Archive for the ‘Human Resources’ Category

So… Today is an up day yes? The number of jobless claims have dropped by the largest amount in three months.

The number of laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week by the largest amount in three months.

The Labor Department reported that applications for jobless benefits dipped by 15,000 last week to a total of 338,000. The decline was the largest since the level of claims had dipped by 22,000 in the first week of September.

Of course, someone else will release something by the end of the day that negates this good news.

It’s amazing what the UAW can accomplish through “negotiations”.

Ford Motor Co (F.N) agreed to keep three U.S. plants open and delay closing another two as part of a tentative four-year contract with the United Auto Workers unanimously endorsed by union officials on Monday.

The endorsement sets the stage for a ratification vote by some 58,000 UAW-represented Ford workers expected to conclude by next Monday without the kind of deep-seated division that marked debate over the union’s earlier deal with Chrysler LLC.

Under the tentative deal, Ford pulled back from a plan to close six U.S. facilities that it had not yet identified, sparing three U.S. assembly plants from closure.

I guess the UAW got a little skittish after Chysler announced they were cutting jobs and scrapping models right after their contract was ratified. I wonder if Ford will just close different plants, or cut jobs at them, like Chrysler? It wouldn’t surprise me.

Just two days ago, analysts were remarking about how bad our economy is (once again), because of the market tanking over 300 points.

But now, things are looking bright again because the economy added double the number of jobs that those same analysts had predicted.

Employers added twice as many new jobs to their ranks than expected in October, an encouraging sign that the nation’s employment climate is not cracking under the stress of a deepening housing slump.

The Labor Department reported Friday that the nation’s payrolls grew by a net 166,000, the most in five months. The unemployment rate didn’t budge at 4.7 percent, a figure considered low by historical standards.

Job gains were logged at schools, hospitals, bars and restaurants, hotels and motels, temporary-help firms, legal services, accounting and bookkeeping companies, the government and other places.

We’ve had 50 straight months of uninterrupted job growth, which sure doesn’t sound like a “bad economy” to me. Then again, no one has sneezed today.

The big bad president of the UAW insists that tough new fuel standards pending in Congress will force U.S. automakers overseas.

Tough new fuel-economy standards now pending in Congress could lead to the dismantling of what remains of the US domestic car industry, the president of the United Auto Workers union warned Thursday.

“We’re being told that we must choose between protecting our environment versus protecting our jobs,” said UAW president Ron Gettelfinger as he thrust himself into the center of a contentious debate over fuel economy.

…

“The US companies will no longer have an incentive to balance their full-size car production here with US production of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles,” he told the Economic Club of Detroit.

“The inevitable result is that small-car production will be shifted overseas and tens of thousands of workers will lose their jobs.”

In addition, the bill would also force manufacturers to curb the production of large trucks and sport utility vehicles in order to meet tougher corporate average fuel economy standards.

That’s the problem with these “labor bosses”, they never think outside the union hall. Why not look at things a bit more realistically and admit that making smaller cars doesn’t require as many people or some other stupid statistic?

Wouldn’t it be more prudent to work with automakers as they attempt to make their “full-size cars” and “large trucks” more fuel efficient?

I still don’t agree with his logic as to why it will force automakers overseas.

Small to medium sized businesses are always the first to show signs that the economy might not be as strong as we think. I found out the hard way a couple years ago. It looks like this coming year might not be as bright either.

More than half of U.S. mid-sized companies are not planning to hire over the next 12 months or may lay people off, and fewer than a third of the firms expect strong economic growth, a survey said on Monday.

The news adds to evidence the U.S. economy may not grow as robustly next year as it did last quarter, when gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 3.4 percent.

Not all companies are gloomy about employment — 47 percent expect to hire, according to the survey from CIT and the Economist Intelligence Unit. But 44 percent of mid-sized companies see their workforce size staying the same, and 9 percent forecast a decline.

