reCareered: Who’s Firing? Layoffs week ended 10-16-09
Who's Firing is a weekly survey of organizations announcing (or rumoring) layoffs. Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies that are contracting.
Inclusion on this listing doesn’t mean the entire industry is down, as many from the same sector appeared on the “Who’s Hiring” article published 10/12/09. It is interesting to note that while Federal hiring is on the rise, a number of State and Local governments face continued cutbacks. Also, Verizon has led the top hiring lists, but is also announcing a number of layoffs. Boeing made the layoff list, while competing aerospace manufacturers top the Who’s Hiring lists. Job seekers: You might want to look in greener pastures than these companies. Layoffs announced and rumored this week were in the Government, Manufacturing, Automotive, Technology, Publishing and Energy sectors. Organizations announcing or rumored layoffs week ended 10/16/09:
AM General (250)State of Massachusetts (up to 2K)State of Iowa (1000)Standish Max Prison (Michigan) (100)Smiths Medical PM Inc. (100)The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation (260)Boeing Corp. (200-300)City of Spokane, WA (200)SunTrust Bank (YTD 100)Wilsonart International (120)Moog Aircraft Group (220)Onondaga County, NY (133)State of New Hampshire (300)Country Financial (400)Kohl's Corporation (250)Team Broadcast Services (96)HNI Corporation (150)State of Vermont (160 total jobs lost)Verizon Communications (200)City of Moraine, OH (187)Solvay Pharmaceuticals (450)Steifel Laboratories (200)Pilgrim's Pride (GA) (100)Hamilton County Public Library (250)Oral Roberts University (124)NYC Dept. of Education (714)Albany County, NY (109)Bestop (140)Flour Energy Corp. (500)Valero Energy Corp. (250)Boeing Corp. (130)D&E Communications (280-290)United States Postal Service (650)Lafayette Caterpillar (106)American Cancer Society (140)Canron Western Constructors Inc. (106)Fluor Corporation (100-150)Redcats USA (490)Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida (150)Kent County, MI (145)Boise Cascade (130)Dell (905)L.L. Bean Call Center (700)Sunoco Inc. (400)ATK Space Systems (550)Hilton Reservations and Customer Care (176)Thermo Fisher Scientific (130)Conde Nast Publications (180)Atlantic City Casinos (1067)Metavation (120)Prairie Correctional Facility (120)University of California Riverside (425)Pilgrim’s Pride (640)Emerson Network Power Connectivity Solutions (135)United Space Alliance (258)Dow Roofing (100)Tomasco Mulciber Inc. (213)Delta, Eagan, MN (unknown)Aramark Health Support Services, Huntsville, AL (163)Chevron Mining, Gallup NM (80)Electric Boat, Groton, CT (96)Sylvania Yarn Systems (145)Trojan Battery Co., Sandersville, GA (50)HON Co., Owensboro, KY (144)Aramark Sports & Entertainment, Deer Creek Resort, Mt. Sterling, OH (112)Phoenix Health Systems, Pittsburgh, PA (50)GE Oil & Gas Operations, Bethelehem, PA (81)Parsons, Pittsburgh, PA (90)Alliance One Inc., Trevose, PA (63)Richfield Hospitality, Charlottesville, VA (146)FreightCar America Inc., Roanoke, VA (33)Lockheed Martin, Fairfax, VA (65)Educational Credit Management Corp., Richmond, VA (60)Wells Fargo Mortgage, Kirkland, WA (60)Brandrud, Auburn, WA (104)Corhart Refractories, Buckhannon, WV (26)Care Wisconsin First, Madison, WI (77)Eppendorf Inc., Westbury, NY (44)Avant-Garde Optics LLC, Washington, NY (137)Matthews International Corp., Seneca Falls, NY (33)Tavern on the Green LP, NYC (405)Dominion Enterprises DBA Interco Print, Ontario, CA (31)Telecare Corp, Lemon Grove, CA (102)Duane Morris LLC, Carpinteria, CA (126)USS-Posco Industries, Pittsburg, CA (827)Bassett Furniture Industries Inc, Bassett, VA (45)Summit Holdings, Lakeland, FL (70)Frontier Oil Corp., Cheyenne, WY (28)NCH Healthcare, Naples, FL System (66)Freudenberg-NOK, Spencer, IA (65)Franciscan Skemp Healthcare, Lacrosse, WI (25)McCann Erickson, San Francisco, CA (40)Jeld-Wen, Bend, OR (31)Foley & Lardner LLC, Milwaukee, WI (39)Crothall Services Group, Valhalla, NY (235)Aramark, Huntsville, AL (163)Mueller Industries, Fulton, MS (37)Miller Brothers Mining, KY (85)Baker Hughes Inc., Houston, TX, (62)Hamilton Sundstrand, Hartford, CN (30)City of Loveland, CO (5.9%)Comcast, Wellesley, MA (64)Rensselaer County, NY (24)Midcoast Aviation, Cahokia, MO (150)TomoTherapy, Madison, WI (10%)Boston Globe, Boston, MA (unknown)Police Department Kansas City, MO (16)Clear One Health Plans, Bend, OR (25)Save – A – Pet, Greyslake, IL (40%)Microtune, Plano, TX (10%)Viking Range Corporation, Greenwood, MS (30)Current Media, San Francisco, CA (unknown)NH Department of Corrections (37)Bossier City, LA (88)Calumet City IL Schools (57)Lackawanna County, PA (30)Verizon, Newark, DE (66)Bistol Meyers Squibb, National (355 of Abilify sales force)MetLife, Lackawanna County PA (34)Stanley Furniture, Stanleytown, VA (unknown)North Providence, RI (35)Louisiana State Department of Education, Baton Rouge, LA (50)Yuba Community College, Clearlake, CA (56)Chelan County, WA (50)City of Kingston, NY (28)AOL, NY, NY (2,000)EBay, San Francisco, CA (several dozen)LCN Closers, Princeton, IL (47)NC Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, NC (thousands)City of Aurora, CO (50)Ohio State Prisons, Ohio (41)Osceola County, FL (40)University of Toledo Medical Center, Toledo, OH (50)Volvo Trucks North America, Dublin VA (50)Zillion TV, Sunnyvale, CA (1/3)Victor Valley College, Victorville, CA (28)DaySpring Inc, Siloam Springs, AR (53)CNN, Atlanta, GA (unknown)Source: Google, Twitter, AllPinkSlips.com, Telonu.com, TechCrunch.com, CoStar.com, Gawker, Screwedd.com
Readers – If you know of employers announcing significant layoff plans, or employers reducing large numbers of employees, please comment below to add to this list.
