Housing Bubble Bursting?

[Meandering]

That's why the advertisements of what they are going to give away for free to the people are so prevalent.

Really, really sad.

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[Meandering]

Kraft Heinz closing 7 factories, laying off 2,600
Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015, 3:08 p.m.

Kraft Heinz Co. is closing seven factories in North America and laying off 2,600 workers as the company slashes costs in the wake of a merger that created the food giant.

The closures will take place over the next 12 to 24 months, the company said Wednesday, and production from the closed plants will move to other factories in North America.

“Our decision to consolidate manufacturing across the Kraft Heinz North American network is a critical step in our plan to eliminate excess capacity and reduce operational redundancies for the new combined company,” spokesman Michael Mullen said in a written statement. “This will make Kraft Heinz more globally competitive and accelerate the company's future growth.”

The company, with about $28 billion in annual sales, was formed in July through the combination of Pittsburgh ketchup maker H.J. Heinz and Chicago cheese producer Kraft Foods Group.

Six of the seven plants are former Kraft facilities and are in Fullerton and San Leandro, Calif.; Federalsburg, Md.; Campbell, N.Y.; Madison, Wis.; and Allentown. One former Heinz facility, in St. Marys, Ontario, also is slated to close.

The manufacturing downsizing follows a reduction of 2,500 salaried Kraft workers in August.

Kraft Heinz has said it wants to eliminate $1.5 billion in expenses during the integration. The company, which is co-headquartered in Pittsburgh and Chicago, had a total workforce of 46,600 people immediately following the merger.

The cuts to salaried and production staff equal an 11 percent reduction in the company's employment.



Read more: http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/9380915-74/kraft-company-heinz#ixzz3qYncJKyL

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Samsung said to be laying off an additional 30% of its employees in order to cut costs

This isn’t the first major round of layoffs Samsung has had to suffer through in 2015 either. In fact, just last month on the day before Apple unveiled its iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, Samsung announced that nearly 10,000 employees would have to be let go from the company’s headquarters in South Korea.

But it appears that the situation has not improved appreciably, because in the latest report, industry watchers claim that Samsung is now looking to cut its staff by a whopping 30%, singling out employees in the finance, human resources and marketing divisions of the company.

http://bgr.com/2015/10/30/samsung-more-layoffs-2015/

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Sprint layoffs could hit thousands

Wireless carrier Sprint said on Sunday it aims to slash fiscal 2016 expenses by as much as $2.5 billion, through layoffs and a wide array of cost controls, as an essential part of its ongoing turnaround efforts.

“We are leaving no stone unturned and looking at all areas,” company spokesman Dave Tovar said in an interview. He declined to predict how many employees would be laid off, saying it was too early in the budgeting process.

The estimated cost savings for Sprint S -0.67% , which has 31,000 employees, would be equivalent to about 10 percent of its current annual operating costs of $26 billion.

He said Sprint on Tuesday will provide more details about the job cuts and the company’s plans to bolster the quality, speed and capacity of its wireless network, when it reports fiscal second-quarter results.

http://fortune.com/2015/11/01/sprint-layoffs/

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Caterpillar discloses North Carolina layoffs

Global manufacturer Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) has disclosed via mandatory regulatory filing that it’s closing a facility in Franklin – a “Precision Seals” plant with about 122 full-time employees.

The equipment manufacturer expects 80 employees to be “separated” from the company by next summer. Also this week, the company confirmed it was laying off employees at its Global Information Services division in Illinois. Additionally, 2,100 salaried employees in the United States recently took buyout plans.

In September, the company said it would cut as many as 10,000 jobs as part of a global restructuring effort.

http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2015/10/30/caterpillar-franklin-north-carolina-layoffs.html

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Big companies are cutting workers in a hurry

For nearly two months, a slew of big American and foreign companies have been announcing major layoffs, clouding the outlook for the employment picture.

