Starbucks lists 200 store closures

The list of stores Starbucks Corp. is closing includes one in the Houston area.

The closures are part of about 200 stores the Seattle-based coffee company said it was shuttering across the U.S., as it struggles with the recession and a decline in revenue.

Closing is the store located at 5508 FM 1960 West in the Champions Forest area.

California is taking the biggest hit, with Starbucks closing 76 stores there. Overall, Starbucks said it closed 195 stores in 34 states and the District of Columbia, according to a list posted on the company's web site.

More Houston CFOs plan to hire than fire

For accounting and finance staff in the Houston area, jobs may not be too hard to find in the next few months, according to a new study.

According to the Robert Half Financial Hiring Index a net 4 percent of CFOs in the area expect to add staff in the second quarter.

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2009/03/02/daily20.html?surround=lfn

Unemployment hits 6.5 percent in Houston

New figures from the Texas Workforce Commission show unemployment is continuing to rise in the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown area.

According to the report released Thursday, 183,000 people in the area were without jobs in January — an unemployment rate of 6.5 percent — compared with 155,700, or 5.6 percent, in December 2008.

The figures are a significant increase from January 2008, when 125,900 people, or 4.6 percent of the work force, were registered as unemployed.

Borders Group cuts 3 percent of work force

Book giant Borders Group Inc. cut almost 3 percent of its work force, or 742 positions, nationwide Thursday in a move aimed at reducing the number of supervisory positions in its stores.

The cuts at its 516 Borders superstores and some of its 385 Waldenbooks mall-based stores aim to better align managerial staff with sales volume in each store. There are eight Borders and five Waldenbooks stores in the Houston area, according to the company's Web site.

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2009/03/02/daily42.html?surround=lfn

Report: Chase to cut 12,000 jobs

JPMorgan Chase & Co. expects to cut 12,000 jobs to realize cost savings associated with its purchase of Washington Mutual Inc.

Chase, the largest Houston-area financial institution, has 141 locations in the area employing 6,100 people, according to the Houston Business Journal Book of Lists . The bank has $33.9 billion in total local deposits as of June 30, 2007.

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2009/02/23/daily47.html?surround=lfn

More than 6,300 laid off in Texas in February

Of 186,350 planned work force reductions announced by employers nationwide in February, 6,389 were in Texas, according to a new report.

During the month, Texas had the second-largest number of layoffs in the combined west/southwest region, according to the report fromChallenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. California, which announced 12,943 layoffs, had the most. The region as a whole had 34,509 announced layoffs.

Read full article: http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2009/03/02/daily31.html?ana=e_du_pub

Chronicle to lay off 10 percent of work force

Six months after a round of layoffs, the Houston Chronicle is once again facing a reduction in its work force.

In a Feb. 13 memo to employees obtained by the Houston Business Journal , Chronicle Publisher and President Jack Sweeney said the newspaper planned a reorganization extending over 60 days which included a reduction in the work force of at least 10 percent.

Read full article: http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2009/03/02/daily23.html?ana=e_du_pub

Guest Blog: Unemployed Recruiter Seeking Recruitment

Here's a helpful blog, especially for those of us in the same industry.

 

"In a period where almost no one is hiring, I quickly realized that I couldn't rely on the standard resume distribution and job board posting. So I set out to differentiate and brand myself beyond the basics. I've determined to treat my search like I was selling my own business, Craig Campbell Inc.–using the tactics I learned during my years as a recruiter."

Read full article: http://blogs.wsj.com/laidoff/2009/01/22/guest-blog-an-ex-recruiter-goes-beyond-the-resume/?mod=rss_WSJBlog?mod=blogmod

Economist: Texas still nation’s bright spot

Despite continued job losses and warning signs of slower economic growth, Texas can expect a slightly smoother ride through the recession than the rest of the country, a bank economist said Thursday.

Nathaniel Karp, chief economist for BBVA Compass, the U.S. banking arm of Spanish financial giant Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, said during a Webcast briefing that the Texas economy is expected to grow by about 1.2 percent in 2009 after slowing to 2 percent growth in 2008.

 

Read full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2009/01/19/daily33.html

 

ConocoPhillips to cut 1,300 jobs

Houston Business Journal

ConocoPhillips on Friday said it plans to cut 4 percent of its work force and reduce its number of contractors.

The energy giant also announced a reduced capital budget for 2009 of $12.5 billion, down from $15.3 billion in 2008.

Houston-based ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) employs about 33,600 people worldwide, according to the company's Web site, putting the number of jobs to be cut at about 1,300. The company did not give details of where the cuts would be made.

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2009/01/12/daily59.html

Circuit City to close remaining U.S. stores

Circuit City Stores Inc. is planning to liquidate its remaining U.S. assets, the company said Friday.

The Richmond, Va.-based electronics retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November, and closed 155 of its U.S. stores, including the Sharpstown location on Bellaire Boulevard and League City store on the Gulf Freeway.

Circuit City still has about 13 stores in the Houston area, according to a company Web site search.

Read full article: http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2009/01/12/daily54.html

Huntsman to cut 9% of global work force

Huntsman Corp. on Thursday said it would cut about 9 percent, or 1,175 jobs, across its divisions and functions by the end of the year as part of a cost-cutting measure that began late last year.

