www.jobberz.com
Economist sees more job losses coming
Friday, December 12, 2008 By Chris KnapeThe Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- Recovery from the recession may come more slowly than in the past, although West Michigan is better positioned to move forward than the rest of the state and some other areas of the nation.
That was the assessment of economist George Erickcek, of the Kalamazoo-based W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, during his annual forecast speech for The Right Place Inc. on Thursday.
He discouraged people from looking from at distressed financial markets simply as markets.
"You should look at them as a system," Erickcek said. "If a truck jackknifed on Int. 96, it doesn't matter if you're driving a Chevette or a Lexus, you're stuck."
He said 2009 is likely to see a 2.4 percent decline in employment in the Grand Rapids area after a flat 2008.
Erickcek forecasts a very small increase in 2010. Goods-producing jobs are expected to take the biggest hit, while service and government jobs are expected to be down slightly.
The outlook for the broader region, including Holland and Muskegon, showed similar overall expectations.
"Flat is good," he said, dryly.
Erickcek expects a timid goods-producing job rebound when the recession ends, likening it to the "job-loss" recovery the nation saw after the 2000 recession.
His forecast also suggested now is not a good time to start a business.
The silver lining is it could be worse. West Michigan's relatively steady downturn has been far less dramatic than the state's as a whole.
Meanwhile, the Grand Rapids area was the leader among 12 communities Erickcek compared in terms of job creation as a percentage of total employment.
"Grand Rapids is keeping pace with manufacturing job loss with the rest of the nation," he said.
"We are separate from the rest of the state. It's hard to make people see that, but we are."
Nevertheless, West Michigan's positive news is much harder to sell to companies whose first look at the state includes the far more dismal employment outlook on the east side of the state.
"If this forecast holds true, and let's hope we're wrong, that means 10 straight years of employment declines in our state," Erickcek said.
"When people outside the state look at the numbers, they see a state in decline. That has to make economic development much more difficult in West Michigan."
Friday, December 19, 2008
StoryText SizeMich. Nov. Unemployment Rises To 9.6 %
www.jobberz.com
POSTED: Wednesday, December 17, 2008
UPDATED: 11:41 am EST December 18, 2008
LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan's unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent in November, the highest monthly rate since March 1992, state officials said Wednesday.
The November rate was three-tenths of a percentage point higher than in October.
The Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth said total employment fell by 35,000 and unemployment rose by 16,000, as the labor force continued to contract.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 2.2 percentage points higher than in November 2007, generally following a national trend of rising unemployment. Michigan's jobless rate remained higher than the national unemployment rate, which was 6.7 percent last month.
State officials attribute the labor market's deterioration to fallout from the national recession.
Total employment in Michigan has fallen every month since January. November also marked the fifth straight month of payoll job reductions in the state. About 103,000 jobs were lost in those five months, representing 90 percent of the state's over-the-year losses.
The only major industry in Michigan to see job gains in the last year was education and health services, gaining 12,000 jobs.
Manufacturing lost 38,000 jobs since November 2007, while trade, transportation and utilities lost 21,000 jobs and the construction sector lost 17,000 jobs.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
POSTED: Wednesday, December 17, 2008
UPDATED: 11:41 am EST December 18, 2008
LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan's unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent in November, the highest monthly rate since March 1992, state officials said Wednesday.
The November rate was three-tenths of a percentage point higher than in October.
The Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth said total employment fell by 35,000 and unemployment rose by 16,000, as the labor force continued to contract.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 2.2 percentage points higher than in November 2007, generally following a national trend of rising unemployment. Michigan's jobless rate remained higher than the national unemployment rate, which was 6.7 percent last month.
State officials attribute the labor market's deterioration to fallout from the national recession.
Total employment in Michigan has fallen every month since January. November also marked the fifth straight month of payoll job reductions in the state. About 103,000 jobs were lost in those five months, representing 90 percent of the state's over-the-year losses.
The only major industry in Michigan to see job gains in the last year was education and health services, gaining 12,000 jobs.
Manufacturing lost 38,000 jobs since November 2007, while trade, transportation and utilities lost 21,000 jobs and the construction sector lost 17,000 jobs.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Web site marketplace for low-cost services
Web site marketplace for low-cost services
Repairmen, caterers, small companies, others listed on Jobberz.com, many without paying fee.
Neal Haldane / Special to The Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081204/BIZ04/812040363/1001/BIZ
ROCHESTER HILLS -- When Jim Bartlett started seeking customers for his computer repair business three years ago, he needed help. Help came in the form of a free Web site called Jobberz.com.
"I found it somewhere on the Net and I had just gone into business for myself," said Bartlett, who operates TeK NuTZ I.T. of Oxford. "It was free, local and right what I needed. It was only a matter of putting my information up there."
That first year, about $12,000 of his $15,000 in revenues came from Jobberz.com referrals. Today, Bartlett's residential and commercial computer service business is booming. In fact, with so much business, Bartlett said he doesn't even need his Jobberz.com listing.
Bartlett's firm was one of the first to sign on when Shawn Hanaee started Jobberz.com after finding out how much it cost for professionals to remodel his Oakland County condo. At the same time, a friend of the family had been laid off and was looking for side jobs to bring in some money.
So Hanaee created Jobberz.com to link people who want to earn some cash on the side with those seeking handymen (the most demanded category), electricians, painters and others to do work. He taught himself Web site creation and launched it in 2005.
"The whole goal for me was to help people find people and get connected with each other," said Hanaee, who has his own full-time job with Sprint. "Everyone is looking to make extra money doing side jobs."
ZCD Transportation of Rochester Hills has used Jobberz.com for about a year. Christi Palmer says the firm receives a lot of referrals from the site, which has been a particularly effective way to market its nonemergency transportation service for people who need rides to doctor appointments, therapy sessions and dialysis treatments.
Hanaee said he pays about $130 a month to host the site and spends his spare time keeping Jobberz.com up and running. Hanaee keeps close tabs on the listings, removes telemarketers and get-rich schemers from the site, and relies on Jobberz.com to find people to fix up his own home. For example, he found someone to repair sprinkler heads in his yard for $125 instead of the $400 a company was going to charge.
The first three ads are free but Jobberz.com does charge for additional listings and for those who add photos or want more prominent placement on the site. Most listings are from Michigan, but people from California, New Jersey, Nevada and even Hawaii advertise on the site.
"I want to allow it to grow," he said. "I'm one guy doing this. I want to take this to the next level. My goal is to have it get big -- like MySpace big."
Neal Haldane is a Metro Detroit freelance writer.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081204/BIZ04/812040363/1001/BIZ
Repairmen, caterers, small companies, others listed on Jobberz.com, many without paying fee.
Neal Haldane / Special to The Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081204/BIZ04/812040363/1001/BIZ
ROCHESTER HILLS -- When Jim Bartlett started seeking customers for his computer repair business three years ago, he needed help. Help came in the form of a free Web site called Jobberz.com.
"I found it somewhere on the Net and I had just gone into business for myself," said Bartlett, who operates TeK NuTZ I.T. of Oxford. "It was free, local and right what I needed. It was only a matter of putting my information up there."
That first year, about $12,000 of his $15,000 in revenues came from Jobberz.com referrals. Today, Bartlett's residential and commercial computer service business is booming. In fact, with so much business, Bartlett said he doesn't even need his Jobberz.com listing.
Bartlett's firm was one of the first to sign on when Shawn Hanaee started Jobberz.com after finding out how much it cost for professionals to remodel his Oakland County condo. At the same time, a friend of the family had been laid off and was looking for side jobs to bring in some money.
So Hanaee created Jobberz.com to link people who want to earn some cash on the side with those seeking handymen (the most demanded category), electricians, painters and others to do work. He taught himself Web site creation and launched it in 2005.
"The whole goal for me was to help people find people and get connected with each other," said Hanaee, who has his own full-time job with Sprint. "Everyone is looking to make extra money doing side jobs."
ZCD Transportation of Rochester Hills has used Jobberz.com for about a year. Christi Palmer says the firm receives a lot of referrals from the site, which has been a particularly effective way to market its nonemergency transportation service for people who need rides to doctor appointments, therapy sessions and dialysis treatments.
Hanaee said he pays about $130 a month to host the site and spends his spare time keeping Jobberz.com up and running. Hanaee keeps close tabs on the listings, removes telemarketers and get-rich schemers from the site, and relies on Jobberz.com to find people to fix up his own home. For example, he found someone to repair sprinkler heads in his yard for $125 instead of the $400 a company was going to charge.
The first three ads are free but Jobberz.com does charge for additional listings and for those who add photos or want more prominent placement on the site. Most listings are from Michigan, but people from California, New Jersey, Nevada and even Hawaii advertise on the site.
"I want to allow it to grow," he said. "I'm one guy doing this. I want to take this to the next level. My goal is to have it get big -- like MySpace big."
Neal Haldane is a Metro Detroit freelance writer.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081204/BIZ04/812040363/1001/BIZ
Friday, November 21, 2008
GM announces more production cuts in North America
www.jobberz.com
Robert Snell / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. is telling workers this morning it will make further production cuts at several factories, according to people briefed on the discussions.
GM announced it will shut down plants in Orion Township, Oshawa, Ont., and Lordstown, Ohio, for an additional week in January and reinstate a week-long shutdown in Wentzville, Mo., in December.
The Detroit automaker also moved up a temporary week-long shutdown in January at its plant in Kansas City that makes the Chevrolet Malibu and Saturn Aura and said it will stop operations at its Oshawa truck plant in May 2009, about two months earlier than previously announced.
GM has announced thousands of factory layoffs so far this year and is cutting its salaried staff in order to pare expenses and conserve cash.
"The impetus really is the extreme unpredictability in the market right now," GM spokesman Chris Lee said. "In some cases, we are adjusting our plant production schedules more frequently to respond to the market than we ever have in the past."
Dave Green, president of UAW Local 1714 in Lordstown, Ohio, said workers were told at 8 a.m. that the plant would be shut down for an extra week Jan. 5. Along with previously announced shutdowns, the plant, which employs about 5,000 workers who make the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5, will be shut down from Dec. 23 until Jan. 20.
Cobalt sales were down 62 percent last month compared to a year ago and G5 sales were off 69 percent.
When the plant reopens, about 130 workers will be laid off, and the rate of production will be slowed, said Green, adding that workers were bracing for deeper cuts.
"It's almost a bit of a relief," he said. "It could have been worse. Don't be sorry for us, go buy a Cobalt."
