[Centraal] Massa ontslagen (deel 1)

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Burj Al Arab design firm cuts 200 jobs



The company behind the design for the iconic Burj Al Arab is cutting 200 jobs in the Middle East amid a sharp decline in the construction industy.

Most of the job losses at UK-based WS Atkins are falling within the building design team in Dubai, the company told Arabian Business on Friday.

The design arm of the construction giant has also been responsible for other landmark developments in the region, including the Bahrain World Trade Centre, the recently delayed Trump International Hotel project on Palm Jumeirah and Bahrain International Airport.

A spokesman said: "Roles will be made redundant in those parts of the Group which are experiencing increasing uncertainty and worsening market conditions and we have deferred our annual salary review for six months.

"We can confirm that in Dubai there have been 170 redundancies, primarily from the building design team, out of total of around 3,000 staff in the region and 18,000 across the world.

"There have also been 40 redundancies from our Manila office among people working on Dubai projects. We're doing all we can to support those affected and to offer redeployment to other parts of the business where vacancies exist."

The spokesman added: "Atkins is a well managed organisation which has been performing very well as our results show. Our prudent management, quality of people, geographic diversity and breadth and depth of what we do means we are more resilient to economic slowdown than many of our competitors.

"We are not immune to this, however. We are taking action from a position of strength to ensure the future success of the Group."

In a letter sent by chief executive Keith Clarke to staff on Friday, it was also announced that an annual pay review in April will be shelved until October.

Yep, ook daar.

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Op vrijdag 16 januari 2009 22:22 schreef DIGGER het volgende:

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Yep, ook daar.

Niet echt verbazingwekkend.

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Productie Zuid-Chemie is stilgelegd
Kunstmestverwerker Zuid-Chemie in Sas van Gent legt de productie stil. De omzet is de afgelopen twee maanden met dertig procent afgenomen.
De directie denkt de productie in februari op te pakken. Eerst worden voorraden weggewerkt. De maatregel is een gevolg van de kredietcrisis.

Eerder was werktijdverkorting aangevraagd voor eenderde van het personeel. Bij Zuid-Chemie werken 110 medewerkers.

En:

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Timesavers ontslaat 11 medewerkers
Machinefabriek Timesavers in Goes heeft ontslag aangevraagd voor 11 personeelsleden.
Timesavers maakt industriële schuurmachines voor onder meer de auto- en vliegtuigindustrie. Het bedrijf heeft te lijden van de gevolgen van de kredietcrisis.

Het bedrijf verwacht dat de omzet dit jaar daalt van 18 miljoen naar ongeveer 14 of 15 miljoen euro. Er werken in totaal zo'n 80 mensen bij de vestiging in Goes.

En volgens mij is SABIC nog niet voorbij gekomen hier.
SABIC schrapt 135 banen

Bij mij op het werk daarentegen loopt het ook niet zo joepi, geen één orders deze maand.
10 mensen gedetacheerd naar andere bedrijven, 2 collega's hebben op eigen iniatief ontslag ingediend.

The troubled 60-year-old electronics chain tried its best to survive bankruptcy, but to no avail; now, it will liquidate its merchandise and close all 567 remaining stores.

Bloomberg reports that Circuit City Stores Inc. has hired a quartet of liquidators to sell off its existing merchandise, pending a green light from the courts. If everything goes according to plan, the fire sale will start Saturday and continue through the end of March, according to CNNMoney.com.

And unfortunately for Circuit City's 30,000+ employees, unemployment awaits.

The biggest consumer tech chain in the U.S. besides Best Buy, Circuit City filed for bankruptcy protection back in November. As Bloomberg notes, the struggling company had been looking for a buyer as late as Thursday, but failed to find any takers.

Of course, news of the Circuit City liquidation sale will draw plenty of bargain hunters, but (as I've blogged before), buyer beware.

Typically, closeout sales are final: no refunds or exchanges, so think twice before snapping up a big-ticket item like an HDTV. Also, keep in mind that closeout prices often aren't as rock-bottom low as you'd think; make sure to comparison shop online, and don't be fooled by big "75% OFF!" signs on items that have been marked up.

