Screwed: 800 at ATK Space Systems

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s Total: 1,128

ATK Space Systems will lay off 800 employees in 2010 with cuts taking place in February and May… Philadelphia-based insurer Independence Blue Cross is expected to lay off 200 employees in the next few months… The Livonia School Board will vote Monday on new budget cuts which include the elimination of 45 teaching positions…

Recession Briefing 12.11: McDonald’s Gets More Wallet-Friendly

McDonald’s is adding more dollar items to its breakfast menu, in an effort to jump-start sales that have been hit by the high jobless rate. (Reuters)

The Obama administration is proposing creating a new TARP program that gives banks access to government money without restrictions—as long as they use it to make loans to small businesses. (Washington Post)

Some businesses have been forced to close in Lake Oswego, Ore., but there has also been a small boom in new businesses thanks to the downturn. (The Oregonian)…

Recession Briefing 12.10: A 50 Percent Tax on British Bonuses

The British government wants to levy a one-time, 50-percent tax on banking bonuses over $41,000. “I am giving them a choice,” said Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling. “They can use their profits to build up their capital base. If they insist on paying substantial rewards, I am determined to claw money back for the taxpayer.” (BusinessWeek)

A new survey shows that employees are unhappy with the way they’ve been treated in the downturn, and many plan to quit their jobs next year. (Chicago Sun-Times)

The public thinks more highly of politicians, lawyers and insurance companies than bankers, thanks to their big bonuses and taxpayer bailouts. (Bloomberg)…

Screwed: 900 in California Prison System

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s Total: 2,091

California is set to lay off close to 900 teachers and vocational instructors from its prisons in January… Convergys announced its intentions to hand out 500 pink slips to Canadian employees… Injex Industries, Inc. plans the layoffs of 378 people and may shut its doors altogether… Publishers Circulation Fulfillment, Inc. cut 97 jobs after the New York Times gave its business to another vendor… U.S. Foodservice slashed 95 positions due to “declining sales”… GMAC Financial Services laid off 45 mortgage workers in Charlotte, N.C… Stanley Works laid off 40 Hand Tools workers at its New Britain, Conn. location…

Holiday Parties for the Unemployed

For once you get to lord it over the Goldman Sachs suckers, my unemployed friends. Sure, they’re getting record bonuses this year, but do they get a holiday bash? Uh-uh.

Meanwhile, around the country, people are organizing company parties for the company-less. (In case you missed seeing your co-workers get drunk in totally inappropriate clothing choices and then clumsily grope each other.)…

Screwed: 500 at Consol Energy

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s Total: 1,196

Some Good News: General Motors announces that they won’t be issuing any more layoffs in the near future.

Consol Energy has issued layoff warnings to 500 workers at Fola Coal and Little Eagle Mining… National Express is planning 200 job cuts in the UK… St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan has laid off 180 union and non-union staff… Approval of the new 2010 budget has resulted in a projected 100 municipal layoffs in Minneapolis City… Comcast has implemented 77 layoffs at its Manchester, NH office… The Shelton School Board has approved budget cuts and a total of 69 teachers will face layoffs after the New Year… Belleville Intelligencer is cutting 40 jobs by the middle of January and sending the remaining 10 employees to a smaller facility… Sermo, the online community for medical professionals, is laying off 30 employees… City manager of Overland Park is recommending layoffs for 2010 to meet financial shortfalls.

Recession Briefing 12.9: Will Jobs Really Come Back?

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

“What if the job losses this time around aren’t temporary, the ‘ebb’ part of the ebb and flow of the business cycle?” Caroline Baum asks. “What if employers are hacking away at their permanent workforce?” (Bloomberg)

The recession has slashed U.S. output of planet warming gases and puts the country on track to reach President Barack Obama’s short-term emissions goal, but cutting the pollution further will take more effort as the economy recovers. (Reuters)

One of the oddest phenomena of the boom years was how kitchen appliances quickly morphed into sexy, high-maintenance trophies. These high-flying days flickered out when the real estate market imploded, but they may come back. (The Big Money)…

Recession Briefing: Sin Is In

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

More people are turning to vice amid the recession. “People are staying up until the wee hours of the morning, there’s an increase in smoking, drinking and sexual behaviors like surfing porn and using hookers,” confirms Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist and relationship columnist. (Forbes)

A different breed of house flipper has begun to proliferate: one who seeks bargains at foreclosure auctions. Unlike the boom-time flippers, the latest generation needs cold cash, lots of local-market knowledge and strong nerves. (Wall Street Journal)

Economic analyst Ed Yardeni runs the numbers on the effect of the economic stimulus on jobs and determines that the Obama administration has spent $246,436 per job saved or created based on the $157.8bn that has been awarded so far. (Reuters)

Screwed: Possible 5,000 at Los Angeles Unified School District

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s Total: 8,392

Los Angeles’s Unified School District board will vote today on whether to pass a budget for next year that includes a whopping 5,000 layoffs… An Post will begin the first round of 1,300 layoffs of Irish workers next month… BAE Systems continued to slash jobs, losing 642 U.K. workers at its Insyte division… IMG eliminated 200 positions worldwide in order to “position the company for growth”… Partygaming is considering cutting 200 jobs… Farmer’s Insurance Group will lay off 200 employees by the year’s end… Karachi Electricity Supply Company handed out 160 pink slips to officers and engineers… KeyCorp of Cleveland, Ohio announced plans to eliminate 150 jobs as it moves mortgage processing to another company… Liz Claiborne Inc. laid off 115 workers in accordance with a “scaling down” of distribution…

Screwed: 600 at ST-Ericsson

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s Total: 3,032

ST-Ericsson announced their intentions to reduce their worldwide workforce by 600 in order to cut $115 million annually… UniCare will lay off 500 Chicagoans as it moves out of the Illinois market… U.S. solar company Energy Conversion will cut 400 workers due to “restructuring”… Koenig & Bauer AG, the world’s third-largest printing press manufacturer, plans to eliminate 300 employees by mid-2010… Aircraft maker Dassault Falcon is set to lay off 214 workers in Little Rock, Ark. and N.J… Lincoln Foodservice Products Inc. has sent notice to Indiana officials of their plans to cut 190 employees following the sale of their kitchen division… The publisher of The Journal News in Westchester, N.Y. sent notice of the closure of its printing plant, resulting in the elimination of 166 workers… Teleperformance USA will lose 151 staffers at offices outside of Dublin, Ohio, next month…