In other moves, GM will reinstate scheduled overtime at its plants in Delta Township, Spring Hill, Tenn., Arlington, Texas., and Ft. Wayne, Ind. The automaker also will slow the speed of its production line at the Kansas City plant earlier than previously announced. The change in production speed will happen Jan. 20 instead of the first week of February.
The new cuts come as GM tries to boost its cash reserves and pursues a piece of $25 billion in federal aid after warning it might not have enough money to meet minimum funding requirements early in 2009.
On Thursday, congressional leaders asked Detroit's Big Three automakers to present a plan by Dec. 2 for restructuring their businesses and how they would spend $25 billion in government loans.
GM has lost about $73 million since 2004, including more than $20 billion this year, and suffered a 45.1 percent sales decline last month, its worst since the end of World War II, when adjusted for population growth.
The automaker outlined a plan in July to increase liquidity by $15 billion, and earlier this month announced an additional $5 billion in cost savings, including more job cuts.
The automaker ran through $6.9 billion in the third quarter, leaving it with $16.2 billion in cash, securities and readily available assets, down from $21 billion at the end of June.
The cash problem forced GM this month to halt talks to acquire rival Chrysler LLC from private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Robert Snell / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. is telling workers this morning it will make further production cuts at several factories, according to people briefed on the discussions.
GM announced it will shut down plants in Orion Township, Oshawa, Ont., and Lordstown, Ohio, for an additional week in January and reinstate a week-long shutdown in Wentzville, Mo., in December.
The Detroit automaker also moved up a temporary week-long shutdown in January at its plant in Kansas City that makes the Chevrolet Malibu and Saturn Aura and said it will stop operations at its Oshawa truck plant in May 2009, about two months earlier than previously announced.
GM has announced thousands of factory layoffs so far this year and is cutting its salaried staff in order to pare expenses and conserve cash.
"The impetus really is the extreme unpredictability in the market right now," GM spokesman Chris Lee said. "In some cases, we are adjusting our plant production schedules more frequently to respond to the market than we ever have in the past."
Dave Green, president of UAW Local 1714 in Lordstown, Ohio, said workers were told at 8 a.m. that the plant would be shut down for an extra week Jan. 5. Along with previously announced shutdowns, the plant, which employs about 5,000 workers who make the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5, will be shut down from Dec. 23 until Jan. 20.
Cobalt sales were down 62 percent last month compared to a year ago and G5 sales were off 69 percent.
When the plant reopens, about 130 workers will be laid off, and the rate of production will be slowed, said Green, adding that workers were bracing for deeper cuts.
"It's almost a bit of a relief," he said. "It could have been worse. Don't be sorry for us, go buy a Cobalt."
In other moves, GM will reinstate scheduled overtime at its plants in Delta Township, Spring Hill, Tenn., Arlington, Texas., and Ft. Wayne, Ind. The automaker also will slow the speed of its production line at the Kansas City plant earlier than previously announced. The change in production speed will happen Jan. 20 instead of the first week of February.
The new cuts come as GM tries to boost its cash reserves and pursues a piece of $25 billion in federal aid after warning it might not have enough money to meet minimum funding requirements early in 2009.
On Thursday, congressional leaders asked Detroit's Big Three automakers to present a plan by Dec. 2 for restructuring their businesses and how they would spend $25 billion in government loans.
GM has lost about $73 million since 2004, including more than $20 billion this year, and suffered a 45.1 percent sales decline last month, its worst since the end of World War II, when adjusted for population growth.
The automaker outlined a plan in July to increase liquidity by $15 billion, and earlier this month announced an additional $5 billion in cost savings, including more job cuts.
The automaker ran through $6.9 billion in the third quarter, leaving it with $16.2 billion in cash, securities and readily available assets, down from $21 billion at the end of June.
The cash problem forced GM this month to halt talks to acquire rival Chrysler LLC from private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Gettelfinger: Jobs bank 'almost gone'
http://www.jobberz.com/
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
Reports that the United Auto Workers union is in talks to dismantle the controversial jobs bank program are premature, according to people familiar with the situation.
The possibility of more concessions from the union has emerged as Detroit's Big Three automakers are seeking $25 billion in emergency loans from the federal government as they burn through cash amid plunging car and truck sales.
Congress this week rebuffed proposals to give the automakers aid through the $700 billion Wall Street rescue package or by easing restrictions on $25 billion in loans through the Energy Department, a program that was funded in September, to allow the companies to use the money for immediate needs rather than solely to retool plants to make more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The companies could still get the aid, but they have to present Congress with a plan by Dec. 2 showing how they can become financially viable and how they would spend the loan money.
That could include negotiating additional concessions from the UAW, and sources at both Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. say they have been talking to the union throughout the hearing process as part of their ongoing negotiations.
The automakers and the union have not specifically discussed eliminating the jobs bank, a source familiar with the situation said.
GM anticipates that the future of the jobs bank will be part of its ongoing talks with the union as the company seeks additional ways to cut costs.
As The Detroit News reported Thursday, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said that the jobs bank wasn't a major factor anymore because the number of workers in it had whittled down significantly under provisions of the labor agreement reached with the auto companies last year.
Gettelfinger said the jobs bank has been reorganized (which pays workers 95 percent of their wage while on layoff), adding that Ford has taken 40,000 workers out since 2005 and GM has removed about 47,000. Currently, Chrysler has 711 workers in the jobs bank, GM has 1,404 and Ford has 1,476.
"It's not gone yet but it's almost gone," Gettelfinger said. "We're on the verge of eliminating that provision." And new language in the 2007 contract stripped it to a "mere shadow of what it used to be."
While the specific provisions vary from company to company, idled union members now have a limited number of times they can reject offers of work at other facilities before losing their jobs. Company sources said these provisions would have allowed them to eliminate all or most of the workers still in their jobs banks by now, were it not for a dramatic drop in car and truck sales that has forced each of the automakers to cut production and idle more workers.
Gettelfinger testified on Capitol Hill this week alongside the chief executive officers of Detroit's Big Three. He said that the union continues to talk to the automakers and has worked with them in recent years to reduce costs by agreeing to a range of concessions on health care, wages, factory work rules and other issues in recent years, including as part of last year's labor talks on new national contracts.
Eliminating the program entirely would be a tough sell for Gettelfinger, who is unlikely to support any change that would put these workers out on the street. Additional buyouts remain an option, but the idea of nearly bankrupt automakers paying idled workers to leave is also likely to draw sharp criticism from some in Congress.
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
Reports that the United Auto Workers union is in talks to dismantle the controversial jobs bank program are premature, according to people familiar with the situation.
The possibility of more concessions from the union has emerged as Detroit's Big Three automakers are seeking $25 billion in emergency loans from the federal government as they burn through cash amid plunging car and truck sales.
Congress this week rebuffed proposals to give the automakers aid through the $700 billion Wall Street rescue package or by easing restrictions on $25 billion in loans through the Energy Department, a program that was funded in September, to allow the companies to use the money for immediate needs rather than solely to retool plants to make more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The companies could still get the aid, but they have to present Congress with a plan by Dec. 2 showing how they can become financially viable and how they would spend the loan money.
That could include negotiating additional concessions from the UAW, and sources at both Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. say they have been talking to the union throughout the hearing process as part of their ongoing negotiations.
The automakers and the union have not specifically discussed eliminating the jobs bank, a source familiar with the situation said.
GM anticipates that the future of the jobs bank will be part of its ongoing talks with the union as the company seeks additional ways to cut costs.
As The Detroit News reported Thursday, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said that the jobs bank wasn't a major factor anymore because the number of workers in it had whittled down significantly under provisions of the labor agreement reached with the auto companies last year.
Gettelfinger said the jobs bank has been reorganized (which pays workers 95 percent of their wage while on layoff), adding that Ford has taken 40,000 workers out since 2005 and GM has removed about 47,000. Currently, Chrysler has 711 workers in the jobs bank, GM has 1,404 and Ford has 1,476.
"It's not gone yet but it's almost gone," Gettelfinger said. "We're on the verge of eliminating that provision." And new language in the 2007 contract stripped it to a "mere shadow of what it used to be."
While the specific provisions vary from company to company, idled union members now have a limited number of times they can reject offers of work at other facilities before losing their jobs. Company sources said these provisions would have allowed them to eliminate all or most of the workers still in their jobs banks by now, were it not for a dramatic drop in car and truck sales that has forced each of the automakers to cut production and idle more workers.
Gettelfinger testified on Capitol Hill this week alongside the chief executive officers of Detroit's Big Three. He said that the union continues to talk to the automakers and has worked with them in recent years to reduce costs by agreeing to a range of concessions on health care, wages, factory work rules and other issues in recent years, including as part of last year's labor talks on new national contracts.
Eliminating the program entirely would be a tough sell for Gettelfinger, who is unlikely to support any change that would put these workers out on the street. Additional buyouts remain an option, but the idea of nearly bankrupt automakers paying idled workers to leave is also likely to draw sharp criticism from some in Congress.
Michigan to lose more than 100,000 jobs next year, say U-M forecasters
www.jobberz.com
Jaclyn Trop / The Detroit News
ANN ARBOR -- Michigan will lose even more jobs in 2009 than the 81,000-plus that have vanished already this year, and won't see an gains in hiring until sometime in 2011, according to a new economic forecast released today.
A total of 108,000 jobs will be lost next year in the state, according to a survey released today by economists at the University of Michigan's Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics. They predict state unemployment will exceed 10 percent in each of the next two years -- the highest rate since 1984. And while the economists expect some form of a government-approved rescue package for Detroit's Big Three automakers, they forecast that by 2010 the auto industry will employ less than a third of the workers it had a decade earlier.
The nationwide economic recession coupled with the precarious position of the Big Three automakers is a "troublesome gateway to the year ahead," according to U-M economist George Fulton.
"The potential consequences of myriad alternatives are impossible to predict at this point, but none of them is any good fro Michigan," Fulton said. "The hard times are here to stay."
The first half of 2009 will be especially rough for the already suffering auto, construction and retail sectors. Fulton and colleague Joan Crary forecast that the state will lose 53,000 manufacturing jobs next year and another 24,000 in 2010, with about two-thirds coming from the auto industry. Michigan already has lost 74,000 manufacturing jobs during the past two years.
After enduring an eight-year stretch of job losses tracing back to mid-2000, the state economy now faces the confluence of a U.S. economy in recession and the very real fear of bankruptcy among major players in its core industry: domestic automobile manufactures, Fulton added.
Fulton and Crary made the presentation during a two-day economic outlook session attended by more than 200 academics and analysts.