Finally ... a deep bow to Circuit City in general, where I've spent countless hours of browsing (and drooling)—and if nothing else, when it comes to tech retailers, less competition is never a good thing.

Update: Many of you are wondering what happens to the extended warranties you bought from Circuit City. I have an e-mail in to Circuit City's public relations department and will let you know as soon as I hear back. In the meantime, here's some general info straight from the Better Business Bureau:


The validity of any outstanding warranties varies for each bankruptcy. If a retailer goes out of business, the consumer may be able to rely on the manufacturer’s warranty. If a manufacturer goes out of business, the consumer may be able to rely on any warranties provided by the retailer. Many extended warranties and service plans are provided and administered by third parties and are typically not affected by a retailer or manufacturer going bust.

30.000

Staat al op de vorige pagina maar dit is wel een leuker artikel.

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Op zaterdag 17 januari 2009 02:10 schreef 68Chevelle het volgende:
The troubled 60-year-old electronics chain tried its best to survive bankruptcy, but to no avail; now, it will liquidate its merchandise and close all 567 remaining stores.

Bloomberg reports that Circuit City Stores Inc. has hired a quartet of liquidators to sell off its existing merchandise, pending a green light from the courts. If everything goes according to plan, the fire sale will start Saturday and continue through the end of March, according to CNNMoney.com.

And unfortunately for Circuit City's 30,000+ employees, unemployment awaits.

The biggest consumer tech chain in the U.S. besides Best Buy, Circuit City filed for bankruptcy protection back in November. As Bloomberg notes, the struggling company had been looking for a buyer as late as Thursday, but failed to find any takers.

Of course, news of the Circuit City liquidation sale will draw plenty of bargain hunters, but (as I've blogged before), buyer beware.

Typically, closeout sales are final: no refunds or exchanges, so think twice before snapping up a big-ticket item like an HDTV. Also, keep in mind that closeout prices often aren't as rock-bottom low as you'd think; make sure to comparison shop online, and don't be fooled by big "75% OFF!" signs on items that have been marked up.

Finally ... a deep bow to Circuit City in general, where I've spent countless hours of browsing (and drooling)—and if nothing else, when it comes to tech retailers, less competition is never a good thing.

Update: Many of you are wondering what happens to the extended warranties you bought from Circuit City. I have an e-mail in to Circuit City's public relations department and will let you know as soon as I hear back. In the meantime, here's some general info straight from the Better Business Bureau:


The validity of any outstanding warranties varies for each bankruptcy. If a retailer goes out of business, the consumer may be able to rely on the manufacturer’s warranty. If a manufacturer goes out of business, the consumer may be able to rely on any warranties provided by the retailer. Many extended warranties and service plans are provided and administered by third parties and are typically not affected by a retailer or manufacturer going bust.

Dit snap ik dus niet.... Decennialang winstgevend gedraaid (althans, dat neem ik aan afgaande van hun omvang en bestaansperiode) en dan opeens, na 3 á 4 maanden economisch zwaar weer, spat de hele luchtbel uit elkaar.... Waarom gaan dit soort grote ketens onderuit? Het lijkt me niet dat de detailhandelsector al die jaren ook uitsluitend op krediet leefde.

Niet op krediet, wel op uiterst dunne marges wellicht. Dus geen buffer voor de tijd dat het wat minder gaat. En dan is het dus wel ineens *poef*, sprookje uit.

Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- At least 21,000 jobs were targeted for elimination yesterday as employers from Hertz Global Holdings Inc. to Advanced Micro Devices Inc. grappled with recession-choked demand.

More than 20 companies said they were cutting jobs, ranging from Amonil SA, Romania’s second-biggest fertilizer maker, to Fiat SpA’s Magneti Marelli auto-parts division. Hertz, the second-largest U.S. rental-car company, said it will cut more than 4,000 jobs, as businesses and consumers slow travel because of the global recession.

