http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2009/02/19/news/01uwl.txt
www.jobberz.com
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will likely cut $5 million from its budget in the next two years.
UW-L’s administration had been planning for cuts anywhere from $2 million to $6 million.
UW-La Crosse senior Nicole Holden takes notes during her Program Planning in Recreation class Wednesday at Wimberly Hall. UW-la Crosse is expected to cut $5 million of their budget over the next two years but aims to preserve a quality classroom experience when doing so. PETER THOMSON photo
“It is like going to the doctor when you have a problem,” said UW-L Chancellor Joe Gow. “You hope it’s not as bad as it might be — our problem is: It is as bad as it might be.”
Gow said while he can’t rule out staffing cuts, he hopes enough savings can be found elsewhere.
Five million dollars is about 6 percent of UW-L’s $82 million general program revenue budget.
UW-L will have to deal with cuts, while trying to grow enrollment and continuing hiring through the Growth, Quality and Access plan.
“We want to protect the classroom experience for students,” said Gow. “We’ll need to take a careful look at all the other things we do.”
UW-L will evaluate vacant positions. If that doesn’t produce enough savings, the university could be forced to layoff workers, said Gow.
“Personally, that is the hardest part of this situation and the biggest challenge that anyone that is leading a university will face,” said Gow. “We are going to make every effort to get though this with minimal job loss.”
Since the UW System Regents have yet to set tuition levels for the next two years, UW-L isn’t sure how much will be offset by increased tuition. UW-L officials estimated the $5 million based on possible 5.5 percent tuition increases each year over the next two years.
The budget calculations also figure in money from the federal stimulus package.
“People had hoped the federal money would soften impact,” Gow. “But this recession is so severe that even with federal money we will still need to make cuts.”
UW-L will continue Growth, Quality and Access hiring with an emphasis on classroom teachers, said Gow.
“We’ve made a commitment to students. The tuition was increased to provide them more teachers, more sections of classes and smaller classes, and we have to live up to that commitment,” said Gow.
Other schools, for the most part, aren’t hiring so UW-L is attracting some amazing candidates, said Gow.
“That is the only silver lining in this whole thing,” he said.
Building plans at UW-L such as the stadium, academic building and residence halls are not funded though the state’s operating budget, and aren’t affected, Gow said.
Western Technical College has calculated a possible impact of $350,000 in cuts over the next two years, said Western President Lee Rasch.
The college will know more after details come from the system. It hopes any staffing cuts will be through attrition, he said.
“The challenge will be trying to increase capacity to serve more students, particularly dislocated workers,” said Rasch.
Although Viterbo University was not directly affected by the governor’s budget, President Rick Artman said he was grateful for the governor’s support through the three percent increase over the next two years in the Wisconsin Tuition Grant for need-based students attending private colleges in Wisconsin.
History
In the last three bienniums, UW-L has had budget cuts amounting to $9.5 million and a total loss of 70 faculty and staff positions.
2001-03 biennium: UW System had $55 million in cuts, meaning a loss of $2 million for UW-L.
2003-05 biennium: UW System had $100 million in cuts, meaning a loss of $4.2 million for UW-L.
2005-07 biennium: UW System had $90 million in cuts, meaning a loss of $3.3 million for UW-L.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
www.jobberz.com
Automakers Seek $14 Billion More, Vowing Deep Cuts
DETROIT — The price tag for bailing out General Motors and Chrysler jumped by another $14 billion Tuesday, to $39 billion, with the two automakers saying they would need the additional aid from the federal government to remain solvent.
In return, the two companies also promised to make further drastic cuts to all parts of their operations, in the hope that they can eventually strike a balance between their bloated cost structures and a dismal market for new car sales.
G.M., for example, said it would cut 47,000 more of its 244,000 workers worldwide; close five more plants in North America, leaving it with 33; and cut its lineup of brands in half, to just four: Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick.
The Pontiac brand will have a much smaller role, if any, in G.M.’s future, and the company also said it would phase out its Saturn brand, which it once hoped would build small cars to counter the best of the Japanese brands.
G.M. also said it had made progress in discussions with the United Automobile Workers union and its bondholders to reduce its costs further.
The cash crisis will require fast action by the administration’s new cabinet-level Presidential Task Force on Autos, which is overseeing the reorganization of G.M. and Chrysler.
The deteriorating finances of the two companies present the Obama administration with two options, neither of them appealing.
It can provide the money in the hopes that the companies will stabilize, and no longer have to keep pushing workers into a growing pool of people without jobs. But there are no guarantees, as the Treasury Department learned on Tuesday when the automakers filed updates on their restructuring plans, that they might not be forced to come back again with requests for more money.