They said, though, that a surprising number of small, non-auto-related businesses continued to grow. They include agriculture and chemical and medical businesses. In fact, education and health services -- the only industry sector expected to see employment gains -- will gain 22,000 jobs during the next years, they said.
Although the economists said they expect 2010 will be "much better" than 2009, modest job gains aren't expected across the board in the state until sometime in 2011.
Jaclyn Trop / The Detroit News
ANN ARBOR -- Michigan will lose even more jobs in 2009 than the 81,000-plus that have vanished already this year, and won't see an gains in hiring until sometime in 2011, according to a new economic forecast released today.
A total of 108,000 jobs will be lost next year in the state, according to a survey released today by economists at the University of Michigan's Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics. They predict state unemployment will exceed 10 percent in each of the next two years -- the highest rate since 1984. And while the economists expect some form of a government-approved rescue package for Detroit's Big Three automakers, they forecast that by 2010 the auto industry will employ less than a third of the workers it had a decade earlier.
The nationwide economic recession coupled with the precarious position of the Big Three automakers is a "troublesome gateway to the year ahead," according to U-M economist George Fulton.
"The potential consequences of myriad alternatives are impossible to predict at this point, but none of them is any good fro Michigan," Fulton said. "The hard times are here to stay."
The first half of 2009 will be especially rough for the already suffering auto, construction and retail sectors. Fulton and colleague Joan Crary forecast that the state will lose 53,000 manufacturing jobs next year and another 24,000 in 2010, with about two-thirds coming from the auto industry. Michigan already has lost 74,000 manufacturing jobs during the past two years.
After enduring an eight-year stretch of job losses tracing back to mid-2000, the state economy now faces the confluence of a U.S. economy in recession and the very real fear of bankruptcy among major players in its core industry: domestic automobile manufactures, Fulton added.
Fulton and Crary made the presentation during a two-day economic outlook session attended by more than 200 academics and analysts.
They said, though, that a surprising number of small, non-auto-related businesses continued to grow. They include agriculture and chemical and medical businesses. In fact, education and health services -- the only industry sector expected to see employment gains -- will gain 22,000 jobs during the next years, they said.
Although the economists said they expect 2010 will be "much better" than 2009, modest job gains aren't expected across the board in the state until sometime in 2011.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
GM-Chrysler deal to mean big job cuts
www.jobberz.com
GM-Chrysler deal to mean big job cuts
Closing of facilities also is expected
BY TIM HIGGINS • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER • October 29, 2008
Progress is being made in merger talks between GM and Chrysler owner Cerberus Capital Management, the Free Press was told Wednesday, but some issues remain. As reported earlier, financing of the deal is keeping it from occurring.
GM is pushing the federal government for some sort of assistance, including $10 billion in aid, while Cerberus is said to be continuing talks with another suitor, Renault-Nissan, about a potential deal, hoping to have some resolution within two to three weeks -- if not sooner.
It's believed Cerberus prefers a deal with GM, which could give the private equity firm a larger stake in GM's financing arm, GMAC. GM's stock surged Wednesday 8.2% on reports that GM and Cerberus had resolved some issues keeping them from a deal.
The U.S. Energy Department is working on temporary rules for the $25-billion loan program that could be completed as soon as next week. The Bush administration is considering setting up a $5-billion loan from that fund for GM.
In Michigan, up to 25,000 jobs could be cut because of a merger, including up to 10,000 hourly jobs and up to 15,000 white-collar jobs, said Patrick Anderson, chief executive officer of Anderson Economic Group. Outside Michigan, he estimated, up to 15,000 more factory jobs could be cut. He predicted 10 production facilities, including three in Michigan, would be closed.
"Michigan would be the most affected state in the country by far," he said. "We have by far the largest concentration of managerial and technical employment. An unavoidable effect of the merger is the combination of many managerial, technical functions between Chrysler and General Motors and that will mean the reduction in a good number of well-paid, professional jobs."
Analysts have predicted a merger would mean thousands of job cuts as GM rushes to eliminate duplicated functions. Other analysts have said the merger could mean 30,000 job cuts.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm and her office are preparing for a merger in case it occurs, aiming to have a rapid response ready to go if something occurs similar to what the state had for when Pfizer announced big job cuts in Ann Arbor. "We're looking at this from a SWAT team approach," Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said. "We're looking at what can and what will we be able to do immediately to help people and communities, what will we be able to do in the short term and what will we be able to do in the long term."
GM sees the potential for cost savings in a merger with Chrysler and is eyeing the smaller automaker's supposed cash. While Chrysler has indicated losses of more than $1 billion during the first half of this year, the automaker has said it ended June with $11.7 billion in cash.
GM is burning through more than $1 billion in cash a month and analysts have predicted the company could run out sometime next year.
The two companies, independently, have been taking steps to save money and reduce spending. Chrysler, for example, announced last week it would eliminate about 5,000 white-collar jobs on top of the 29,000 it already has marked for elimination.
Contact TIM HIGGINS at 313-222-8784 or thiggins@freepress.com. Business writer Justin Hyde contributed to this report.
GM-Chrysler deal to mean big job cuts
Closing of facilities also is expected
BY TIM HIGGINS • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER • October 29, 2008
Progress is being made in merger talks between GM and Chrysler owner Cerberus Capital Management, the Free Press was told Wednesday, but some issues remain. As reported earlier, financing of the deal is keeping it from occurring.
GM is pushing the federal government for some sort of assistance, including $10 billion in aid, while Cerberus is said to be continuing talks with another suitor, Renault-Nissan, about a potential deal, hoping to have some resolution within two to three weeks -- if not sooner.
It's believed Cerberus prefers a deal with GM, which could give the private equity firm a larger stake in GM's financing arm, GMAC. GM's stock surged Wednesday 8.2% on reports that GM and Cerberus had resolved some issues keeping them from a deal.
The U.S. Energy Department is working on temporary rules for the $25-billion loan program that could be completed as soon as next week. The Bush administration is considering setting up a $5-billion loan from that fund for GM.
In Michigan, up to 25,000 jobs could be cut because of a merger, including up to 10,000 hourly jobs and up to 15,000 white-collar jobs, said Patrick Anderson, chief executive officer of Anderson Economic Group. Outside Michigan, he estimated, up to 15,000 more factory jobs could be cut. He predicted 10 production facilities, including three in Michigan, would be closed.
"Michigan would be the most affected state in the country by far," he said. "We have by far the largest concentration of managerial and technical employment. An unavoidable effect of the merger is the combination of many managerial, technical functions between Chrysler and General Motors and that will mean the reduction in a good number of well-paid, professional jobs."
Analysts have predicted a merger would mean thousands of job cuts as GM rushes to eliminate duplicated functions. Other analysts have said the merger could mean 30,000 job cuts.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm and her office are preparing for a merger in case it occurs, aiming to have a rapid response ready to go if something occurs similar to what the state had for when Pfizer announced big job cuts in Ann Arbor. "We're looking at this from a SWAT team approach," Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said. "We're looking at what can and what will we be able to do immediately to help people and communities, what will we be able to do in the short term and what will we be able to do in the long term."
GM sees the potential for cost savings in a merger with Chrysler and is eyeing the smaller automaker's supposed cash. While Chrysler has indicated losses of more than $1 billion during the first half of this year, the automaker has said it ended June with $11.7 billion in cash.
GM is burning through more than $1 billion in cash a month and analysts have predicted the company could run out sometime next year.
The two companies, independently, have been taking steps to save money and reduce spending. Chrysler, for example, announced last week it would eliminate about 5,000 white-collar jobs on top of the 29,000 it already has marked for elimination.
Contact TIM HIGGINS at 313-222-8784 or thiggins@freepress.com. Business writer Justin Hyde contributed to this report.
Former Mexican president: Get over Michigan job losses
www.jobberz.com
Former Mexican president: Get over Michigan job losses
Ron French / The Detroit News
Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico, isn't a shy man. He calls President Bush the "cockiest" politician he's ever met; he talks glowingly of John McCain and less so of Barack Obama. And, he has a message for Michigan factory workers who have lost their jobs.
Get over it.
Those jobs aren't coming back, and Michigan should focus instead on the high-tech and service industries.
"In the end, Michigan factories have to compete with factories in Mexico and China," Fox said in a telephone interview Thursday. "Companies like General Motors and Ford and Maytag don't have an option. They either close the doors and fire their workers, or they move where they can gain economic competitiveness."
Fox, an outspoken critic of U.S. immigration policies and the person most identified with American jobs moving across the border, will speak at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the Community Arts Auditorium at Wayne State University.
Fox's speech and a question-and-answer session afterward are free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Tickets can be reserved by calling (313) 577-5550 or on-line at www.focis.wayne.edu.
The president of Mexico from 2000-2006, Fox has promoted a North American Union similar to that of the European Union, with a single currency.
Fox argues Americans helped create economic policies such as NAFTA that moved jobs to Mexico, and now are complaining about it, even though the United States continues to benefit.
"As long as you have salaries of $15 to $20 an hour, you will keep losing jobs to economies that pay $5 an hour," Fox said. "This great nation of the United States has to understand that the way we opened our markets, was to learn how to compete. Now that we have learned how to compete, the leaders of the United States is building walls. That's a big, big mistake. We should be building bridges, building opportunities.
"The loss of manufacturing jobs is a problem not only of Michigan but of the United States, and is a product of the new economy," Fox said. "(But) you cannot look at it from an individual perspective. That's the way General Motors, Ford and Chrysler were able to compete. That is good for the Michigan economy and also good for Mexico."
Fox's biography, "Revolution of Hope," offers a less-than-glowing impression of President George W. Bush. Fox and Bush, the former Governor of Texas, were close allies when the two men came into office in 2000, but relations turned frosty after Fox rebuffed Bush's request to support the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Fox calls Bush a "windshield cowboy" and mocks his "grade-school Spanish."
The former president made it clear who he favors in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Fox said his views are more in line with those of McCain, the Republican nominee. "What I see with McCain is experience," Fox said.
You can reach Ron French at (313) 222-2175 or rfrench@detnews.com.
Former Mexican president: Get over Michigan job losses
Ron French / The Detroit News
Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico, isn't a shy man. He calls President Bush the "cockiest" politician he's ever met; he talks glowingly of John McCain and less so of Barack Obama. And, he has a message for Michigan factory workers who have lost their jobs.
Get over it.
Those jobs aren't coming back, and Michigan should focus instead on the high-tech and service industries.