“What you take away here is just how miserably profitability performed in the final quarter of ‘08,” said John Lonski, chief economist at Moody’s Capital Markets Group in New York, in an interview. “Companies cut back on staff when sales are significantly under expectation.”

About 2.1 million U.S. jobs will be lost in 2009, Lonski predicted, with 80 percent of the layoffs by the 4th of July.

“The downside risks facing the U.S. economy dwarf the upside potential that exists,” Lonski said.

WellPoint, the second-largest U.S. health insurer, will end 1,500 jobs, which include 600 workers and 900 open positions.

Clear Channel Communications Inc. will lay off 1,500 employees on Jan. 20, mostly in ad sales, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation. Clear Channel is the largest U.S. radio broadcaster.

ConocoPhillips, the second-largest U.S. refiner, announced after the markets closed that it plans to cut 4 percent of its workforce, or about 1,350 jobs.

Advanced Micro

Advanced Micro, the second-largest producer of personal- computer processors, said it will eliminate 1,100 jobs by the end of the first quarter.

Amonil said it will cut 45 percent of its staff, or 389 jobs, this year. Magneti Marelli will eliminate 800 jobs in Brazil, or 10 percent of its workforce there.

General Electric Co.’s finance arm may cut 7,500 to 11,000 jobs, or at least 10 percent of its workforce, because of the global financial slump, people familiar with the plans said.

“We’ll be reducing costs by $2 billion in 2009 as we discussed in November,” said Marissa Moretti, a spokeswoman for GE Capital. “Job cuts are a part of that.” She declined to say how many.

De Beers, the world’s biggest diamond company, said it will cut jobs at its six mines in South Africa, totaling “less than” 1,000 people.

Interwoven, Blue Cross

Interwoven Inc., the provider of data-management software, announced after trading hours that it would cut 70 jobs.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan will cut up to 1,000 jobs in 2009. Renold Plc, the maker of the chains that drive the clock in London’s Big Ben, announced 350 job reductions. WS Atkins Plc, the U.K.’s biggest engineering-design company, plans to eliminate 210 jobs at its Middle East operations.

Several manufacturers said they will operate with fewer workers. Scania AB, Sweden’s second-largest maker of heavy trucks, said it won’t renew contracts for 2,000 temporary employees to adjust production because of weaker demand.

Haynes International Inc., the manufacturer of alloys for use in aerospace and chemical processing, said it will eliminate 12 percent of its global workforce. Varian Inc., manufacturer of scientific instruments and vacuum technologies, will shed 240 jobs.

In the banking industry, Banco Santander SA, Spain’s biggest bank, eliminated 400 jobs in Brazil after buying ABN Amro Holding NV’s Banco Real unit in the country, a workers’ union said.

Harry & David Holdings, a fruit and food retailer, said it would cut more than 100 positions.

To contact the reporter on this story: Oshrat Carmiel in New York ocarmiel1@bloomberg.net.


Waarom moet ik meer denken aan een depressie dan een recessie met de gegevens hierboven?

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FNV:Corus schrapt ruim 1000 banen

Staalbedrijf Corus is bezig met een reorganisatie die meer dan duizend arbeidsplaatsen gaat kosten. Dat zegt FNV Bondgenoten. Volgens de bond wil Corus zo 250 miljoen euro besparen.

Of er gedwongen ontslagen vallen, is nog onduidelijk, omdat het bedrijf volgens de FNV tamelijk vergrijsd is. Bovendien is nog niet bepaald wanneer precies de maatregelen zouden moeten ingaan.

Corus wil niet ingaan op de cijfers van FNV. Het bedrijf zegt dat het nog niet klaar is met de plannen. Sinds deze maand heeft Corus werktijdverkorting ingesteld voor 6400 werknemers. Bij het bedrijf werken 10.000 mensen.