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Career Change – Are you afraid to move in this economy?
Copyright (c) 2009 Dorothy Tannahill Moran
The buzz right now is that everyone is holding on to their current jobs with a death grip due to the grim economy. The overarching belief is that there are no jobs out there and for the ones that do exist, there are too many people applying. Let's say some of that is true. What is also true is that there are job openings. People move, get promoted or something continues to pull people out of their jobs every day. There are jobs. Maybe not as many and maybe the competition for the ones that come available are stiff BUT there are jobs that need to be filled. One thing is also true; you won't get any of them if you don't try.
If you have arrived at a point where you think it is time to make your next strategic career move, you should not let the state of the economy stop you. Don't create barriers where there are none. The challenge will be greater than in previous years but if you're prepared for those challenges, go for it.
Let's look at what some of these challenges might be:
Job Posting Site' You hear stories of 200 people applying for one job at a local nursery for a nursery stock tender. In this environment, you can count on stiff competition for any posted job. The key here is "posted job". While it is one way to find out what openings exist, you and millions are looking at that same posting. Looking for a job this way is the lowest priority in a job search because it is the way millions of others are searching and applying. It is hard to land a new position this way due to the volume of other applicants and it is hard to stand out in a big crowd. It can be done and you should pursue it, you just need to calibrate your expectations appropriately.
Recruiters- You also need some insight into the life of a recruiter. They receive thousands of resumes each day. They will often use their computer software to sort out all kinds of criteria to help narrow down the huge pile that has come in. This is a buyer's market also. They don't need to talk to you, give informational interviews or much of anything they used to do a few years ago. Right now, they want to process the paper as quickly as possible, narrow it down to a few that look hot and screen them. With tight budgets, geographic consideration is also a big selection criterion. They may not want to fly applicants or relocate new hires, so be aware that geography is now playing a role in how an applicant is being screened.
The perfect match - Because the use of resume' handling software has become so prevalent these days, there is such a thing as the perfect match. If a hiring manager has determined 9 key skills and experience, the software will prioritize the resume's that have the highest number of matches. With a large volume, it is now possible to have resume's selected that hit 100% of the criteria, thus leaving out perfectly good candidates who are "close".
This is starting to sound like an increasingly impossible set of barriers. This environment is challenging for sure but not impossible if your plan takes these things into account. Let's look at the key actions a person can take.
Make use of your contact and network - More than 80% of all job openings never make it to any kind of posting. Only the seriously hard to fill positions go out publicly for the most part. That means you must find those positions through the use of "who you know". This has been and continues to be the number one way to find an ideal spot. It's good because to some degree, it's prescreened for you. Your network will be reluctant to send you into a snakepit workplace. They would have to face you later and simply don't want to feel guilty. Also, they will refer when they feel confident with both sides, you and the other being a good fit. Don't feel bad if some people you know simply don't refer, they probably are the same ones that don't fix up their friends with blind dates. Some people just don't want to do it. BUT, some do!
Expand your network - if a career move is on the horizon, it's time to cast the net a bit broader. Figure out some groups you can hook up with that will be rich in potential job contacts. Look in Meetup on the internet, tons of great groups. Also, look into social networking like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, easy and convenient.
Look in unique places- on an airplane, coffee shops or church.
Plan your resume' - It is no longer possible to have just one all purpose resume'. Because of resume' search software, you must create resume's rich in key words. So if there is a few different related positions, create a different one for each position.
Set your expectations - Once you make a decision to move, it is a bit like stopping a freight train. You want to move right now. In this environment, you need to be a marathon runner. You need to pace yourself and set your expectations appropriately that this will take a while. You need to plan for a few dips and bumps which means you need to push through them and keep your eye on the goal.
Don't let the economic environment stop you from pursuing your dream job. There are millions of jobs and people are hiring every day. Your job is to understand the hiring situation, put your plan together and start working on it, today.