"In the end, Michigan factories have to compete with factories in Mexico and China," Fox said in a telephone interview Thursday. "Companies like General Motors and Ford and Maytag don't have an option. They either close the doors and fire their workers, or they move where they can gain economic competitiveness."
Fox, an outspoken critic of U.S. immigration policies and the person most identified with American jobs moving across the border, will speak at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the Community Arts Auditorium at Wayne State University.
Fox's speech and a question-and-answer session afterward are free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Tickets can be reserved by calling (313) 577-5550 or on-line at www.focis.wayne.edu.
The president of Mexico from 2000-2006, Fox has promoted a North American Union similar to that of the European Union, with a single currency.
Fox argues Americans helped create economic policies such as NAFTA that moved jobs to Mexico, and now are complaining about it, even though the United States continues to benefit.
"As long as you have salaries of $15 to $20 an hour, you will keep losing jobs to economies that pay $5 an hour," Fox said. "This great nation of the United States has to understand that the way we opened our markets, was to learn how to compete. Now that we have learned how to compete, the leaders of the United States is building walls. That's a big, big mistake. We should be building bridges, building opportunities.
"The loss of manufacturing jobs is a problem not only of Michigan but of the United States, and is a product of the new economy," Fox said. "(But) you cannot look at it from an individual perspective. That's the way General Motors, Ford and Chrysler were able to compete. That is good for the Michigan economy and also good for Mexico."
Fox's biography, "Revolution of Hope," offers a less-than-glowing impression of President George W. Bush. Fox and Bush, the former Governor of Texas, were close allies when the two men came into office in 2000, but relations turned frosty after Fox rebuffed Bush's request to support the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Fox calls Bush a "windshield cowboy" and mocks his "grade-school Spanish."
The former president made it clear who he favors in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Fox said his views are more in line with those of McCain, the Republican nominee. "What I see with McCain is experience," Fox said.
You can reach Ron French at (313) 222-2175 or rfrench@detnews.com.
Michigan's job-loss streak is the longest since Great Depression
Check Out www.jobberz.com
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Michigan has endured six straight years of job losses and the next two years will see even more—the longest stretch of employment loss in the state since the Great Depression, say University of Michigan economists.
Since mid-2000 to the end of this year, the state will have lost 336,000 jobs and it will lose another 33,000 jobs in the next two years, they say. Most of these losses are in manufacturing.
Moreover, unemployment in Michigan is projected to rise from an average of 6.8 percent this year to 7.5 percent next year and 7.7 percent in 2008—the highest rates since 1992.
"The Michigan economy is fighting its way through a long stretch of stormy weather, trying to ride out the turbulence generated by the ongoing restructuring among the domestic automakers," said U-M economist George Fulton. "With Big Three market share continuing to decline for 2007 and 2008, auto industry downsizing will not have run its course by mid-2007.
"The Michigan labor market will continue to flounder. Dreary as this outlook may be, we do see some improvement developing over its horizon. By the close of 2008, job growth barely nudges into positive territory."
In their annual forecast of the Michigan economy, Fulton and colleagues Joan Crary and Saul Hymans predict the state will lose 24,000 jobs during 2007 and another 9,000 during 2008—due to heavy job losses in manufacturing.
The state will lose more than 40,000 manufacturing jobs over the course of this year, nearly 30,000 next year and another 24,000 during 2008, they say. The auto industry will account for about 70 percent of these manufacturing job losses.
"The state economy reflects not simply the fortunes of the auto industry as a whole, but in particular, the well-being of the traditional domestic producers, or Big Three—General Motors, Ford and the Chrysler Group," Crary said. "From 2001 to 2005, the Big Three's market share plummeted 7 percentage points. The situation went from bad to worse this year as soaring gasoline prices had consumers tightening their belts and focusing on fuel economy. It now appears that Big Three market share will plunge by nearly 3 percentage points this year."
Despite the continued bleak outlook for manufacturing employment, Michigan's economy will add jobs in other sectors—namely, in services, the forecast shows. After adding more than 20,000 jobs this year, service industries will gain nearly 13,000 jobs during 2007 and just under 17,000 during 2008.
Almost half of these gains will occur in private education and health services, the only major industry to have grown throughout the extended downturn in the Michigan economy. About 40 percent of the additions will come from professional and business services and from leisure and hospitality services over the next two years.
In all, the U-M economists say that in any analysis of Michigan's economic prospects, the "elephant in the room" clearly is the well-being of the Big Three automakers.
"The risks associated with the auto industry remind us of how vulnerable the Michigan economy is to the uncertainties that lately seem to define the domestic companies," Fulton said. "These troubled times in Michigan stress how critical it is for these companies to get their houses in order.
"More to the point, though, these troubled times scream out for a strategy of investing in other activities, activities that show promise in the new economy. The issue is being discussed frequently these days in Michigan, and a fairly compelling argument has been made for investing in a more highly skilled work force and growing the knowledge-based economy. Such a strategy would be in step with the evolving new economy, recognizing that regardless of the fate of the domestic auto industry, we are not going back to the good old days."
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Michigan has endured six straight years of job losses and the next two years will see even more—the longest stretch of employment loss in the state since the Great Depression, say University of Michigan economists.
Since mid-2000 to the end of this year, the state will have lost 336,000 jobs and it will lose another 33,000 jobs in the next two years, they say. Most of these losses are in manufacturing.
Moreover, unemployment in Michigan is projected to rise from an average of 6.8 percent this year to 7.5 percent next year and 7.7 percent in 2008—the highest rates since 1992.
"The Michigan economy is fighting its way through a long stretch of stormy weather, trying to ride out the turbulence generated by the ongoing restructuring among the domestic automakers," said U-M economist George Fulton. "With Big Three market share continuing to decline for 2007 and 2008, auto industry downsizing will not have run its course by mid-2007.
"The Michigan labor market will continue to flounder. Dreary as this outlook may be, we do see some improvement developing over its horizon. By the close of 2008, job growth barely nudges into positive territory."
In their annual forecast of the Michigan economy, Fulton and colleagues Joan Crary and Saul Hymans predict the state will lose 24,000 jobs during 2007 and another 9,000 during 2008—due to heavy job losses in manufacturing.
The state will lose more than 40,000 manufacturing jobs over the course of this year, nearly 30,000 next year and another 24,000 during 2008, they say. The auto industry will account for about 70 percent of these manufacturing job losses.
"The state economy reflects not simply the fortunes of the auto industry as a whole, but in particular, the well-being of the traditional domestic producers, or Big Three—General Motors, Ford and the Chrysler Group," Crary said. "From 2001 to 2005, the Big Three's market share plummeted 7 percentage points. The situation went from bad to worse this year as soaring gasoline prices had consumers tightening their belts and focusing on fuel economy. It now appears that Big Three market share will plunge by nearly 3 percentage points this year."
Despite the continued bleak outlook for manufacturing employment, Michigan's economy will add jobs in other sectors—namely, in services, the forecast shows. After adding more than 20,000 jobs this year, service industries will gain nearly 13,000 jobs during 2007 and just under 17,000 during 2008.
Almost half of these gains will occur in private education and health services, the only major industry to have grown throughout the extended downturn in the Michigan economy. About 40 percent of the additions will come from professional and business services and from leisure and hospitality services over the next two years.
In all, the U-M economists say that in any analysis of Michigan's economic prospects, the "elephant in the room" clearly is the well-being of the Big Three automakers.
"The risks associated with the auto industry remind us of how vulnerable the Michigan economy is to the uncertainties that lately seem to define the domestic companies," Fulton said. "These troubled times in Michigan stress how critical it is for these companies to get their houses in order.
"More to the point, though, these troubled times scream out for a strategy of investing in other activities, activities that show promise in the new economy. The issue is being discussed frequently these days in Michigan, and a fairly compelling argument has been made for investing in a more highly skilled work force and growing the knowledge-based economy. Such a strategy would be in step with the evolving new economy, recognizing that regardless of the fate of the domestic auto industry, we are not going back to the good old days."
Friday, October 17, 2008
GM slashes 1,600 jobs at three US plants
http://www.jobberz.com/
DETROIT, Michigan (AFP) — General Motors will lay off 1,600 workers at three US plants, as it slashes production in the face of a sharp drop off in sales, officials said Thursday.
"Unfortunately we've had a lot of these announcements lately," said GM spokesman Christopher Lee, noting that the automaker said in June it planned to bring production into line with demand.
General Motors has shuttered scores of plants and laid off nearly half its workforce since 2000 as it restructures its business in the face of a steady loss of market share to Asian competitors.
These latest job cuts will not actually come off GM's books immediately because of a labor agreement that requires the company to retrain temporarily laid-off workers.
GM's unionized US workforce stood at 72,000 people in June, down from 133,000 in 2000. Most of the reductions were made through buyouts and attrition.
About 4,500 other jobs cuts have been announced in recent weeks.
The latest cuts will reduce the workforce at GM's truck plant in Pontiac, Michigan to about 1,000 people, said Jim Hall, the bargaining chairman for United Auto Workers union Local 594.
That will halve production of Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks from 55 units to 24 units an hour, Hall told AFP.
About 500 workers at GM's sedan factory in Detroit will be laid off starting January 12, Lee said.
In addition, 400 workers at a two-seat sports car assembly plant in Delaware will be out of work starting December 8.
GM recently announced it is moving up the permanent shutdown of its sport utility vehicle plants in Moraine, Ohio and Janesville, Wisconsin. Both plants produce vehicles that have gone out of fashion with consumers because of the increase in fuel prices.
The automaker also announced plans to permanently close a stamping plant in Grand Rapids, Michigan and reduce production at assembly plants in Detroit and in Wilmington, Delaware, which is one of the few GM assembly plants that builds vehicles for exports.
DETROIT, Michigan (AFP) — General Motors will lay off 1,600 workers at three US plants, as it slashes production in the face of a sharp drop off in sales, officials said Thursday.
"Unfortunately we've had a lot of these announcements lately," said GM spokesman Christopher Lee, noting that the automaker said in June it planned to bring production into line with demand.
General Motors has shuttered scores of plants and laid off nearly half its workforce since 2000 as it restructures its business in the face of a steady loss of market share to Asian competitors.
These latest job cuts will not actually come off GM's books immediately because of a labor agreement that requires the company to retrain temporarily laid-off workers.
GM's unionized US workforce stood at 72,000 people in June, down from 133,000 in 2000. Most of the reductions were made through buyouts and attrition.
About 4,500 other jobs cuts have been announced in recent weeks.
The latest cuts will reduce the workforce at GM's truck plant in Pontiac, Michigan to about 1,000 people, said Jim Hall, the bargaining chairman for United Auto Workers union Local 594.