But if the federal government balks at the automakers’ requests, that would mean the two companies probably would have no choice but to file for bankruptcy protection, because they are losing hundreds of millions of dollars each month.
And the car companies said on Tuesday that the cost of a bankruptcy reorganization, with the government providing financing to help it through that process, would be far greater than their latest loan requests. Without such help, the companies would have to liquidate, creating staggering new job losses.
In a statement, the administration said Tuesday night that its task force would be reviewing the carmakers’ reports in coming days, adding that “more will be required from everyone involved — creditors, suppliers, dealers, labor and auto executives themselves — to ensure the viability of these companies going forward.”
The third Detroit auto company, Ford Motor, has not received federal assistance and has no requests pending.
By March 31, the presidential task force is expected to rule on whether G.M. and Chrysler have restructured enough to be viable businesses for the long term.
Big questions remain, including whether G.M. and Chrysler, as well as Ford, will be able to cut their unionized labor costs to parity with foreign automakers, as was required in the original loan agreement from last December.
The companies have been in marathon negotiations with the United Automobile Workers on reducing costs, as well as determining how they will finance health care trusts for retired blue-collar workers and their surviving spouses.
G.M. is also pushing for a deal with its bondholders to help it reduce its debt to $9 billion, from $27 billion. The U.A.W. said on Tuesday it had reached “understandings” with the Detroit companies on modifications to their contracts. Ron Gettelfinger, the union’s president, said “discussions are continuing” regarding how to fund the health care trusts at each of the companies.
Rick Wagoner, G.M.’s chief executive, said there had been “good progress” in talks with both the union and bondholders.
On the concessions in the U.A.W. contract, he said, “the things that have been negotiated really take a big bite out of what needed to accomplish.”
G.M.’s restructuring plan extends to its global operations. It will cut 47,000 jobs worldwide by the end of this year. It also said it would close 14 plants in North America by 2012 — five more than were included in its Dec. 2 loan request.
Mr. Wagoner said on Tuesday that the revamping plan was “comprehensive, responsive and achievable,” and could help the company break even by 2010. Both G.M. and Chrysler said they expected to begin paying back their federal loans by 20
Automakers Seek $14 Billion More, Vowing Deep Cuts
DETROIT — The price tag for bailing out General Motors and Chrysler jumped by another $14 billion Tuesday, to $39 billion, with the two automakers saying they would need the additional aid from the federal government to remain solvent.
In return, the two companies also promised to make further drastic cuts to all parts of their operations, in the hope that they can eventually strike a balance between their bloated cost structures and a dismal market for new car sales.
G.M., for example, said it would cut 47,000 more of its 244,000 workers worldwide; close five more plants in North America, leaving it with 33; and cut its lineup of brands in half, to just four: Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick.
The Pontiac brand will have a much smaller role, if any, in G.M.’s future, and the company also said it would phase out its Saturn brand, which it once hoped would build small cars to counter the best of the Japanese brands.
G.M. also said it had made progress in discussions with the United Automobile Workers union and its bondholders to reduce its costs further.
The cash crisis will require fast action by the administration’s new cabinet-level Presidential Task Force on Autos, which is overseeing the reorganization of G.M. and Chrysler.
The deteriorating finances of the two companies present the Obama administration with two options, neither of them appealing.
It can provide the money in the hopes that the companies will stabilize, and no longer have to keep pushing workers into a growing pool of people without jobs. But there are no guarantees, as the Treasury Department learned on Tuesday when the automakers filed updates on their restructuring plans, that they might not be forced to come back again with requests for more money.
But if the federal government balks at the automakers’ requests, that would mean the two companies probably would have no choice but to file for bankruptcy protection, because they are losing hundreds of millions of dollars each month.
And the car companies said on Tuesday that the cost of a bankruptcy reorganization, with the government providing financing to help it through that process, would be far greater than their latest loan requests. Without such help, the companies would have to liquidate, creating staggering new job losses.
In a statement, the administration said Tuesday night that its task force would be reviewing the carmakers’ reports in coming days, adding that “more will be required from everyone involved — creditors, suppliers, dealers, labor and auto executives themselves — to ensure the viability of these companies going forward.”
The third Detroit auto company, Ford Motor, has not received federal assistance and has no requests pending.
By March 31, the presidential task force is expected to rule on whether G.M. and Chrysler have restructured enough to be viable businesses for the long term.
Big questions remain, including whether G.M. and Chrysler, as well as Ford, will be able to cut their unionized labor costs to parity with foreign automakers, as was required in the original loan agreement from last December.
The companies have been in marathon negotiations with the United Automobile Workers on reducing costs, as well as determining how they will finance health care trusts for retired blue-collar workers and their surviving spouses.