The chemicals company, which has 12,770 employees, is headquartered in Salt Lake City, but run out of The Woodlands.

 

Read full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2009/01/19/daily31.html

Job losses hitting men harder than women

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The economic crisis is hitting men much harder than women in the workplace, largely because male-dominated industries like construction and transportation are bearing the brunt of job losses, figures show.

Women, meanwhile, dominate sectors that are still growing, like government and healthcare, experts said.

 

Read full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090122/ts_nm/us_workplace_men;_ylt=At1IFrfiRyg3C5Iq5jowbkPv5rEF

US unemployment spikes, housing crisis deepens

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US unemployment claims hit a 26-year high and home building fell to half-century lows, data showed Thursday, highlighting the scale of the recession facing the new Obama administration.

President Barack Obama has made economic recovery his administration's top immediate priority and is seeking an 825-billion-dollar stimulus package from Congress to kick-start growth.

Read full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090122/ts_alt_afp/useconomyconstructionhousing;_ylt=AlQx8nmD8i730j84KSNnL7zv5rEF

 

AMD to cut 1,100 jobs

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will lay off some 900 people and cut 200 more job positions to save money.

The Sunnyvale chip maker (NYSE: AMD) will also cut salaries for its top executives — Chairman Hector Ruiz and CEO Dirk Meyer will take 20 percent cuts, albeit temporary ones. Managers in the United States and Canada will see salary cuts of 15 percent.

 

Read full article: http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2009/01/12/daily82.html?ana=e_du

Microsoft profit down 11%, cutting 5,000 jobs

Microsoft Corp. will cut 5,000 people in the next 18 months after posting a profit drop of more than 11 percent in the second quarter.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) said the economy and technology spending has "slowed beyond expectation," as the company reported a profit of $4.17 billion, or 47 cents a share, on revenue growth of a little more than 1 percent to $16.6 billion.

 

Read full article: http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2009/01/19/daily47.html?ana=e_du_pub

Reports: State’s jobless fund facing $414M deficit

Just as jobless claims in Texas are rising in conjunction with the national recession, the state's unemployment compensation trust fund is projected fall far short of the $861 million required when the new fiscal year starts next fall.

Read full article: http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2009/01/19/daily39.html?ana=e_du_pub

CHEMICAL GIANT ENTERS CHAPTER 11

Bankruptcy's effect on Houston operations of LyondellBasell unclear

By BRETT CLANTON Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

Jan. 6, 2009, 5:20PM

Chemical giant LyondellBasell Industries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today and warned more job cuts may be on the way as the company restructures.

Reeling from plummeting sales and crushing debts, the Dutch company filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York just a year after a major merger made it one of the world's biggest chemical makers.

Volker Trautz, the company's chief executive, cited "a dramatic softening in demand" along with "unprecedented volatility" in costs. He also said December was particularly difficult because customers pulled back sharply, although LyondellBasell expects sales to improve in 2009.

 

LyondellBasell has about 4,500 employees and 2,600 contractors throughout the Houston area.

Production sites

Area manufacturing facilities produce transportation fuels and a range of building-block chemicals found in everyday consumer goods.

• Houston Refining, fuel products
• La Porte, olefins, polymers, VAM
• Bayport Polyolefins, polypropylene
• Bayport Choate, propylene oxide
• Bayport Underwood, ethylene oxide
• Channelview North, olefins / petrochemicals
• Channelview South, propylene oxide / chemicals
• Chocolate Bayou North, olefins
• Chocolate Bayou South, polyethylene

Other

• Business offices, downtown at One Houston Center
• Data center, The Woodlands
• Mont Belvieu Storage and Terminal
• Chocolate Bayou Pipeline Control Center

 

Read full article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/energy/6196015.html

Alcoa to cut 13,500 jobs, slash production

Alcoa Inc. will lay off 13,500 employees, or about 13 percent of its global workforce, by the end of 2009 as "extraordinary times" squeeze the aluminum giant.

Besides slashing personnel, Alcoa will freeze salaries and hiring, further throttle back production and halve 2009 capital expenditures, the company announced in a news release Tuesday afternoon.

 

Read full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2009/01/05/daily30.html

Walgreen to cut 1,000 jobs outside its drugstores

Here's an article about our neighbor, next door.

 

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Walgreen Co (WAG.N) plans to cut about 1,000 jobs outside its drugstores, its first major staff reduction, as it works on trimming costs and improving its operations in a recession.

Walgreen is offering early retirement and severance programs to its corporate staff and those in field management jobs such as district managers and district pharmacy supervisors.

The cuts are part of a "Rewiring for Growth" plan that Walgreen unveiled at an analyst meeting in October. Under the program, the company aims to save $1 billion per year by fiscal 2011.

Another part of its strategy is to open fewer stores. Walgreen has trimmed its store opening plans twice in the past six months as consumers spend less on everything from medications to makeup.

 

Read full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090108/bs_nm/us_walgreen;_ylt=AqnVWEORo0xAn_TOUrpv7uTv5rEF