That will halve production of Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks from 55 units to 24 units an hour, Hall told AFP.
About 500 workers at GM's sedan factory in Detroit will be laid off starting January 12, Lee said.
In addition, 400 workers at a two-seat sports car assembly plant in Delaware will be out of work starting December 8.
GM recently announced it is moving up the permanent shutdown of its sport utility vehicle plants in Moraine, Ohio and Janesville, Wisconsin. Both plants produce vehicles that have gone out of fashion with consumers because of the increase in fuel prices.
The automaker also announced plans to permanently close a stamping plant in Grand Rapids, Michigan and reduce production at assembly plants in Detroit and in Wilmington, Delaware, which is one of the few GM assembly plants that builds vehicles for exports.
job loss 4,000 for AZ construction
www.jobberz.com
Impact is seen in rise of tools at Tucson pawnshops
By Dan Sorenson
arizona daily star
Tradesmen's tools have been piling up at Tucson pawnshops as the construction sector continues to lead the state in job losses.
Construction lost 4,000 jobs statewide in September, the state Commerce Department reported Thursday. In a 13-month streak of job losses, Arizona has lost 39,000 construction jobs since September 2007.
The statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 5.6 percent in August to 5.9 percent in September, the Commerce Department reported.
An eye-level shelf packed with used professional-grade worm-drive Skilsaws at Super Pawn, 4055 E. Speedway, told the construction industry story.
"Before, we couldn't keep them in stock," said sales associate Gilbert Ugalde, gesturing to the long shelf of name-brand pro framer's power saws. Now, there are still that many and more in the back room, said Ugalde, "and that's with 40 percent off."
A check of Super Pawn and other Tucson pawnshops showed most had heavy stocks of building trade tools, from drywaller stilts and paint sprayers to heavy-duty tile saws and electrical generators.
There were several large electrical generators and air compressors at USA Pawn & Jewelry Co., 2904 N. First Ave., but assistant manager Andre Wynn said the business was also getting diamond rings and plasma TVs.
"People are getting desperate right now," Wynn said.
Arizona's 5.9 percent unemployment rate is now just slightly better than the national average of 6.1 percent. In September 2007, Arizona's rate was just 3.8 percent when the national rate was at 4.7 percent.
Retail trade had a particularly bad month in September, losing 4,400 jobs, which the state's Commerce Department attributes to cutbacks in consumer spending.
Looking for work
The 12 computer stations for job-seeking clients were all in use late Thursday morning at Pima County's Kino One-Stop employment center at 2797 E. Ajo Way.
Della Kirts, a 42-year-old licensed practical nurse, was looking for a job in administration or medical billing.
Kirts said she'd been away from hands-on nursing for several years, that she couldn't bring herself to do it after her mother's death three years ago. In the interim, she'd been working with her carpenter boyfriend installing skylights and laminate flooring.
The help with her job search came just in time, said Kirts. With five children, Kirts said, "I can hear Christmas pounding in my ears."
Arizona has lost more than 59,000 jobs so far in 2008. The statewide unemployment rate for the first nine months of 2008 averaged 4.7 percent, a full percentage point higher than the 3.7 percent average rate for the same period in 2007.
Tucson's unemployment rise followed the statewide trend, rising from 5.4 percent in August to 5.6 percent in September, up almost 2 percent since September 2007.
The Phoenix metro area fared only slightly better. The Phoenix area's unemployment rate rose from 5.1 percent unemployed in August to 5.3 percent for September, up 2 percent since September 2007.
Kirts said she really enjoyed working construction, but that work dried up over the last several months and it was time to put her medical-field experience and credentials to work again.
"I came to the end of my funds and I was down at DES (Department of Economic Security) about benefits. They said, 'Come down to the One-Stop.' It's amazing, the services. You just can't walk in and fill out applications (at employers) anymore. And we don't have Wi-Fi" at home, she said.
Help is available
Many services are available at the One-Stop to help people find jobs, said Murney Brown, a workforce development information specialist at the county employment complex.
The computer stations can be used to write and send résumés, search the Web for jobs, even learn how to advance skills with a typing tutor program that provides a certificate of typing speed to show a prospective employer.
The One-Stop also offers one-on-one sessions with job developers, including a specialist who works only with veterans and can connect them with jobs only open to them.
And the services are not just for the unemployed, said Brown.
Brown said that besides helping the unemployed, the One-Stop helps the underemployed and soon-to-be unemployed — like the restaurant and retail workers who have had their hours cut back "so much they can't survive" on what they're bringing home.
Longtime landscaper John Savala, 44, said he'd worked many jobs — dishwasher, breakfast cook, torch cutter, roofing truss builder, and in pool table manufacturing.
But he was using the One-Stop to look for nursery work, although he'd never worked in a nursery.
After 20 years working in yards, Savala said, "I know the native plants."
And he was hedging his employability bets, too, planning to also get into a program that would give him the credentials in a number of trades so he could do apartment maintenance work.
Impact is seen in rise of tools at Tucson pawnshops
By Dan Sorenson
arizona daily star
Tradesmen's tools have been piling up at Tucson pawnshops as the construction sector continues to lead the state in job losses.
Construction lost 4,000 jobs statewide in September, the state Commerce Department reported Thursday. In a 13-month streak of job losses, Arizona has lost 39,000 construction jobs since September 2007.
The statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 5.6 percent in August to 5.9 percent in September, the Commerce Department reported.
An eye-level shelf packed with used professional-grade worm-drive Skilsaws at Super Pawn, 4055 E. Speedway, told the construction industry story.
"Before, we couldn't keep them in stock," said sales associate Gilbert Ugalde, gesturing to the long shelf of name-brand pro framer's power saws. Now, there are still that many and more in the back room, said Ugalde, "and that's with 40 percent off."
A check of Super Pawn and other Tucson pawnshops showed most had heavy stocks of building trade tools, from drywaller stilts and paint sprayers to heavy-duty tile saws and electrical generators.
There were several large electrical generators and air compressors at USA Pawn & Jewelry Co., 2904 N. First Ave., but assistant manager Andre Wynn said the business was also getting diamond rings and plasma TVs.
"People are getting desperate right now," Wynn said.
Arizona's 5.9 percent unemployment rate is now just slightly better than the national average of 6.1 percent. In September 2007, Arizona's rate was just 3.8 percent when the national rate was at 4.7 percent.
Retail trade had a particularly bad month in September, losing 4,400 jobs, which the state's Commerce Department attributes to cutbacks in consumer spending.
Looking for work
The 12 computer stations for job-seeking clients were all in use late Thursday morning at Pima County's Kino One-Stop employment center at 2797 E. Ajo Way.
Della Kirts, a 42-year-old licensed practical nurse, was looking for a job in administration or medical billing.
Kirts said she'd been away from hands-on nursing for several years, that she couldn't bring herself to do it after her mother's death three years ago. In the interim, she'd been working with her carpenter boyfriend installing skylights and laminate flooring.
The help with her job search came just in time, said Kirts. With five children, Kirts said, "I can hear Christmas pounding in my ears."
Arizona has lost more than 59,000 jobs so far in 2008. The statewide unemployment rate for the first nine months of 2008 averaged 4.7 percent, a full percentage point higher than the 3.7 percent average rate for the same period in 2007.
Tucson's unemployment rise followed the statewide trend, rising from 5.4 percent in August to 5.6 percent in September, up almost 2 percent since September 2007.
The Phoenix metro area fared only slightly better. The Phoenix area's unemployment rate rose from 5.1 percent unemployed in August to 5.3 percent for September, up 2 percent since September 2007.
Kirts said she really enjoyed working construction, but that work dried up over the last several months and it was time to put her medical-field experience and credentials to work again.
"I came to the end of my funds and I was down at DES (Department of Economic Security) about benefits. They said, 'Come down to the One-Stop.' It's amazing, the services. You just can't walk in and fill out applications (at employers) anymore. And we don't have Wi-Fi" at home, she said.
Help is available
Many services are available at the One-Stop to help people find jobs, said Murney Brown, a workforce development information specialist at the county employment complex.
The computer stations can be used to write and send résumés, search the Web for jobs, even learn how to advance skills with a typing tutor program that provides a certificate of typing speed to show a prospective employer.
The One-Stop also offers one-on-one sessions with job developers, including a specialist who works only with veterans and can connect them with jobs only open to them.
And the services are not just for the unemployed, said Brown.
Brown said that besides helping the unemployed, the One-Stop helps the underemployed and soon-to-be unemployed — like the restaurant and retail workers who have had their hours cut back "so much they can't survive" on what they're bringing home.
Longtime landscaper John Savala, 44, said he'd worked many jobs — dishwasher, breakfast cook, torch cutter, roofing truss builder, and in pool table manufacturing.
But he was using the One-Stop to look for nursery work, although he'd never worked in a nursery.
After 20 years working in yards, Savala said, "I know the native plants."
And he was hedging his employability bets, too, planning to also get into a program that would give him the credentials in a number of trades so he could do apartment maintenance work.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Obama blasts GOP ticket over latest job loss report
www.jobberz.com
Obama blasts GOP ticket over latest job loss report
By RACHEL KIPP • The News Journal • October 4, 2008
The morning after Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate criticized his economic platform, Obama placed blame on the Bush administration for eradicating hundreds of thousands of jobs in the last year.
"We just got a report that America has had its ninth straight month of job loss. Since January we've lost more than 750,000 jobs," Obama said during a speech at Abington High School, northeast of Philadelphia. "When Sen. McCain and his running mate talk about job killing, that's something they know something about."
The Labor Department reported Friday that employers cut 159,000 jobs last month.
Palin made the comment while debating Obama's running mate, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, during Thursday's vice presidential match-up in St. Louis, Mo.
With national attention centered on the House of Representatives passing the $700 billion bank bailout, Obama focused his remarks on economic growth.
"Where I come from, and I'm sure where you come from, no opportunity is more fundamental than the sense of purpose, the sense of recognition, of showing up for work in the morning," he said. "There is nothing more fundamental than a good-paying job."
The candidates had been in a virtual dead heat after McCain's numbers inched upward in the weeks following his choice of Palin as a running mate.
As the financial crisis took center stage in the public conscience, however, Obama began to build a slight lead. He was ahead of McCain by seven points in Friday's Gallup poll.
Obama said the revised bailout plan passed Friday by Congress is not the "blank check" for Wall Street "that the current administration initially asked for.
"This is a plan that will help us deal with the immediate crisis and help put the economy on firmer footing," Obama said.
