EmploymentSpectator

Travel Industry Expects to Pick up Jobs Next Year

joshua — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:38:02 +0000

The travel industry has been hit hard by the global recession, with domestic job losses for the last two years of around 400,000. That may be behind us, according to some industry analysts. Leisure and business travel as well as overseas tourism is expected to pick up again in 2010 and may lead to as many as 90,000 new jobs in the industry.

Foreign travel to the US is expected to increase by about three percent, but two thirds of that will come from Mexico and Canada. This tempers some of the anticipated gains because visitors from overseas generally spend more money while in country than do our neighbors to the north and south.

Temp Jobs up in October

joshua — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:00:38 +0000

The number of temp jobs jumped up last month, rising by 34,000 jobs. Although overall unemployment also went up, analysts are hailing the increase of temp jobs as the first step towards a turn around in the job market. Temp jobs have historically been the first sector to work its way out of the dumps during a recovery. This optimism is buoyed by the news that temp jobs in manufacturing also increased, by increases in manufacturing tend to lead to increases in retail, customer service and call center jobs as more products hit the marketplace.

US Jobless Rate Hits 10%

joshua — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:29:51 +0000

The national unemployment rate moved up another .4 percent in October to a 25 year high of 10.2 percent. Employers cut more jobs than forecast, nudging the number up further than had been expected. Construction and manufacturing jobs continue to show the largest declines.

The news isn’t all grim, however. The rate of new unemployment claims continues to slow, with the week ending October 31 showing the fewest new claims since January 3rd. The economy expanded in the 3rd quarter for the first time in over a year.

The news comes on the heels of congressional approval of another 20 week extension of unemployment benefits.

Time Inc. Begins Rolling Out Layoffs

todd — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:09:48 +0000

Time Inc. has just begun what will be a major series of layoffs. Around 15 to 20 sales and marketing employees were laid off from Time Inc.’s news group. Most of the layoffs are reported to have come from Sports Illustrated.

This is just the tip of the ice berg as a Time Inc. is expected to confirm rumors of cutting $100 million in costs. Most of this amount will come from staff cuts.

Between 400 and 500 layoffs are anticipated; most of which will come from the news division of which Time, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated are a part of.

Meetings will take place on Thursday morning to inform employees about the coming layoffs. Every division of Time Inc. will be required to make a certain number of layoffs. Other publications that will be affected by the layoffs are People, InStyle, Real Simple and Cooking Light.

Microsoft Announces Another 800 Layoffs

todd — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:40:16 +0000

Microsoft has announced another 800 layoffs to take place internationally. According to the company, the layoffs are coming due to a decrease in demand for its products. This year marks the first large-scale set of redundancies for the software giant.

Earlier this year, Steve Ballmer, chief executive for Microsoft, stated that the company would be slashing “up to” 5,000 jobs this year. This latest announcement takes them past that initial estimate.

In recent fiscal reports, the company has shown a decrease in profits and revenues.

Some are speculating that the most recent round of layoffs are due to the same mobile tech-related issues the company cited for January cuts.

West Pharmaceuticals Planning to Eliminate 100 Jobs

joshua — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:51:54 +0000

Following lower than expected third quarter profits, West Pharmaceuticals announced that it will cut about 100 jobs and reevaluate “certain businesses and initiatives”. 3rd quarter earnings were 50 cents per share instead of the 53 cents per share anticipated by analysts. Currently, the Pennsylvania based company employs about 6300 people.

West Pharmaceuticals manufactures pharmaceutical packaging and delivery systems. The company was founded in 1923 in Philadelphia.

Nokia Siemens Cutting 5700 Jobs

joshua — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:37:14 +0000

Telecommunications equipment supplier Nokia Siemens Networks has announced a cost cutting plan that includes the elimination of 5,700 jobs world wide. The company operates in 150 countries and says that the job cuts will be evenly spread throughout its operations, but no further details were given.

Nokia Siemens Networks was created as the result of a joint venture between Siemens AG’s COM division and Nokia’s Network Business Group in 2006. It has major manufacturing operations in Finland, Poland, Germany, China and India, and other operations globally.

Johnson & Johnson Cutting 8000 Jobs

joshua — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:35:24 +0000

Consumer health giant Johnson & Johnsonannounced today that it is cutting 8000 jobs worldwide as part of a cost saving plan. The cuts represet six to seven percent of its total workforce. The company, which is based in New Jersey, has not yet provided specifics on where the job cuts will take place but they are targeted at eliminating layers of management.

Johnson & Johnson was founded in 1886 and employs nearly 120,000 people around the world.

Berkshire Hathaway Buying Burlington Northern Railroad

joshua — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:13:06 +0000

Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway is poised to spend $34 Billion to buy out Burlington Northern Railroad, making it the company’s largest ever acquisition. The deal has been approved by the board of directors of both companies, but will still have to clear a 2/3rds vote of Burlington’s shareholders and antitrust laws.

There is no news yet of how this will effect Burlington employees, but Buffet is making a huge bet on the American economy. Burlington is the nation’s biggest hauler of bulk food items like corn and coal for electricity, as well as being a major shipper of consumer goods from the nations ports. Buying Burlington is betting that there will be a steady market for these goods, and that will only happen if the job market picks up again.

Palziv to Open Facility in North Carolina, 72 Jobs on the Way

joshua — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:28:51 +0000

Palziv, an Israeli foam manufacturing company, is investing nearly $8 million into a North American headquarters and manufacturing facility to be located in Franklin County, North Carolina. 72 jobs, paying an average of $34, 167 plus benefits will be created. The facility, which is being built with help from the One North Carolina Fund, will produce cross-linked foam blocks and rolls from polyethylene pellets for packaging, insulation, toys, prosthetics and other products.