Doomsday: The American Worker

Long-Term Trends

March 14, 2016: Look at the stunning loss of manufacturing jobs in the US under the Obama administration. 

17 disappearing American jobs, March 6, 2016, in USA Today. I don't think this adds anything to the discussion; it must have been a slow news-day. Obviously jobs connected with the print media and US postal service are disappearing. However, saying US postal service jobs are disappearing does not mean jobs connected with parcel delivery will be disappearing; in fact those jobs (think Amazon) will be increasing: logistics; physical delivery (land, outsourced); physical delivery (drones, outsourced). Demand for same-day delivery will drive an increase in jobs and an increase in logistics.

Other Links

Daily job losses

The Near-Recession 2016

Kohl's is closing stores as the department store industry collapses, February 26, 2016.

Carrier (air conditioning) plant in Indianapolis, 1,400 employees, to close; move operations to Monterrey, Mexico, February, 2016.

Health care conglomerate Johnson & Johnson to cut 3,000 jobs in medical devices division over next 2 years, January 19, 2016.

Now, The Oil Bust of 2014 - 2016

Anadarko to cut 1,000 jobs, March 12, 2016.

Halliburton will slash another 5,000 jobs, February 26, 2016.

Chevron to cut 7,000 employees, no link, reported everywhere, October 30, 2015.

Halliburton announces another huge round of job cuts, September, 21, 2105.

US Steel to lay off 750 employees at tubular steel plant due directly to oil bust of 2014 - 2015.

Weatherford to cut an additional 3,000 jobs, October 23, 2015.

Data Points & Updates

McKesson, drug distributor, to cut 1,600 employees, 4% of its US workforce, March 16, 2016.

Kraft Heinz to close seven plants, cut 2,600 jobs. November 4, 2015.

Target to close 13 stores nationwide; layoffs in 2015 total about 2,500 so far, but that was mostly corporate. November 4, 2015. 

3M to cut 1,500 workers, October 22, 2015.

ESPN to cut 4% of its workforce, October 22, 2015.

MillerCoors closes plant in North Carolina; one of eight breweries. Loss of 500 jobs. Popularity of craft beers to blame. I can't remember the last time I bought a non-craft beer; must be decades.

Monsanto slashing 2,600 jobs. Will exit the sugar cane business. October 7, 2015.

ConAgra cuts 1,000 jobs; moves HQ from Omaha to Chicago. October 1, 2015.

Last US-owned uranium plant likely to close -- on Obama's orders.  The number of jobs is inconsequential (unless you are one of those to be laid off permanently) but these are high-tech jobs, I would assume, where it might be nice to have US expertise. Whatever. I'm trying to think of one thing Obama has done correctly in the last eight years. The irony, of course, is he has done everything he can to get the Iranian uranium-enrichment program back on-line. September 29, 2015.

Caterpillar to lay-off up to 10,000 employees, September 24, 2015.

HP to cut another 30,000 employees, September 16, 2015.

Hershey's to cut 300 employees, June 19, 2015. We are seven years into the recovery, a gazillion dollars in stimulus, still no hike in interest rates by the Fed, and we're still seeing layoffs. 

HP's layoffs at 55,000 and rising, October 7, 2014.

Dell to cut 15,000 jobs worldwide, February 5, 2014. 

Lockheed Martin to lay off 4,000 workers; many in California. The LA Times is reporting:

The Bethesda, Md.-based company said it would close plants in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas and Arizona by the middle of 2015. It will also close four buildings at its Sunnyvale, Calif., campus. November 14, 2013.

American Express to cut 5,400 jobs; 8.5% of its workforce, Boeing to cut 40% of its workforce at El Paso, TX; January 9, 2013. 

Morgan Stanley cuts 1,600 jobs, January 9, 2013. 

Pfizer to cut 600 jobs; Lipitor goes generic; decreased sales, December 19, 2012.

US corporate layoffs to reach 18,000 this week -- and this is not the Hostess story. The number will surpass the average weekly October loss, probably due to Ford's announcement.

• Ford: 9,500 Belgium plant
• Dow Chemical: 2,400
• Newell Rubbermaid: 1,900
• Advanced Micro Devices: 1,665
• DuPont: 1,500
• Proctor & Gamble: running ahead of its schedule to eliminate 5,700 jobs this year

“This week stands out a little bit, because they all seemed to hit at the same time and they were all large, well-known companies,” he said. “However, in comparison to recession-level cuts, we still consider these numbers pretty tame.”  Pretty tame.

Steve's take on this: "While some of the job cuts this week seem pretty intimidating, at least it’s not a sign of a major downturn in the economy, hopefully."

Hopefully.

Orlando Health to cut record number of jobs to save money, November 19, 2012.

For the first time in its nearly 100-year history, Orlando Health is reducing its workforce by up to 400 positions starting immediately, hospital officials announced this morning.