Of course, you can look at this more positively. 47% say they expect to hire. 44% say they expect to stay the same. That’s 91% that are not forecasting a decline. Yes, as a matter of fact, I have always looked for the silver lining.

The question is, how many jobs do you have to cut before you can turn a profit?

General Motors Corp. will cut more jobs in 2007 as it closes plants and tries to wrench concessions from its major union in a crucial round of contract negotiations, Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said.

Wagoner, speaking to a group of reporters on Thursday, also said GM would not concede its ranking as the world’s No. 1 automaker to Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T) this year without a “fight for every sale.”

GM, which lost $10.6 billion in 2005, cut more than 34,000 jobs last year and unveiled plans to close 12 plants and reduce recurring costs by $9 billion. Wagoner said more limited job cuts were possible in 2007.

…

GM’s stock rose more than 50 percent in 2006, but some analysts have said further gains hinge on the company’s ability to sustain profitability against increasingly successful competitors in a weak U.S. auto market.

Although GM still sells twice as many cars in the U.S. market as Toyota, it will likely be overtaken by the Japanese automaker for the global top spot in terms of production in 2007, according to analysts.

It’s sad when companies hav to cut jobs to save money. Far be it from fellow autoworkers to take a pay cut to ensure everyone keeps their job. That’s just a stupid idea, isn’t it?

In a move that will effect nearly every Wal-Mart employee…

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT – news) will start moving many of its 1.3 million workers from predictable shifts to a system based on how many customers are in stores at a given time, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Wal-Mart will start making the changes this year with the help of a new computerized scheduling system, the paper said.

The move promises more productivity and consumer satisfaction, but could demand more flexibility and availability from workers in place of reliable shifts and predictable pay checks, the Journal reported.

Can you imagine what this will do? Instead of living “predictable paycheck to reliable paycheck”, people will be living “unpredictable paycheck to maybe paycheck”

Cross-posted at Slobokan’s Site O’ Schtuff

Almost half of Ford Motor Co.’s hourly production workers _ 38,000 so far this year _ have accepted buyouts or early retirement offers as the nation’s second biggest automaker shrinks in the face of multibillion-dollar losses and fierce competition from Asian carmakers.

The figure includes approximately 30,000 buyouts during the open signup period that concluded late Monday, plus about 8,000 who took deals offered at limited plants earlier this year.

Faced with lower demand for its products, Ford had hoped that 25,000 to 30,000 workers would sign up during the just-expired round of buyout offers so it could reduce manufacturing capacity to better match demand. The number who did was at the top end of that range.

The 38,000-worker reduction this year would amount to nearly 46 percent of the 83,000 unionized employees that Ford had at the start of the year.

Ford lost $7 billion in the first nine months of this year, and will spend (at a minimum) $1.33 billion on these buyouts.

What’s the best way to make your company more efficient?

Intel Corp. is cutting 1,000 management jobs as the chip maker tries to become more efficient amid stiff competition and weaker demand for personal computers.

The reduction, which will take several days to be carried out, is the latest action in a broad restructuring announced earlier this year, Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said Thursday. Analysts expect further job cuts as executives continue to scrutinize operations.

Cut out the management. HAHAHA Classic!

What do you do when you have a plant that is much more productive that any other in the United States?

You close it, of course.

Authors of a closely-watched study said today that U-S automakers continued to narrow the productivity gap between them and Japanese manufacturers last year, with DaimlerChrysler A-G’s Chrysler Group making the biggest strides.

Meanwhile, the assembly plant designated the most productive of 2005 by the Harbour Report is one that is scheduled to close: Ford Motor Company’s facility near Atlanta.

…

Among assembly plants, the Ford facility in Hapeville, Georgia, outside Atlanta, stood out with 15-point-four hours per vehicle. The plant, which makes the Taurus, is one of seven Ford announced it is closing by 2008 as part of its restructuring.

[Source: CBS 46]

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