BMW 26.000 mensen naar huis las ik net

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Ericsson's profit drops 31% on restructuring costs
Sales rise but the company plans to lay off 5,000 workers

LONDON (MarketWatch) - Swedish telecoms equipment giant Ericsson AB on Wednesday posted a 31% drop in fourth-quarter profit as restructuring charges and losses at its mobile phone venture took a toll on the bottom line, but its sales rose at a time when many competitors are struggling for survival. Ericsson didn't confirm its guidance for "flattish" wireless telecom equipment growth in 2009, but unveiled plans to eliminate another 5,000 jobs as it prepares to cope with a fall in demand and visibility worsens.

The measures will cost 6 billion to 7 billion kronor and lead to annual savings of 10 billion kronor by the second half of 2010. It's the second major round of job cuts at Ericsson in recent times. Last year it slashed 4000 positions to save 4 billion kronor a year. (...)

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BHP to Cut 6% of Global Work Force and Shut Troubled Australian Mine

PERTH, Australia -- Mining titan BHP Billiton Ltd. said Wednesday it will cut about 6% of its global work force, shut an Australian nickel mine and reduce coal production as it responds to low commodity prices and the economic slowdown.

The moves, which follow similar cutbacks by BHP's competitors, will likely prompt further earnings downgrades ahead of BHP's fiscal first-half results next month, analysts say.

BHP Chief Financial Officer Alex Vanselow said the Melbourne-based company will cut about 6,000 workers because of weakening demand for its commodities. The changes will result in a one-time cost to BHP of around $500 million.

Describing the move as a "very serious" response to the global downturn, Mr. Vanselow said the cuts include 2,100 jobs at the company's Australian nickel unit, most from the closure of the troubled Ravensthorpe nickel operation.

About 550 jobs would be lost in the U.S., as many as 200 at the Olympic Dam copper-uranium expansion project in Australia, 2,000 in base-metals operations in Chile and 1,100 in metallurgical coal in Australia, he said.

BHP will cut coal production in Australia by 10% to 15%, equivalent to an annual loss of four million to six million metric tons of metallurgical coal, he said.

The Chilean layoffs relate to project deferrals rather than production cutbacks, he added.

Mr. Vanselow said that BHP remains confident in China's longer-term growth story, while efforts by the Chinese government to stimulate the economy should show results in the medium term. "Our biggest concern is not China, which alone is 30% of global consumption," he said. "The OECD, and other developing countries, is the core of the uncertainty that we are seeing."

BHP will continue to review production and job levels in light of the slowing global economy, he said.

UBS analyst Glyn Lawcock said the mine cutbacks and job losses were inevitable in light of the weaker demand for several of BHP's products such as coal, nickel and copper. The "risks are to the downside" for BHP profit forecasts, Mr. Lawcock said.

The latest moves mean BHP has announced $3.7 billion in write-downs at its Australian nickel business in the space of several months, following an earlier Ravensthorpe charge in November.

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Microsoft profit declines, software maker to cut 5,000 jobs

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Microsoft Corp. on Thursday reported an 11% drop in fiscal second-quarter profit and said it will cut 5,000 jobs as demand weakened for its Windows software. The Redmond, Wash.-based company also said it would cease giving per-share forecasts for the rest of 2009 because of the uncertainty caused by a slumping U.S. and global economy. In the final three months of 2008, meanwhile, Microsoft said earnings fell to $4.17 billion, or 47 cents a share, from $4.71 billion, or 50 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue edged up slightly to $16.63 billion from $16.4 billion from a year ago. Microsoft was expected to earn 48 cents a share on revenue of $17.1 billion, according to the consensus of analysts surveyed by FactSet Research. In premarket trades, shares of Microsoft sank as much as 7%.

Intel will cut 6000
Philippines Fears 60,000 IT Job Losses After Intel Shutdown

Nokia Oyj Announces Cost-Saving Measures Affecting Total of 1,000 Employees

Sony Corporation To Shut Domestic TV Plant, Shed 2,000 Jobs-DJ

Het gaat weer hard de afgelopen dagen

Where You Won't Shop in 2009
by Tom Van Riper
Wednesday, January 21, 2009provided byForbes

While industry executives and shoppers will remember 2008 as the year the party ended, figure 2009 to be the year of the hangover. Already, Circuit City, Linens 'N Things and Mervyn's stores are going away. Sharper Image is too, though the company will continue to sell some of its high-end gadgets through license agreements with other retailers.