The elimination of 300 to 400 jobs will occur in two phases, and represents a 2- to 3-percent decrease in the system's 16,000 employees, said Orlando Health spokeswoman Kena Lewis. The reductions affect all departments and all eight of its hospitals. 

Kodak to cut another 1,000 workers; total will be nearly 4,000 by end of year, November 17, 2012.

Twenty percent of Yahoo's employees at risk: cut in benefits, or being laid off, November 16, 2012.

SuperValu cuts benefits in 2013 for salaried workers; end to merit pay; end to 401(k) matches; shift from weekly to monthly checks for some; affected: salaried workers in Cub Foods, Jewel Osco, and Albertson stores; November 16, 2012

Twinkies liquidates; 18,500 jobs lost, November 16, 2012.

Banks cutting jobs; numbers are staggering; will far exceed any other industry as far as I can tell; November 16, 2012

Texas Instruments to lay off 1,700 to cut costs; November 14, 2012

NBC Universal cuts 500 jobs, November 12, 2012

Many Wal-Mart workers will drop health insurance because of rising premiums (ObamaCare), November 12, 2012

Vestas wind: another 3,000; almost doubles original planned layoffs, November 9, 2012

Murray Energy (based in the swing state of Ohio), will lay off 54 miners at American Coal (a subsidiary) and 102 at Utah American Energy; cites President Obama's "war on coal, November 9, 2012

Utah coal company, West Ridge Mine, effective immediately, 102 miners, November 9, 2012

Wow, here are the layoffs coming, all directly related to ObamaCare; remember, the new work week is now defined as 30 hours; a lot of high-tech jobs can be done in 29-hour weeks accomplishing what used to take 40 - 60 hours; November 9, 2012

• Welch Allyn: 275
• Dana Holding: unknown
• Stryker: 96 in December; 1,170 more anticipated
• Boston Scientific: 1,400; with other jobs shifted to China
• Medtronic: 500 this past summer; 500 more in 2013
• Smith & Nephew: 770
• Abbott Labs: 700
• Covidien: 595
• Kinetic Concepts: 427
• St Jude Medical: 300
• Hill Room: 200

Fewer workers, more productivity, CarpeDiem, November 8, 2012

Lockheed Martin has reduced its management ranks by about 25 percent in recent years after announcing a voluntary buyout, November 8, 2012

Huge Boeing cuts, company employment now less than 2007 level, restructuring due to defense contracts, November 8, 2012

Boeing announced a major restructuring of its defense division on Wednesday that will cut 30 percent of management jobs from 2010 levels, close facilities in California and consolidate several business units to cut costs. 

He said Boeing would cut the number of executive jobs an additional 10 percent by the end of 2012, bringing overall cuts in its executive team to 30 percent for the past two years, a move that would result in a 10 percent cut in management costs.

Las Vegas employer: Obama won, so I cut 22 jobs, November 8, 2012

Dow to cut "thousands of workers," losing big on batteries October 30, 2012

UBS to cut 16,000 jobs worldwide, October 26, 2012

Switzerland's biggest bank, UBS AG , is expected to cut up to 10,000 jobs, or 16 percent of its workforce, as it contends with shrinking revenue and rising capital requirements,...

Eagle Ford -- driving job creation, October 26, 2012

Eagle Ford shale activity will continue to drive job creation in South Texas through 2021, with the level of experience required and types of labor demand evolving as Eagle Ford activity shifts from exploration to production, according to a recent analysis by the Institute for Economic Development at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).

Gallagher's, NYC steakhouse, to close; had survived the Great Depression, but not the Great Recession -- October 25, 2012

Dow Chemical to cut 2,400 jobs and shut 20 manufacturing plants -- October 24, 2012.

Chemical will cut about 2,400 jobs and shut 20 manufacturing plants, including one in Midland, to reduce annual costs by $500 million in the face of slow global economic growth.

The facilities to be closed are in the U.S., Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, the U.K. and Japan in addition to the Automotive Systems Diesel Particulate Filters plant in Midland, Dow said Tuesday. An additional $500 million will be saved by cutting capital spending and curtailing some investments, Dow said.

The job cuts, which amount to 5% of Dow's global work force, follow DuPont's announcement Monday that it's eliminating 1,500 jobs in part because of declining demand for paint pigment and solar cells. Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris said in July the company is operating in the worst conditions since 2009.

Ford to close Belgian factory -- October 24, 2012

Ford is to close one of its main European factories in Belgium with the loss of more than 9,000 jobs. Exactly half a century after construction on the Genk plant started, Ford told a management council there that production was winding down since slumping European sales has forced a restructuring. 

Ford to shed 1,400 jobs in England -- October 25, 2012

Bank of America to cut 16,000 jobs by end of year -- September 20, 2012

Arch Coal to cut 750 jobs in Appalachia -- June 22, 2012