G.M. is also pushing for a deal with its bondholders to help it reduce its debt to $9 billion, from $27 billion. The U.A.W. said on Tuesday it had reached “understandings” with the Detroit companies on modifications to their contracts. Ron Gettelfinger, the union’s president, said “discussions are continuing” regarding how to fund the health care trusts at each of the companies.
Rick Wagoner, G.M.’s chief executive, said there had been “good progress” in talks with both the union and bondholders.
On the concessions in the U.A.W. contract, he said, “the things that have been negotiated really take a big bite out of what needed to accomplish.”
G.M.’s restructuring plan extends to its global operations. It will cut 47,000 jobs worldwide by the end of this year. It also said it would close 14 plants in North America by 2012 — five more than were included in its Dec. 2 loan request.
Mr. Wagoner said on Tuesday that the revamping plan was “comprehensive, responsive and achievable,” and could help the company break even by 2010. Both G.M. and Chrysler said they expected to begin paying back their federal loans by 20
Borders lays off 136 more Latest job cuts follow 2 years of losses topping $150 million
www.jobberz.com
Borders lays off 136 more Latest job cuts follow 2 years of losses topping $150 million
The Ann Arbor News
Beleaguered Borders Group Inc. marked another painful milestone in its quest to downsize and cut costs Thursday when it laid off 136 people, including 94 in Ann Arbor.
The changes mean total employment has dwindled at the bookseller's Ann Arbor headquarters on Varsity Drive from 1,300 several years ago to 770 today.
The latest job cuts follow two months of upheaval in the corporate ranks at Borders, which has been struggling to restructure and return to profitability after two straight years of losses topping $150 million. Financial results for 2008 will be released at the end of March.
In January, former chief executive George Jones was ousted and replaced with private equity executive Ron Marshall. A few other executives also were replaced.
Earlier this month, the jobs of six vice presidents and 10 department directors were eliminated. Several people were promoted from within to take over those duties.
Last summer, Borders - the nation's second largest bricks-and-mortar bookseller behind rival Barnes & Noble - laid off 275 employees, including 156 locally, as part of a previously announced plan to trim $120 million in expenses.
"While reducing payroll is never easy and we respect the impact it has on employees and their families, it is one of the necessary steps we must take along with other non-payroll expense reductions to help get this company back on track financially,'' Marshall said in a written statement.
Thursday's job cuts represent 12 percent of Borders' corporate employment base and affected departments ranging from marketing to human resources to sales. Workers whose jobs were eliminated are being offered transition pay, severance and job placement assistance, the company said in a statement.
"It seems like they are trying to avoid bankruptcy and trying to avoid taking the company private,'' said Ken Ahern, an assistant business professor at the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business. "It's not unusual to do all these kinds of changes if things aren't going well.''
On Thursday, Borders' stock (NYSE:BGP) closed up 3 cents to 54 cents a share.
Contact Stefanie Murray at smurray@annarbornews.com or 734-994-6932.
Borders lays off 136 more Latest job cuts follow 2 years of losses topping $150 million
The Ann Arbor News
Beleaguered Borders Group Inc. marked another painful milestone in its quest to downsize and cut costs Thursday when it laid off 136 people, including 94 in Ann Arbor.
The changes mean total employment has dwindled at the bookseller's Ann Arbor headquarters on Varsity Drive from 1,300 several years ago to 770 today.
The latest job cuts follow two months of upheaval in the corporate ranks at Borders, which has been struggling to restructure and return to profitability after two straight years of losses topping $150 million. Financial results for 2008 will be released at the end of March.
In January, former chief executive George Jones was ousted and replaced with private equity executive Ron Marshall. A few other executives also were replaced.
Earlier this month, the jobs of six vice presidents and 10 department directors were eliminated. Several people were promoted from within to take over those duties.
Last summer, Borders - the nation's second largest bricks-and-mortar bookseller behind rival Barnes & Noble - laid off 275 employees, including 156 locally, as part of a previously announced plan to trim $120 million in expenses.
"While reducing payroll is never easy and we respect the impact it has on employees and their families, it is one of the necessary steps we must take along with other non-payroll expense reductions to help get this company back on track financially,'' Marshall said in a written statement.
Thursday's job cuts represent 12 percent of Borders' corporate employment base and affected departments ranging from marketing to human resources to sales. Workers whose jobs were eliminated are being offered transition pay, severance and job placement assistance, the company said in a statement.
"It seems like they are trying to avoid bankruptcy and trying to avoid taking the company private,'' said Ken Ahern, an assistant business professor at the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business. "It's not unusual to do all these kinds of changes if things aren't going well.''
On Thursday, Borders' stock (NYSE:BGP) closed up 3 cents to 54 cents a share.
Contact Stefanie Murray at smurray@annarbornews.com or 734-994-6932.
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