Many of the men and women waiting in line to enter the stadium hoped Obama would weigh in on Thursday's vice presidential debate between running mate Biden and Alaska Gov. Palin.
"I want to know what he thought of the debate," Philadelphia resident Jene Martin said. "I thought Joe Biden did superb and I thought Sarah Palin did not answer questions."
Marin and Oreland, Pa., resident Anne St. Clair both acknowledged Palin was more articulate during the debate than they expected.
"She only talked about what they already coached her to talk about," said St. Clair, a former Wilmington resident.
Obama praised "the third senator from Pennsylvania" for a "great job" during the debate.
"I was so proud of Joe," Obama said. "I think you saw clearly why I thought he would be such a great vice president, especially in these difficult times."
McCain told supporters at a town hall meeting in Pueblo, Colo., that he thought Palin did well.
"You know, I almost felt a little sorry last night for my old friend Joe Biden. She did a magnificent job."
He drew cheers when he declared, "Viva la Barracuda!"
Two quick polls indicated Biden fared better in the debate. A CBS News/Knowledge Networks Poll found 46 percent of uncommitted voters who watched the debate thought Biden won, with 21 percent siding with Palin. A CNN poll found respondents judging Biden the winner by a margin of 51 percent to 36 percent but calling Palin more likable by 54 percent to Biden's 36 percent.
Obama has stopped in the Philadelphia area at least a dozen times during the primary and since being selected the Democratic presidential candidate.
Both tickets are hoping a strong campaign presence in the state will lead to winning Pennsylvania's electoral votes. A win here or in swing states such as Ohio, Florida or Colorado could determine which candidate will move into the White House in January.
Obama blasts GOP ticket over latest job loss report
By RACHEL KIPP • The News Journal • October 4, 2008
The morning after Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate criticized his economic platform, Obama placed blame on the Bush administration for eradicating hundreds of thousands of jobs in the last year.
"We just got a report that America has had its ninth straight month of job loss. Since January we've lost more than 750,000 jobs," Obama said during a speech at Abington High School, northeast of Philadelphia. "When Sen. McCain and his running mate talk about job killing, that's something they know something about."
The Labor Department reported Friday that employers cut 159,000 jobs last month.
Palin made the comment while debating Obama's running mate, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, during Thursday's vice presidential match-up in St. Louis, Mo.
With national attention centered on the House of Representatives passing the $700 billion bank bailout, Obama focused his remarks on economic growth.
"Where I come from, and I'm sure where you come from, no opportunity is more fundamental than the sense of purpose, the sense of recognition, of showing up for work in the morning," he said. "There is nothing more fundamental than a good-paying job."
The candidates had been in a virtual dead heat after McCain's numbers inched upward in the weeks following his choice of Palin as a running mate.
As the financial crisis took center stage in the public conscience, however, Obama began to build a slight lead. He was ahead of McCain by seven points in Friday's Gallup poll.
Obama said the revised bailout plan passed Friday by Congress is not the "blank check" for Wall Street "that the current administration initially asked for.
"This is a plan that will help us deal with the immediate crisis and help put the economy on firmer footing," Obama said.
Many of the men and women waiting in line to enter the stadium hoped Obama would weigh in on Thursday's vice presidential debate between running mate Biden and Alaska Gov. Palin.
"I want to know what he thought of the debate," Philadelphia resident Jene Martin said. "I thought Joe Biden did superb and I thought Sarah Palin did not answer questions."
Marin and Oreland, Pa., resident Anne St. Clair both acknowledged Palin was more articulate during the debate than they expected.
"She only talked about what they already coached her to talk about," said St. Clair, a former Wilmington resident.
Obama praised "the third senator from Pennsylvania" for a "great job" during the debate.
"I was so proud of Joe," Obama said. "I think you saw clearly why I thought he would be such a great vice president, especially in these difficult times."
McCain told supporters at a town hall meeting in Pueblo, Colo., that he thought Palin did well.
"You know, I almost felt a little sorry last night for my old friend Joe Biden. She did a magnificent job."
He drew cheers when he declared, "Viva la Barracuda!"
Two quick polls indicated Biden fared better in the debate. A CBS News/Knowledge Networks Poll found 46 percent of uncommitted voters who watched the debate thought Biden won, with 21 percent siding with Palin. A CNN poll found respondents judging Biden the winner by a margin of 51 percent to 36 percent but calling Palin more likable by 54 percent to Biden's 36 percent.
Obama has stopped in the Philadelphia area at least a dozen times during the primary and since being selected the Democratic presidential candidate.
Both tickets are hoping a strong campaign presence in the state will lead to winning Pennsylvania's electoral votes. A win here or in swing states such as Ohio, Florida or Colorado could determine which candidate will move into the White House in January.
Job cuts accelerate, recession fears rise
www.jobberz.com
By Glenn Somerville
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers cut 159,000 jobs last month, a ninth straight monthly reduction and the deepest in 5-1/2 years, the government said in a report on Friday that suggested the economy may be in recession.
The Labor Department report showed 760,000 jobs lost so far in 2008. The unemployment rate in September held at a five-year high of 6.1 percent as 121,000 people quit the workforce.
The bleak hiring outlook and a separate report showing a sluggish service sector that barely grew last month added to a string of recent negative news, including weak personal income and spending, declines in manufacturing and declining factory orders and shipments.
"The problems of Wall Street have now hit Main Street with full force," the chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, said ahead of the U.S. House of Representatives' vote to approve a $700 billion rescue package for banks and other financial firms.
The proposal, passed earlier this week by the Senate, will enable the Treasury to buy bad assets, including mortgage-related securities from financial firms in hope that will persuade them to resume normal lending and ease a credit market freeze.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson praised lawmakers for passing what he called "key and critical" measures to help protect or at least slow losses of U.S. jobs and savings.
The Treasury will use auctions and other measures to take the illiquid assets from banks, holding them until it can resell them and possibly profit. Paulson said the Treasury will spell out how it intends to act in coming days.
By Glenn Somerville
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers cut 159,000 jobs last month, a ninth straight monthly reduction and the deepest in 5-1/2 years, the government said in a report on Friday that suggested the economy may be in recession.
The Labor Department report showed 760,000 jobs lost so far in 2008. The unemployment rate in September held at a five-year high of 6.1 percent as 121,000 people quit the workforce.
The bleak hiring outlook and a separate report showing a sluggish service sector that barely grew last month added to a string of recent negative news, including weak personal income and spending, declines in manufacturing and declining factory orders and shipments.
"The problems of Wall Street have now hit Main Street with full force," the chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, said ahead of the U.S. House of Representatives' vote to approve a $700 billion rescue package for banks and other financial firms.
The proposal, passed earlier this week by the Senate, will enable the Treasury to buy bad assets, including mortgage-related securities from financial firms in hope that will persuade them to resume normal lending and ease a credit market freeze.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson praised lawmakers for passing what he called "key and critical" measures to help protect or at least slow losses of U.S. jobs and savings.
The Treasury will use auctions and other measures to take the illiquid assets from banks, holding them until it can resell them and possibly profit. Paulson said the Treasury will spell out how it intends to act in coming days.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Yahoo CEO Email Tells Of Sweeping Layoffs?
Check Out www.jobberz.com
Posted By:Jim Goldman
There's little chance that telegrams bring good news; likewise can be said when your email inbox suddenly shows a note from the CEO with the words, "Time for another update."
That's what is greeting thousands of Yahoo's at this hour. (Thanks "M" for sending it along.) Following the company's big unveiling of its new display advertising upgrade today in New York called Apt, which is supposed to do what another upgrade called Panama couldn't, and just ahead of Yahoo's big advertising get-together with Google,
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despite all that hand-wringing by the Feds over whether to challenge it or not, now there comes word of what could be sizeable cutbacks at the company.
CEO Jerry Yang let the troops know that Yahoo
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cnbc_quoteComponent_init_getData("","WSODQ_COMPONENT__ID0ELJAC15839609","WSODQ","true","ID0ELJAC15839609","off","false");
would be hiring Bain & Co. "to work with the leadership team on identifying ways to leverage our strengths, and improve and accelerate our performance." And while Yang highlights "some great progress this year," having "accomplished a tremendous amount and we're all working hard to continue executing on the company's strategic plan," he says in the very next paragraph that the company is continuing "the work already underway to get fit as an organization."
He says Yahoo is looking for ways to make "process and structural changes to our business that will allow us to work more efficiently." Gettin' "fit" means getting "smaller." And that means job cuts.
Yahoo And Its New Ad Platform "APT"
US ad spending in steepest drop since 2001
Google/Yahoo Ad Deal Keeps Stirring Up The Controversy
He concludes his short note by saying that Yahoo "can benefit greatly from more discipline among all departments and functions across the company. Longer term, getting fit now will enable us to be more successful moving forward."
Translation? Sounds like sweeping layoffs are on the way in Sunnyvale. Seems like Yang, Bain and team are getting ready for a big round of cuts. If you've got details on numbers and departments, send 'em along. Sounds like it might be a few weeks before we get actual numbers on the size of all this.
In the meantime, to borrow a phrase from a weatherman I used to work with in this market as our station was gearing up for a big round of cutbacks several years back: The forecast is for partly cloudy skies and scattered resumes throughout the Silicon Valley.
Posted By:Jim Goldman
There's little chance that telegrams bring good news; likewise can be said when your email inbox suddenly shows a note from the CEO with the words, "Time for another update."
That's what is greeting thousands of Yahoo's at this hour. (Thanks "M" for sending it along.) Following the company's big unveiling of its new display advertising upgrade today in New York called Apt, which is supposed to do what another upgrade called Panama couldn't, and just ahead of Yahoo's big advertising get-together with Google,
cnbc_comboQuoteMove('popup__ID0ETEAC15839609');
[ Loading... () ]
cnbc_quoteComponent_init_getData("","WSODQ_COMPONENT__ID0ETEAC15839609","WSODQ","true","ID0ETEAC15839609","off","false");
despite all that hand-wringing by the Feds over whether to challenge it or not, now there comes word of what could be sizeable cutbacks at the company.
CEO Jerry Yang let the troops know that Yahoo
cnbc_comboQuoteMove('popup__ID0ELJAC15839609');
[ Loading... () ]
cnbc_quoteComponent_init_getData("","WSODQ_COMPONENT__ID0ELJAC15839609","WSODQ","true","ID0ELJAC15839609","off","false");
would be hiring Bain & Co. "to work with the leadership team on identifying ways to leverage our strengths, and improve and accelerate our performance." And while Yang highlights "some great progress this year," having "accomplished a tremendous amount and we're all working hard to continue executing on the company's strategic plan," he says in the very next paragraph that the company is continuing "the work already underway to get fit as an organization."
