Bankrupt American Airlines on Wednesday revealed a tough restructuring plan that would scrap the pension plan, reduce health care benefits and, as several of my mobile news smartphone apps trumpted, , lay off some 13,000 employees.
That’s a blow to a stumbling jobs market and a hit to consumer and worker confidence, though investors probably love the idea of trimming 20 percent of labor costs. (There’s always a ‘who benefits?’ silver lining story somewhere…)
In 2011, tens of thousands of workers in the financial sector lost jobs, along with other big job cuts at companies like Pfizer, Cisco and Delta. While American Airlines is the first big job-cuts announcement of the year, it’s a sure bet it won’t be the last.
And with the New Year just under way, you might want to consider some sort of tracking feature — a blog, a standing graphic in your publication or online, or a monthly roundup — to chronicle mass layoffs this year in your region. Seek out the pink-slipped workers and document their job searches, career retraining, personal finance challenges and other aspects of unemployment. Joblessness and the mismatch between corporate expectations and what candidates have to offer is one of the most unexplored stories of this era, as I mentioned in a previous blog post about the so-called talent gap.
Readers love longitudinal features that let a story unfold throughout the year, and they are great background for presenting ongoing economic data and statistics. Why not give it a try this year?
Finding laid-off workers is easy; visit your area’s workforce commission, go to job fairs, ask financial advisers to refer clients, call executive recruiting firms, talk with local union leaders and consider soliciting reader stories through a blurb in the publication or online.
Meanwhile, bookmark this Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly mass layoffs report; it’s really a trove of data that slices mass layoff numbers by industry, occupation and by state. (A mass layoff is one involving 50 or more workers.) Perusing the report, it’s surprising how many events fall under radar screens; according to the BLS report there were 2,433 layoff events in December alone. (Note that this report lists layoffs of any duration; it may be that some job losses recorded are not permanent; that’s an important distinction to make when ferreting out local events.) Contact the BLS and your state labor department for documentation about the employers reporting the job cuts.
And check out the federal labor department’s WARN pages — the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers to provide 60 days notice of plant closings and mass layoffs, among other provisions. It’s another way to keep tabs on pending job cuts in your area.
Article source: http://businessjournalism.org/2012/02/02/american-airlines-isnt-the-only-source-of-layoff-news/
Other Posts
Filed under: Daily Layoffs News
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.