More pain is on the way. One-third of U.S. women recently surveyed by America's Research Group said they plan no clothing purchases--none--in 2009. Normally, it's just 4%. That means the market is still far too saturated with stores.

More from Forbes.com:

• In Depth: Who's Set to Shutter Stores?

• In Depth: 10 Things We're Still Buying

• In Depth: Gift Cards From These 10 Stores? Use 'Em Now

Expect closings and bankruptcies to rattle the likes of Lane Bryant, Gap, and Starbucks. It's the inevitable counterpunch to the days of retailers fighting hand over fist for market share during an era of loose credit and minuscule interest rates.

Those days are over, probably for a long time. While accelerating unemployment will only last so long, consumers' debt loads and credit access don't figure to recover to pre-party levels for quite awhile.

"I don't think we will live the same way for 10 years," says Howard Davidowitz, chairman of New York-based retail consultant and investment bank Davidowitz & Associates. "People are so scared they're starting to save."

Retailers at risk in 2009, he thinks, include outerwear specialist Eddie Bauer and teen-apparel-seller Pacific Sunwear, along with Zales, the big jewelry chain. All three shuttered at least 8% of their U.S. stores last year, with many more closings expected. The same is largely true of Charming Shoppes, the owner of Lane Bryant, which closed 150 stores last year. With a mountain of debt and losses totaling over $260 million over the most recent 12-month reporting period, the company will close another 100 locations this year.

Another possible casualty: Sears Holdings, operator of Sears and Kmart stores. A key to hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert's 2005 merger of the two chains was in the underlying real estate. But with those values down 30% or so since then, slumping sales hit even worse.

"I'd be surprised if Sears-Kmart makes it through the year," says Britt Beemer, who runs retail market-research firm America's Research Group.

Non-apparel specialists like Starbucks and Sprint Nextel won't be going away, but they will close hundreds more stores during the coming year, Davidowitz predicts. Narrow specialties (Sprint's cellphones) and high prices (Starbucks' coffee) are tough sells as the consumer mood turns thrifty. What plagues Starbucks will also affect other upscale goody chains like Mrs. Fields' Cookies, and causal dining outlets like Applebee's and Cheesecake Factory. Any of the neighborhood outlets for those restaurant chains could be a casualty this year. For too many customers now, it's McDonald's or bust.

Davidowitz doesn't think a huge government stimulus will help. Better to let things bottom out naturally before regrouping. "Obama's plan will make it worse," he says. "We got into this by borrowing and stimulating, now he wants to borrow and stimulate more."

Hoe zit het eigenlijk met de massa ontslagen in Nederland??

Is Nederland een uitzondering, zoals we ook denken met de huizenmarkt of is het de stilte voor de storm hier?
_{Of heb ik veel gemist in de media?}

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Op vrijdag 23 januari 2009 16:59 schreef Demophon het volgende:
Hoe zit het eigenlijk met de massa ontslagen in Nederland??

Is Nederland een uitzondering, zoals we ook denken met de huizenmarkt of is het de stilte voor de storm hier?
_{Of heb ik veel gemist in de media?}

Er is een vertraging, maar daar zal je vermoedelijk de komende weken nog genoeg van horen

ik zie iig ING en NedCar vallen, grote herstructurering ECT en eigenlijk de hele Rotterdamse haven, een afname van 20% vluchten op Schiphol, en god mag weten wat nog meer

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Op vrijdag 23 januari 2009 18:10 schreef 68Chevelle het volgende:

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Er is een vertraging, maar daar zal je vermoedelijk de komende weken nog genoeg van horen

ik zie iig ING en NedCar vallen, grote herstructurering ECT en eigenlijk de hele Rotterdamse haven, een afname van 20% vluchten op Schiphol, en god mag weten wat nog meer

Ik werd vanmiddag door een onderzoeker gebeld van het CBS gebeld voor het afnemen van een enquête. Ik vroeg hem gelijk hoe het zit met de toename van de werkeloosheid. Hij vertelde mij dat Nederland een vertraging heeft met de oosterburen en randstad weer t.o.v. de rest van Nederland. Hij verwacht dat Nederland de pijn gaan voelen in augustus/september dit jaar en randstad in november/december.