He says Yahoo is looking for ways to make "process and structural changes to our business that will allow us to work more efficiently." Gettin' "fit" means getting "smaller." And that means job cuts.
Yahoo And Its New Ad Platform "APT"
US ad spending in steepest drop since 2001
Google/Yahoo Ad Deal Keeps Stirring Up The Controversy
He concludes his short note by saying that Yahoo "can benefit greatly from more discipline among all departments and functions across the company. Longer term, getting fit now will enable us to be more successful moving forward."
Translation? Sounds like sweeping layoffs are on the way in Sunnyvale. Seems like Yang, Bain and team are getting ready for a big round of cuts. If you've got details on numbers and departments, send 'em along. Sounds like it might be a few weeks before we get actual numbers on the size of all this.
In the meantime, to borrow a phrase from a weatherman I used to work with in this market as our station was gearing up for a big round of cutbacks several years back: The forecast is for partly cloudy skies and scattered resumes throughout the Silicon Valley.
Friday, September 26, 2008
McCain ad blames Obama for sending Michigan jobs overseas
Check out www.jobberz.com
By TODD SPANGLER
In something of a twist, Republican John McCain is blaming Democrat Barack Obama "and his liberal allies" for sending Michigan manufacturing jobs overseas.
OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1');
In a 30-second TV ad the McCain campaign is airing in Michigan, the Republican presidential nominee accuses Obama and fellow Democrats of voting against making health care more affordable, reducing energy costs and lowering taxes.
While the Republican campaign has hit Obama repeated on whether he's committed to cutting energy costs or lower taxes, it is a new tactic for the campaign to link that to manufacturing jobs being lost overseas. In fact, during the primary campaign, it was McCain who took hits from rival Mitt Romney for suggesting that a changing economy had caused some of those jobs to be lost and that they might never come back.
Here's the script for McCain's new ad, called "Overseas."
Michigan manufacturing jobs are going overseas.Barack Obama and his liberal allies are to blame.When manufacturers needed help making health care more affordable, they voted no.So jobs go overseas.Help to reduce energy costs? No.More jobs overseas.Lower taxes? No.Even more jobs overseas.They don't understand.Their votes cost Michigan jobs.
The ad makes several claims that are not new to the campaign but that don't exactly reflect Obama's positons. For instance, the Democrat has opposed offshore drilling and a suspension of the gas tax, saying the former won't reduce prices quickly enough (the U.S. Energy Information Administration agrees with him) and the latter is a gimmick that could impact infrastructure work in the nation. Obama has called for investments in new technologies to find alternative fuels or better use ones we have like coal as a way to bring costs down, though McCain argues such a plan is too limited to provide immediate results.
On the taxes front, it has become a daily refrain from the McCain campaign that Obama wants to raise taxes but the candidate says he only wants to raise them on the wealthiest Americans -- those making $250,000 or more a year -- in order to fund tax cuts for middle class Americans.
Finally, the claim that Obama and his "liberal allies" voted against making health care more affordable is based on a vote two years ago that conservatives in Congress claimed would reduce health care costs by dropping government barriers to allowing small businesses to come together in pools that could get coverage more inexpensively. The argument against it -- raised by unions and progressive public interest groups -- was that the same bill would reduce consumer protections, allowing those insurance pools to bypass state regulations that require certain types of coverage.
The legislation was defeated on an almost straight party-line vote in 2006.
By TODD SPANGLER
In something of a twist, Republican John McCain is blaming Democrat Barack Obama "and his liberal allies" for sending Michigan manufacturing jobs overseas.
OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1');
In a 30-second TV ad the McCain campaign is airing in Michigan, the Republican presidential nominee accuses Obama and fellow Democrats of voting against making health care more affordable, reducing energy costs and lowering taxes.
While the Republican campaign has hit Obama repeated on whether he's committed to cutting energy costs or lower taxes, it is a new tactic for the campaign to link that to manufacturing jobs being lost overseas. In fact, during the primary campaign, it was McCain who took hits from rival Mitt Romney for suggesting that a changing economy had caused some of those jobs to be lost and that they might never come back.
Here's the script for McCain's new ad, called "Overseas."
Michigan manufacturing jobs are going overseas.Barack Obama and his liberal allies are to blame.When manufacturers needed help making health care more affordable, they voted no.So jobs go overseas.Help to reduce energy costs? No.More jobs overseas.Lower taxes? No.Even more jobs overseas.They don't understand.Their votes cost Michigan jobs.
The ad makes several claims that are not new to the campaign but that don't exactly reflect Obama's positons. For instance, the Democrat has opposed offshore drilling and a suspension of the gas tax, saying the former won't reduce prices quickly enough (the U.S. Energy Information Administration agrees with him) and the latter is a gimmick that could impact infrastructure work in the nation. Obama has called for investments in new technologies to find alternative fuels or better use ones we have like coal as a way to bring costs down, though McCain argues such a plan is too limited to provide immediate results.
On the taxes front, it has become a daily refrain from the McCain campaign that Obama wants to raise taxes but the candidate says he only wants to raise them on the wealthiest Americans -- those making $250,000 or more a year -- in order to fund tax cuts for middle class Americans.
Finally, the claim that Obama and his "liberal allies" voted against making health care more affordable is based on a vote two years ago that conservatives in Congress claimed would reduce health care costs by dropping government barriers to allowing small businesses to come together in pools that could get coverage more inexpensively. The argument against it -- raised by unions and progressive public interest groups -- was that the same bill would reduce consumer protections, allowing those insurance pools to bypass state regulations that require certain types of coverage.
The legislation was defeated on an almost straight party-line vote in 2006.
GM to build $370M engine plant in Flint, Mich.
Check Out www.jobberz.com
By TOM KRISHER
A new General Motors Corp. engine plant to be built in Flint is good news for the struggling state of Michigan, which has seen massive job losses as the auto industry has contracted under a slumping economy and high gasoline prices.
But GM's top executive says the new four-cylinder engine factory, which will build powerplants for the new rechargeable electric Chevrolet Volt and a new high-mileage compact car, is also a commitment to investing in the United States.
"It's essential that GM respond proactively and aggressively to America's demand for new, more fuel-efficient vehicles, including those with four-cylinder engines," CEO Rick Wagoner said during a ceremony announcing GM's $370 million investment in the new factory.
He said the plant will allow GM to double its global production of smaller-displacement engines by 2011, with more than half the increase coming in North America.
The new plant will build a 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine that will extend the range of the Volt, and a turbocharged version that will power the Chevrolet Cruze, a new compact car to be built in Lordstown, Ohio.
"This will be one of the places. You will be one of the teams that help GM lead into our second century," Wagoner told workers and government officials gathered for the announcement.
Production at the new plant will begin in 2010, and both cars are slated to go on sale in the same year.
The location of the new factory was negotiated in last year's historic contract between the United Auto Workers and GM, UAW Vice President Cal Rapson said. It came in exchange for the union agreeing to a $14 per hour wage rate for some new hires, about half the rate of current workers, and the transfer of GM's massive retiree health care liability from GM to a union-administered trust fund, he said.
The contract, Rapson said, is helping GM get through some tough times, especially as pickup truck and sport utility vehicle sales continue to slump due to economic woes and $4 per gallon gasoline. GM's U.S. sales are down 18 percent so far this year.
"There's no question, especially with what's happened to gas. I'd hate to think where we would be had we not got that agreement," he said.
The local union for the new engine plant also agreed to a new flexible pact with GM that lets workers do multiple jobs, he said.
He said that while GM is committing to retain 300 jobs, there could be more.
"Depending on how well it goes, there can be up to 700 jobs," he said, adding that GM has made no guarantees.
Rapson said he's hopeful the new engine plant will spawn even more jobs in the Flint area with parts suppliers.
Workers from the nearby Flint Engine North plant that closed last month said the announcement is good news for an area hard hit by auto job losses. The new factory, several workers said, brings the prospect of more jobs for the industrial city about 50 miles northwest of Detroit.
"This also means that there's a future for our youth in this area," said Jean Adams-Anderson, a UAW representative at the Flint Engine North complex.
The state of Michigan on Tuesday approved $132.5 million in tax incentives for the automaker to spend $838 million on the new plant and to upgrade four other facilities, including the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant where the Volt will be built.
The Flint investment includes the 552,000-square-foot plant as well as machinery and other equipment. GM says it will invest $21 million in tooling for its suppliers to support the new Flint factory.
The factory, GM said, will have 300 flexible work stations that will allow the company to build different four-cylinder engines without retooling.
The new plant will help GM roll out new models designed to adjust to a shift in demand to smaller cars from trucks, which GM and other automakers say is permanent.
The struggling automaker has lost $57.5 billion in the past 18 months, including $15.5 billion in the second quarter. Its U.S. market share has fallen to about 23 percent this year from a peak of nearly 51 percent in 1962.
The company is banking on the Volt to be its car of the future, although it conceded this week that the Volt won't operate exactly as advertised.
GM initially said the Volt would be able to run 40 miles on its lithium-ion batteries, with a small internal combustion engine recharging the batteries to extend the range hundreds of miles. A top executive said the same thing as recently as last week.
But company spokesman Rob Peterson said Wednesday that engineers changed the design so the Volt engine will power a generator that would run the electric motor after the batteries are depleted. A small amount of power from the generator will recharge the batteries, but most will be used to directly run the car, he said.
He said bypassing the batteries is more efficient, and GM did not intend to deceive people by maintaining that he motor would only be used to recharge the batteries.
"At the end of the day, to the consumer, the vehicle will operate much the same way," he said.
GM shares were down 29 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $10.06 in late afternoon trading.
By TOM KRISHER
A new General Motors Corp. engine plant to be built in Flint is good news for the struggling state of Michigan, which has seen massive job losses as the auto industry has contracted under a slumping economy and high gasoline prices.
But GM's top executive says the new four-cylinder engine factory, which will build powerplants for the new rechargeable electric Chevrolet Volt and a new high-mileage compact car, is also a commitment to investing in the United States.
"It's essential that GM respond proactively and aggressively to America's demand for new, more fuel-efficient vehicles, including those with four-cylinder engines," CEO Rick Wagoner said during a ceremony announcing GM's $370 million investment in the new factory.
He said the plant will allow GM to double its global production of smaller-displacement engines by 2011, with more than half the increase coming in North America.
