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Bloomberg’s No-Rehire Policy in Question
In the media industry, Bloomberg LP is perceived as a sort of Hotel California — once you leave, you can never come back. It’s said to be written into the manual that quitting the company prevents you from ever being rehired there. (We couldn’t procure a copy of that — if anyone wants to send that in, contact us via the Contact page.)
Screwed: 4,800 at IBM
A daily review of the employment fallout around the country.
IBM continues to quietly lay off more than 4,800 workers…Fidelity starts second round of reductions…Martin Petroleum files layoff notice, just in case…Fresno County announces layoffs and other changes…
Recession Briefing 2.4
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
Hilton Pledges Help To The Economy (SF Gate)
We’ll always have Paris. Ms. Hilton has promised to help the struggling global economy by doing what she does best: shopping.
UPS Q4 hit by tough economy; package volumes down (Reuters)
The economy is not down with brown. United Parcel Service Inc reported a reduced quarterly profit on Tuesday, forcing it to cut costs, including freezing some wages.
Be Nice to Rich People
Paul Krugman blogged about the “paradox of thrift” for the New York Times this morning. Basically, people are cutting spending, which negatively affects the economy, which results in more job losses, which causes people to pull back on spending, and so on…
Funnily enough, yesterday a friend who has a designer retail business was lamenting the trend of lambasting the rich for shopping.
Con Ed’s Customer Satisfaction Plan
Attention New Yorkers: Con Edison does not care about making any more money off of you.
At the Future of New York City conference today, several business leaders held forth on the future of business in the recession. Jamie Dimon took issue with the pervasive view that Wall Street compensation should be purely performance-based, saying that some jobs were tough enough without performance-comp pressures. NASDAQ’s Robert Greifeld asserted that over-the-counter derivatives market could be the next area of growth. And Con Ed CEO Kevin Burke, speaking to WNYC host Brian Lehrer from the conference, said the utility giant planned to stop growing its business.
Screwed: Up to 1,800 at Morgan Stanley
A daily review of the employment fallout around the country.
Morgan Stanley may lay off 3% to 4% of staff this month … Farm equipment maker Deere & Co. expands Iowa layoffs to 200 … more Hawker Beechcraft layoffs coming this week in Kansas … Macy’s went public with plans to cut 7,000 jobs including over 1,000 in San Francisco.
Read about layoffs at the sites compiled on our Layoff Tracker page.
Recession Briefing 2.3
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
Economy won’t stop the spring break party (USA Today)
Bring on the keg and break out the bikinis. It’s party time, and college students aren’t planning a staycation.
In Recession, Libraries Are Booming (CBS)
Libraries are becoming the hot spot for just about everyone. Funding is scarce, but applications for library cards are up and the unemployed are flocking to use resources for job-hunting.
More families move in together during housing crisis (USA Today)
Hey, Mom, I’m home! Love isn’t all that’s keeping family together today. The bruising housing market is, too.
Are We Bailing Out the Wrong Banks?
Earlier today, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Obama administration is considering putting pay restrictions on banks that get big bailout bucks. Top execs of the companies wouldn’t be able to get severance and would have their bonus pools cut 40 percent. (It’s not clear which companies this would be.)
Of course, not everyone likes this plan:
If the government imposes caps or other limits on compensation, some bankers worry that the most talented people will flee to firms that are less regulated.
It’s not a new argument. But according to this logic, capping pay would make smart people go to banks that didn’t need “exceptional aid” to stay alive—presumably, the stronger, smarter banks.
Screwed: 2,110 More at Caterpillar
A daily review of the employment fallout around the country.
Caterpillar will increase previous layoffs from 20,000 to 22,110 … Corning says it will cut 13% of the workforce through the end of 2009 … Mountain View legal team Fenwick & West laid off 36 staffers and plans to freeze associate salaries for a year.
Recession Briefing 2.2
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
Gametime in the NFL: Super Bowl or Recession Bowl? (AP)
The stadium was filled with fans, but they didn’t buy the T-shirt. Big bashes were cancelled, but that didn’t stop the Boss from rousing the crowd with a nostalgic rendition of “Glory Days.”
In a Sole Revival, the Recession Gives Beleaguered Cobblers New Traction (WSJ)
Shoe repair gets a new shine as frugal customers opt to fix footwear rather than buy new. The recession breathes life into a dying industry.
Paris’ haute couture designers snub recession (AP)
Récession? Quelle récession? French designers turn out rhinestrone-encrusted frocks and sumptuous spring garments. The credit crunch is not a creative crunch, sniffs Dior.
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