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Op woensdag 21 januari 2009 14:12 schreef ItaloDancer het volgende:
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Update

Corus may cut up to 3,500 jobs
An image for the news story Corus may cut up to 3,500 jobs
Click for larger imageEnlarge image
25/01/2009 18:07

LONDON (Reuters) - Steelmaker Corus is poised to axe up to 3,500 jobs next week, according to The Sunday Times.

The precise number of layoffs at the Anglo/Dutch steelmaker, owned by India's Tata Steel, were being thrashed out over the weekend, according to the paper.

The job cuts are part of a long-term restructuring drawn up by outgoing chief executive Philippe Varin, but it has been accelerated by the crisis in the global steel industry, the paper says.

(Reporting by Ben Deighton; editing by )

Dus niet 1000

Hoewel.... wel 1000 in Nederland.
2500 in England.

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Op zondag 25 januari 2009 19:26 schreef Drugshond het volgende:

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Dus niet 1000

Hoewel.... wel 1000 in Nederland.
2500 in England.

Als ze slim zijn doeken ze die hele loserclub in Engeland gewoon op. Die vestiging heeft de afgelopen 10 jaar nauwelijks winst meer gedraaid, dit itt Corus IJmuiden.

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Op zondag 25 januari 2009 19:26 schreef Drugshond het volgende:

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Dus niet 1000

Hoewel.... wel 1000 in Nederland.
2500 in England.

Zal me niets verbazen, toen vorige week het bericht bekend werd gemaakt, werd dit direct tegen gesproken door de directie in Nederland.

Maar waar rook is, is vuur...
Ik hoor het morgen wel .

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Op zondag 25 januari 2009 20:28 schreef Mr_Memory het volgende:
Zal me niets verbazen, toen vorige week het bericht bekend werd gemaakt, werd dit direct tegen gesproken door de directie in Nederland.

In tijden van reorganisaties is de directie de advocaat van de duivel.
Geldige reden van ontslag = economische omstandigheden. Alle overleg en discussies ten spijt bieden geen enkele houvast.

3x eerder meegemaakt. Op dat moment draaien ze gewoon plan B af. Met of zonder arbeidstijdverkorting.
Was ook op BNR dat het management moest onderzoeken per afdeling hoe ze 10-25 % van een afdeling konden wegstrepen. Als ze zoiets doen... dan is het geen vingeroefening meer, maar liggen de plannen klaar.

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Op zondag 25 januari 2009 21:31 schreef Drugshond het volgende:

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In tijden van reorganisaties is de directie de advocaat van de duivel.
Geldige reden van ontslag = economische omstandigheden. Alle overleg en discussies ten spijt bieden geen enkele houvast.

3x eerder meegemaakt. Op dat moment draaien ze gewoon plan B af. Met of zonder arbeidstijdverkorting.
Was ook op BNR dat het management moest onderzoeken per afdeling hoe ze 10-25 % van een afdeling konden wegstrepen. Als ze zoiets doen... dan is het geen vingeroefening meer, maar liggen de plannen klaar.

Heb het ook al meegemaakt in de jaren 90, toen kon de hele techniesche dienst zijn biezen pakken.
Het is nooit zover gekomen...

Wel hebben ze toegegeven dat dit een hele grote fout was geweest, maanden na dit besluit hadden ze wel door dat ze niet zonder deze productgroep konden.

Was dat bij BNR specifiek op Corus gericht, of in het algemeen?