The new plant will build a 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine that will extend the range of the Volt, and a turbocharged version that will power the Chevrolet Cruze, a new compact car to be built in Lordstown, Ohio.
"This will be one of the places. You will be one of the teams that help GM lead into our second century," Wagoner told workers and government officials gathered for the announcement.
Production at the new plant will begin in 2010, and both cars are slated to go on sale in the same year.
The location of the new factory was negotiated in last year's historic contract between the United Auto Workers and GM, UAW Vice President Cal Rapson said. It came in exchange for the union agreeing to a $14 per hour wage rate for some new hires, about half the rate of current workers, and the transfer of GM's massive retiree health care liability from GM to a union-administered trust fund, he said.
The contract, Rapson said, is helping GM get through some tough times, especially as pickup truck and sport utility vehicle sales continue to slump due to economic woes and $4 per gallon gasoline. GM's U.S. sales are down 18 percent so far this year.
"There's no question, especially with what's happened to gas. I'd hate to think where we would be had we not got that agreement," he said.
The local union for the new engine plant also agreed to a new flexible pact with GM that lets workers do multiple jobs, he said.
He said that while GM is committing to retain 300 jobs, there could be more.
"Depending on how well it goes, there can be up to 700 jobs," he said, adding that GM has made no guarantees.
Rapson said he's hopeful the new engine plant will spawn even more jobs in the Flint area with parts suppliers.
Workers from the nearby Flint Engine North plant that closed last month said the announcement is good news for an area hard hit by auto job losses. The new factory, several workers said, brings the prospect of more jobs for the industrial city about 50 miles northwest of Detroit.
"This also means that there's a future for our youth in this area," said Jean Adams-Anderson, a UAW representative at the Flint Engine North complex.
The state of Michigan on Tuesday approved $132.5 million in tax incentives for the automaker to spend $838 million on the new plant and to upgrade four other facilities, including the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant where the Volt will be built.
The Flint investment includes the 552,000-square-foot plant as well as machinery and other equipment. GM says it will invest $21 million in tooling for its suppliers to support the new Flint factory.
The factory, GM said, will have 300 flexible work stations that will allow the company to build different four-cylinder engines without retooling.
The new plant will help GM roll out new models designed to adjust to a shift in demand to smaller cars from trucks, which GM and other automakers say is permanent.
The struggling automaker has lost $57.5 billion in the past 18 months, including $15.5 billion in the second quarter. Its U.S. market share has fallen to about 23 percent this year from a peak of nearly 51 percent in 1962.
The company is banking on the Volt to be its car of the future, although it conceded this week that the Volt won't operate exactly as advertised.
GM initially said the Volt would be able to run 40 miles on its lithium-ion batteries, with a small internal combustion engine recharging the batteries to extend the range hundreds of miles. A top executive said the same thing as recently as last week.
But company spokesman Rob Peterson said Wednesday that engineers changed the design so the Volt engine will power a generator that would run the electric motor after the batteries are depleted. A small amount of power from the generator will recharge the batteries, but most will be used to directly run the car, he said.
He said bypassing the batteries is more efficient, and GM did not intend to deceive people by maintaining that he motor would only be used to recharge the batteries.
"At the end of the day, to the consumer, the vehicle will operate much the same way," he said.
GM shares were down 29 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $10.06 in late afternoon trading.
Chrysler to Fire About 250 as It Trims 1,000 Jobs
Check out www.Jobberz.com
Chrysler to Fire About 250 as It Trims 1,000 Jobs (Update1)
By Mike Ramsey and Bill Koenig
Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Chrysler LLC, cutting back as its U.S. sales shrink, said it will fire about 250 employees as part of a plan to eliminate 1,000 salaried positions by Sept. 30.
The rest of the reductions will be through buyouts and early retirements, the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based company said today in an e-mailed statement. Most of the dismissals will occur tomorrow, Chrysler said.
Firings weren't part of the plan when the automaker announced the reductions on July 23, saying they would take place through ``retirements, special programs and attrition.'' The cuts represent 5.4 percent of Chrysler's salaried workforce. Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli is scaling back after the company's U.S. sales slid 24 percent through August, more than twice the industry's 11 percent decline.
Chrysler, the third-largest U.S. automaker, relies more on pickup trucks, sport-utility vehicles and vans than any of its major competitors. Sales of those vehicles have fallen because of near-record gasoline prices. The automaker is owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP.
The Wall Street Journal reported the firings earlier today.
Chrysler to Fire About 250 as It Trims 1,000 Jobs (Update1)
By Mike Ramsey and Bill Koenig
Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Chrysler LLC, cutting back as its U.S. sales shrink, said it will fire about 250 employees as part of a plan to eliminate 1,000 salaried positions by Sept. 30.
The rest of the reductions will be through buyouts and early retirements, the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based company said today in an e-mailed statement. Most of the dismissals will occur tomorrow, Chrysler said.
Firings weren't part of the plan when the automaker announced the reductions on July 23, saying they would take place through ``retirements, special programs and attrition.'' The cuts represent 5.4 percent of Chrysler's salaried workforce. Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli is scaling back after the company's U.S. sales slid 24 percent through August, more than twice the industry's 11 percent decline.
Chrysler, the third-largest U.S. automaker, relies more on pickup trucks, sport-utility vehicles and vans than any of its major competitors. Sales of those vehicles have fallen because of near-record gasoline prices. The automaker is owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP.
The Wall Street Journal reported the firings earlier today.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Fears grow as unemployment hits highest level in years
By Michael BrennanSaturday January 12 2008
FEARS over large scale job losses in the construction sector are growing as the latest figures show the highest unemployment rate for almost five years.
And unemployment is set to rise again, it was warned last night, even after the figure rose to 171,800 in December -- an increase of 2,100 on the previous month.
In an alarming sign of the knock-on effect of the slowing property market on the building trade, over 106,000 men were seeking benefits. This is an increase of 14,000 over the year, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said in its report on the Live Register.
But there is worse to come, as analysts warned that many construction workers have not found employment after the Christmas break.
Dole
Davy Stockbrokers warned there would be an even sharper jump in the unemployment figures this month, as many building workers joined the dole queues.
"We have heard that many house builders or related workers were not re-employed after Christmas," its economist Rossa White said.
Earlier this week, both the Higher Education Authority and SIPTU warned that young men in the building industry were most at risk from long-term unemployment if the construction sector continued to slow.
And the CSO report appears to have realised these fears. There are now 21,168 men aged under 25 on the Live Register, compared to 12,121 women.
The construction industry employs 288,000 people -- one in eight of the entire workforce -- and accounts for nearly a quarter of all goods and services produced here.
According to the CSO, the unemployment rate was 4.7pc in December, which was both the highest level since 2003, and the highest rate of increase in joblessness since 1991.
The Department of Finance has forecast that unemployment will increase further to 5.6pc this year. And the employers group IBEC also said big losses were inevitable as the property market slowed.
Challenge
"This year, the Irish labour market faces its most significant challenge for some time as redundancies are likely to increase and net new job creation will fall to between 10,000 and 20,000 jobs," its senior economist Fergal O'Brien said.
"The fact the labour market for females has remained strong would suggest that the job difficulties to date have been confined to the construction sector."
IBEC said job creation would be at its lowest rate since the early 1990s.
Alan McQuaid, chief economist of Bloxham Stockbrokers in Dublin, said he thought creating 35,000 new jobs was possible. This would still be just half the rate of growth experienced in 2007.
McQuaid said there was "no doubt that the labour market would be nowhere near as strong as in recent years".
Fine Gael enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar warned of further job losses in the slowing construction sector and a decline in the the number of jobs being created.
"This is a direct result of Government policies which caused Ireland to plummet in international competitiveness league tables," Mr Varadkar said.
"Jobs that have been moved overseas will not come back.''
And Labour enterprise spokesman Willie Penrose called on the Government to take a more energetic approach to job creation.
"'Complacency in the face of mounting numbers on the Live Register will get us nowhere. Much more effort is now required by the Government to protect existing jobs and to attract new investment," he said.
- Michael Brennan
FEARS over large scale job losses in the construction sector are growing as the latest figures show the highest unemployment rate for almost five years.
And unemployment is set to rise again, it was warned last night, even after the figure rose to 171,800 in December -- an increase of 2,100 on the previous month.
In an alarming sign of the knock-on effect of the slowing property market on the building trade, over 106,000 men were seeking benefits. This is an increase of 14,000 over the year, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said in its report on the Live Register.
But there is worse to come, as analysts warned that many construction workers have not found employment after the Christmas break.
Dole
Davy Stockbrokers warned there would be an even sharper jump in the unemployment figures this month, as many building workers joined the dole queues.
"We have heard that many house builders or related workers were not re-employed after Christmas," its economist Rossa White said.
Earlier this week, both the Higher Education Authority and SIPTU warned that young men in the building industry were most at risk from long-term unemployment if the construction sector continued to slow.
And the CSO report appears to have realised these fears. There are now 21,168 men aged under 25 on the Live Register, compared to 12,121 women.
The construction industry employs 288,000 people -- one in eight of the entire workforce -- and accounts for nearly a quarter of all goods and services produced here.
According to the CSO, the unemployment rate was 4.7pc in December, which was both the highest level since 2003, and the highest rate of increase in joblessness since 1991.
The Department of Finance has forecast that unemployment will increase further to 5.6pc this year. And the employers group IBEC also said big losses were inevitable as the property market slowed.
Challenge
"This year, the Irish labour market faces its most significant challenge for some time as redundancies are likely to increase and net new job creation will fall to between 10,000 and 20,000 jobs," its senior economist Fergal O'Brien said.
"The fact the labour market for females has remained strong would suggest that the job difficulties to date have been confined to the construction sector."
IBEC said job creation would be at its lowest rate since the early 1990s.
Alan McQuaid, chief economist of Bloxham Stockbrokers in Dublin, said he thought creating 35,000 new jobs was possible. This would still be just half the rate of growth experienced in 2007.
McQuaid said there was "no doubt that the labour market would be nowhere near as strong as in recent years".
Fine Gael enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar warned of further job losses in the slowing construction sector and a decline in the the number of jobs being created.
"This is a direct result of Government policies which caused Ireland to plummet in international competitiveness league tables," Mr Varadkar said.
"Jobs that have been moved overseas will not come back.''
And Labour enterprise spokesman Willie Penrose called on the Government to take a more energetic approach to job creation.
"'Complacency in the face of mounting numbers on the Live Register will get us nowhere. Much more effort is now required by the Government to protect existing jobs and to attract new investment," he said.
- Michael Brennan
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