It began in September Hewlett-Packard announced that its spinoff could mean up to 30,000 job cuts. This week alone, layoffs were announced at 3M, Biogen, Credit Suisse, Disney's ESPN and Perrigo.

According to a report by outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, September saw a 43 percent increase from the previous month in terms of job cuts. And cuts were 93 percent higher than the 30,477 planned layoffs announced the same month a year ago.

"You don't want to over exaggerate there's no question that layoffs are heavier this year," said CEO John Challenger. "It suggests more pressure on companies that aren't performing as well to take action now."

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/22/layoffs-dont-necessarily-spell-trouble-challenger.html

 

[Meandering]

Here's A List Of All The Stores Target Is Closing
Posted: 11/04/2015

The company plans to close them on Jan. 30, 2016.
Target provided the names of all 13 locations:

1. Austin North East (Austin, Texas)
2. Suncoast Pasco County (Odessa, Florida)
3. Casa Grande, Arizona
4. Victorville, California
5. East Flint (Flint, Michigan)
6. Columbus Southwest (Columbus, Ohio)
7. Northridge (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
8. Superior, Wisconsin
9. Springfield, Ohio
10. New Ulm, Minnesota
11. Ottumwa, Iowa
12. Anderson, Indiana
13. Dixie Highway (Louisville, Kentucky)

The Minneapolis-based retailer said in a statement on Wednesday that the decision was based on the poor financial performance of the specific stores, "not about the broader company in any way."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...529e4b0b24aee48d007?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

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[Meandering]

Schumer: NY 'blindsided' by Alcoa smelter shutdown plans

6 hours ago

MASSENA, N.Y. (AP) -- Sen. Charles Schumer says he's outraged and deeply disappointed over Alcoa's plans to shut down smelting operations at its northern New York plants, putting nearly 500 people out of work.

The New York Democrat says he and other New York officials were "completely" blindsided by the New York-based aluminum manufacturer's announcement Monday that it would shut down two smelters in Washington state and one in Massena, on the St. Lawrence River.

Alcoa has two plants in Massena known as Massena East and Massena West. The company says it won't modernize the shuttered Alcoa East and will shut down the smelting operation at Alcoa West.

The move will result in about 800 layoffs in Washington and 487 in Massena. The company will also layoff 135 at its plant in Point Comfort, Texas.

Alcoa says it is curtailing money-losing smelting and refining capacity to ensure continued competitiveness..

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/schumer-ny-blindsided-alcoa-smelter-160126840.html

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[Randolph Kinney]

Qualcomm layoffs could worsen office vacancies

San Diego County’s office vacancy rate rose to 14.5 percent last month and could get worse in the wake of Qualcomm’s downsizing plans, JLL brokerage said Monday.

The impact of Qualcomm’s announced layoffs of 1,317 local employees could result in vacating 312,000 square feet of the company’s 5 million square feet of owned and leased space, JLL said. The excess space is not included in JLL’s latest figures.

The layoffs do not include contract and part-time workers who may occupy some of the vacating space as well.

“This does not bode well for the region,” said Eileen Tumalad, JLL research analyst.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/oct/06/qualcomm-layoffs-could-worsen-office-vacancies/

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Fresh & Easy to shut down operations

LOS ANGELES — Fresh & Easy announced Wednesday that it was closing its business but holding out hope for a buyer.

The grocery chain has struggled for years in Southern California, Los Angeles Times reported.

A spokesperson for the El Segundo chain, Brendan Wonnacott, said the company was starting “the process for an organized wind-down.” According to Wonnacott, the chain doesn’t have enough cash and wasn’t able to obtain financing to continue operations. This is despite the company’s progress over the last couple of years that has moved it “closer to break even.”

The company operates 97 stores in California, Nevada and Arizona.

Over the next few weeks, stores are being liquidated and closed, and layoffs are starting in the corporate office next week, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who is not authorized to speak publicly. Three thousand employees have received the state-mandated “WARN Act” layoff notices.

http://fox5sandiego.com/2015/10/21/fresh-easy-to-shut-down-operations/