful with their product sales, as The Wall Street Journal said Mode Media is killing jobs due to a sudden decrease in investor funding. Mountain View based Symantec issued yet another WARN, this time at least 77 people becoming jobless by mid-August. Seagate also issued yet another layoff WARN, 70 people in Cupertino unemployed by September as part of their plan to eliminate 6-thousand 5-hundred jobs globally! Maker of InfoTech systems and avionics Rockwell Collins issued a shutdown WARN for their Poway location. Palo Alto based Google challenger Cyanogen (CyanogenMod) announced it will layoff some of its small staff. The company raised a lot of money through foolhardy tech investors, but has failed to get smartphone makers to use its programing. In San Francisco, video game maker Kabam laid off at least 25 people. Mobile events company DoubleDutch 55 people despite raising a lot of money through crowdfunding, however, administrators admit that the layoffs are part of their plan to rely on profits instead of crowdfunding.
Delaware: Tech company SevOne announced massive layoff of 40% of its employees! Days later an unnamed employee was quoted by local news media as saying “It’s brutal! They are laying off so many people I had to wait hours to get my severance. It’s like standing in a line for a guillotine!” In 2015 SevOne laid off 10% of its employees.
Florida: California founded but Tallahassee based fuel cell company Bing Energy now bankrupt dead due to former administrators spying and stealing data for a Chinese companies. At one time the startup promised to employ more than 250 people within five years of production of fuel cells for cars, and even cell phone towers. In Tampa, Convergys laying off 375 call center employees by the end of September!
Idaho: Boise based Micron announced it will eliminate 2-thousand 4-hundred jobs globally, due to crashing memory markets! Micron’s 3rd quarter 2016 revenues were down 25% from the same quarter last year!
Massachusetts: Needham based video game maker Turbine forced by parent company Warner Brothers to layoff employees, as they shift to ‘free-to-play’ mobile gaming.
Minnesota: Minniapolis based Leadpages laid off 22 people despite claiming that sales were up. Administrators say they must get smaller in order to continue growing, however, I believe the layoffs are actually the result of Leadpages’ take over of automation company Drip.
New York: A leaked email revealed that for the first time Armonk based IBM will eliminate jobs with its Netherlands operations, the actual numbers will be made known in September. NYC based Newsweek suddenly laid off “half a dozen” employees. It’s connected to layoffs by parent company International Business Times. Samson Technologies shutting down its Hauppauge operations, 26 jobs lost by October. Another 55 jobs apparently being transfered to their Hicksville location. SHC Universal issued a shutdown WARN for their NYC call center, 508 jobs gone by Halloween!
North Carolina: Universal Cable-Suddenlink shutting down its Greenville call center, 81 jobs lost due to consolidation of ops. Raleigh based WiFi company SignalShare now bankrupt busted due to lawsuits, including one by a former chief technology officer, and one by a major customer that claims “SignalShare would provide fake or forged invoices for the equipment it allegedly ordered, or provide fictitious serial numbers for items allegedly purchased and installed in the fraudulent contracts. Between May 20, 2014 and May 21, 2015, SignalShare conned NFS into advancing funds on 10 fraudulent lease transactions to the tune of $4.9 million.”
Pennsylvania: LED light supplier Ledvance shutting down their Wellsboro operation, 64 jobs gone by the end of September. Mobilex shutting down their Horsham location, 63 jobs gone by the end of September.
Utah: IM Flash (a joint venture between California’s Intel and Idaho’s Micron) eliminating 130 jobs in Lehi! It’s blamed on crashing sales in the flash memory market.
Washington: Redmond based Microsoft announced it will eliminate 2-thousand 8-hundred jobs connected to smartphone hardware and international sales! It was also revealed in SEC documents that Microsoft eliminated 1-thousand 850 jobs in connection to its take over of Finland based Nokia, which Microsoft administration now calls a mistake! The take-over ‘mistake’ cost Microsoft at least $7.6-billion USD! Seattle based ‘cloud’ company Socrata laid off 19 people and eliminated 10 vacant jobs. It’s part of their Government 500 plan to focus sales on tax sucking federal, state and local governments.
June 2016: “IT’S LIKE A NEVER-ENDING FUNERAL.”
WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification
Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed