Unilever to eliminate 149 jobs in New Jersey

Unilever will slash 149 positions from its New Jersey operations during the next 13 months as part of a global productivity program.

In a statement, Unilever said impacted employees will have the opportunity to apply for open positions within the company, receive severance pay, and access outplacement services and development training.

The job cuts are part of Unilever’s broader Growth Action Plan (GAP), which focuses on simplifying the business and driving growth by restructuring its operations. One of the major components of the GAP involves separating the company’s €7.9 billion ice cream division, home to brands like Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum, into a standalone entity by the end of 2025. The company’s US headquarters will remain in New Jersey, moving from Englewood Cliffs to a new location in Hoboken beginning March 2025.

Unilever is one the largest fast-moving consumer goods companies in the world, with operations in homecare, personal care and food. Some of its best known brands include Axe, Cif Dove, Lifebuoy and Lux.

===Editas Medicine lays off 65% of staff and shelves lead gene-editing program

Editas Medicine will lay off 180 employees, or about two-thirds of its workforce, over the next six months as part of a broader pivot to focus its drug research on “in vivo” gene editing, the biotechnology company said Thursday.6

• In October, Editas revealed plans to change course, announcing that it would seek to license out its lead CRISPR medicine for sickle cell disease. That search did not identify a commercial partner, Editas said, leading to the company’s decision to end development of the therapy.
• Among those departing the company is Baisong Mei, the company’s chief medical officer. Two members of the board of directors will also resign at the end of the year.

Editas Medicine said Thursday afternoon it will lay off 65% of its staff — around 180 employees — as it shelves its lead gene-editing program for sickle cell disease and shifts focus. 

The cuts come amid a prolonged financial downturn for the gene-editing field, as valuations have plummeted and layoffs have become widespread. Editas already laid off staff as part of a restructuring in 2023. Its stock has fallen 81% this year. 

Editas launched with immense fanfare a decade ago, as one of the first three companies founded around the promise of CRISPR genome editing. But it struggled on execution, choosing to go after hard-to-reach diseases, and it saw significant turnover as early programs failed or stagnated. 

Ford to cut 4,000 jobs in Europe

Ford plans to cut almost 4,000 jobs in Europe over the next three years, about 14% of its workforce in the region, as the carmaker faces slowing demand for electric vehicles and rising competition from China.

• The reductions — which amount to about 14% of Ford Europe’s workforce — will primarily hit operations in Germany and the UK by the end of 2027, pending consultations with unions and governments. 
• he automaker also announced Wednesday it will reduce production of Explorer and Capri EVs at its complex in Cologne, Germany.
  

The US company said Wednesday that the cuts would be completed by the end of 2027, pending consultations with labor unions, and would be concentrated in Germany and the United Kingdom.

“The global auto industry continues to be in a period of disruption, especially in Europe, where the industry faces unprecedented competitive, regulatory and economic headwinds,” Ford said in a statement.

Dave Johnston, Ford’s European vice-president for transformation and partnerships, added: “It is critical to take difficult but decisive action to ensure Ford’s future competitiveness in Europe.”

Global automakers are under pressure from lackluster sales and intense competition from China, where EV makers are stealing market share from Western rivals, which have traditionally dominated the world’s largest passenger car market.

Ford’s passenger vehicle business has incurred significant losses in Europe in recent years. Like other carmakers, it has had to cut prices for its EVs, which have been badly loss-making, and it has scaled back EV production targets.

Marriott to lay off hundreds in Bethesda

Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott International has reportedly told staffers its restructuring plans mean there will be hundreds of layoffs.

That includes hundreds of people in the D.C. area.

Maryland’s WARN (Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice went up on Nov. 14. According to the listing, 833 people are slated to lose their jobs in January 2025.

Marriott is a leading private sector employer in Montgomery County, where it’s been headquartered for more than 60 years.

Layoffs are not new for Marriott.

In 2020, it permanently laid off 673 of the roughly 4,000 workers at its Bethesda HQ.

Roughly two years later, it opened a new headquarters in Bethesda — the $600 million development was named the Maryland Economic Development Project of the Year by the Maryland Economic Development Association.

GM laying off nearly 1,000 workers

•  GM has about 150,000 employees worldwide, with the largest group at its technical center in the Detroit suburb of Warren, Michigan. The company had 76,000 white-collar workers worldwide at the end of last year.

• Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said last month that GM is on track to reach its goal of cutting $2 billion in fixed costs by the end of this year.

• Last April, about 5,000 GM white-collar workers at General Motors took the company’s buyout offers, which the automaker said at the time was enough to avoid layoffs.

General Motors is laying off nearly 1,000 workers worldwide, most in the U.S., as it looks to streamline operations, a source told Reuters on Friday.

GM confirmed in a statement it had made job cuts.

"In order to win in this competitive market, we need to optimize for speed and excellence," the Detroit automaker said. "As part of this continuous effort, we’ve made a small number of team reductions."

The layoffs come as the car company is trying to reposition itself as a leader in electric vehicles and software, which are both costly. GM is aiming to cut $2 billion to $4 billion in losses on EVs next year.
In August, it laid off more than 1,000 workers in its software department as it worked to streamline the team. GM also laid off about 1,700 workers at a Kansas manufacturing plant in September.

One of its most significant reductions was in 2023, when about 5,000 GM salaried workers took buyouts to leave the automaker.

 

 

Opendoor cuts 300 jobs

Opendoor, the San Francisco startup that redefined how homes are bought and sold online, announced this week that it will lay off 300 employees, or about 17% of its workforce.  

The cuts, revealed in a letter to shareholders accompanying the company’s latest quarterly earnings report Thursday, are part of a larger restructuring directed at “prioritizing strategic growth initiatives, flattening reporting structures, and driving efficiencies,” according to CEO Carrie Wheeler.

This round of layoffs is the latest in a series of workforce reductions for the company, which previously cut 550 jobs in November 2022 and 550 more in June 2023.

Despite these efforts, Opendoor continues to struggle with profitability. For the first nine months of 2024, the company reported a $78 million loss.

 

Avaya to layoff 180 employees

Avaya has kickstarted its second round of layoffs in just four months.

 

The layoffs are reportedly much greater than those announced in July when the company let go of 180 employees. or approx. three percent of its workforce.

Freshworks to lay off 660

Freshworks lays off 660 — about 13 percent of its global workforce — despite strong earnings, profits

Despite reporting glowing revenue and profits for its fourth quarter, midmarket customer service, IT, and CRM vendor Freshworks said it was laying off 660 employees — about 13 percent of its employees worldwide. The company said the layoffs were part of “realigning our global workforce.”

The layoff announcement sounded unusual in that it was mentioned within an otherwise glowing financial report. CEO Dennis Woodside said in an analyst call to discuss the earnings that Freshworks “ended the quarter with more than 69,600 total customers with a net add of more than 800 customers.”

Freshworks CFO Tyler Sloat even touted a stock buyback program, to illustrate the company’s strong financials: “Given our strong financial position and improving cash profile, we have the opportunity to expand our capital allocation strategy. As such, our board of directors has authorized a share repurchase program of up to $400 million. This inaugural buyback program not only underscores the confidence we have in the durable and profitable growth of our business, but also reinforces our commitment to delivering long-term shareholder returns.”
 

Stellantis to lay off 400 workers at Detroit parts facility

(CBS DETROIT) - Stellantis will indefinitely lay off 400 workers at its Freud Street material logistics facility in Detroit, the automaker confirmed Friday. 

 

Stellantis, which owns brands like Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep and Ram, says the job cuts will be effective as early as Jan. 5, 2025.
 

 

 

 

Nissan to cut 9K jobs, reduce CEO's monthly pay by 50%

Nissan has announced it will cut 9,000 jobs from its global workforce as part of “urgent measures” to stem losses.

• Production capacity at Japanese carmaker will be reduced by 20% and sales budgets cut

• CEO Makoto Uchida offered to immediately begin forfeiting half of his monthly compensation

Nissan Motor Company announced it will be "taking urgent measures" to turnaround its business model after results from the first half of Fiscal Year 2024 showed decreased consolidated net revenue and global sales volumes, and an operating profit margin of 0.5%.

In a news release early Thursday morning, the company said it is "facing a severe situation" and laid out a plan to achieve "healthy growth," which includes reducing fixed costs by 300 billion yen (more than $1.9 billion) and variable costs by 100 billion yen ($649 million) while maintaining a healthy free cash flow.

In order to achieve this goal, Nissan said it will cut global production capacity by 20% and its global workforce by 9,000.

Stellantis to lay off 1,100 workers at Ohio Jeep plant

Stellantis said on Wednesday it is laying off about 1,100 employees at a Jeep Gladiator plant in Toledo, Ohio, as it works to improve efficiency and reduce inventory across its North American operations.

 

Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram, issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices to the respective state and local governments as well as the United Auto Workers union.

The 1,100 layoffs at the Toledo South Assembly Plant will be effective as early as Jan. 5, 2025.

Stellanis said the company is in the midst of a "transitional year" and is focused on "realigning its U.S. operations to ensure a strong start to 2025."  

 

The 3.64-million-square-foot complex manufactures the Jeep Gladiator, Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Wrangler 4xe. Over more than a decade, the company has significantly invested in the plant to increase production, including a $1.2 billion investment in Toledo's North plant since 2011. In 2017, the company confirmed that it would invest another $1 billion to retool and modernize Toledo's South plant.

These investments also involved hiring hundreds of workers and additional shifts to support the increased manufacturing.

The company noted in its third-quarter earnings report, after seeing a 27% decline in net revenues compared with the same period in 2023, that it was in the midst of North American inventory reductions and that U.S. dealer inventory level was "a focus priority."

The company reduced the U.S. dealer inventory level by more than 80,000 units between June and October. Its plan was to reduce inventory by 100,000 units by the end of November, the company said.

As established under the 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement, impacted employees will receive one year of supplemental unemployment benefits in combination with any eligible state unemployment benefits, equaling 74% of their pay.

Following that, the employees will get one year of transition assistance. Health care coverage will continue for two years.   

Coursera to reduce global workforce by approx. 10%

Coursera announced a commitment to reduce overall expenses; to reduce global workforce by approximately 10%

• On October 24, 2024, the Company announced a commitment to reduce overall expenses, focus efforts, and prioritize future investments in key initiatives that are expected to drive long-term, sustainable growth.
• "We expect this initiative to generate at least $30 million in annualized structural cost savings, creating capacity for targeted investments, as well as incremental profitability. In connection with this effort, we plan to reduce our global workforce by approximately 10% to better align our cost structure and personnel needs with our business objectives, growth opportunities, and operational priorities."

 

Walgreens plans to close 1,200 stores as it looks for a turnaround

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. plans to shutter about 1,200 stores over the next three years in a bid to improve earnings.

The retail and pharmacy chain has struggled in recent years as shopping preferences have changed and consumers have moved to buy more products online. Walgreens previously embarked on a cost-cutting plan largely targeting the retail pharmacy business.

Walgreens announced the three-year plan for store closures alongside its earnings Tuesday morning, with the company noting that about 500 of the closures are expected in fiscal year 2025, which just began.

The company expects the move will prove immediately accretive to adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow.

After a deeply disappointing report three months back that brought a guidance cut and ushered in a 22% one-day stock decline, Walgreens’ latest results are getting a better reception on Wall Street. Shares are up 5% in premarket action Tuesday as Walgreens cleared the consensus view on both revenue and earnings.

The results “reflected our disciplined execution on cost management, working capital initiatives and capex reduction,” Chief Executive Tim Wentworth said in a release.

Walgreens’ revenue rose 6% to $37.5 billion, while analysts were looking for $35.8 billion.

7-Eleven closing more than 400 locations

Several hundred “underperforming” 7-Eleven locations across North America are closing, the convenience store announced.

Seven & I Holdings, the chain’s Japan-based parent company, revealed in an earnings report Thursday that 444 locations of 7-Eleven are shutting down because of a variety of issues, including slowing sales, declining traffic, inflationary pressures and a decrease in cigarette purchases.

A specific list of closing locations wasn’t immediately released. The chain has more than 13,000 stores across the United States, Canada and Mexico, so the number of closures amounts to 3% of its portfolio.

In its earnings release, Seven & I said that while the North American economy is “robust overall,” it noticed a “more prudent approach to consumption” from middle- and low-income earners because of persistent inflation, high interest rates and a “deteriorating” employment environment.

A combination of those factors led to a 7.3% decline in traffic in August, capping off six straight months of declines.

The chain also pointed out that cigarettes purchases, which was once the largest sales category for convenience stores, has fallen 26% since 2019. A marked shift in sales to other nicotine products, like Zyn, hasn’t made up the difference.

Boeing to cut 17,000 jobs over the coming months

Boeing will reduce the size of its total workforce by 10% over the coming months, CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a letter to employees on Friday.

That amounts to around 17,000 jobs, based on the company's December 2023 total workforce numbers.

Ortberg said due to the workforce reductions, Boeing would not proceed with the next cycle of furloughs.

Ortberg also said the 777X program would be delayed until 2026, the 767 freighter program would end in 2027 and the company expects "substantial new losses" in Boeing Defense, Space & Security this quarter.

"Our business is in a difficult position, and it is hard to overstate the challenges we face together," said Ortberg. "Beyond navigating our current environment, restoring our company requires tough decisions and we will have to make structural changes to ensure we can stay competitive and deliver for our customers over the long term."

The company said Friday it expects to report third-quarter revenue of $17.8 billion, GAAP loss per share of $9.97 and operating cash flow of $1.3 billion.

The announcement comes after tens of thousands of Boeing workers voted to strike last month after rejecting the proposed contract.

 

S&P Global Ratings said earlier this week that Boeing is losing more than $1 billion a month from the strike of more than 30,000 machinists, which began Sept. 13 after machinists overwhelmingly voted down a tentative agreement the company reached with the union. Tensions have been rising between the manufacturer and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and Boeing withdrew a newer contract offer earlier this week.

On Thursday, Boeing said it filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board that accused the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers of negotiating in bad faith and misrepresenting the plane makers’ proposals. The union had blasted Boeing for a sweetened offer that it argued was not negotiated with the union and said workers would not vote on it.

After talks broke down earlier this week, Boeing said further negotiations didn’t make sense at that point. Jon Holden, president of the striking workers’ union, IAM District 751, on Friday urged a return to the bargaining table.
 

Genentech to lay off 93 in San Francisco

Genentech’s latest layoffs are the second round of workforce reductions this year, following the company’s announcement in April that it was letting go some 3% employees.

Biotech firm Genentech will lay off 93 employees at its South San Francisco headquarters, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice and SFGate. SFGATE reported that scientist roles will be the hardest hit, although engineers, managers, analysts and one vice president are also being let go. The layoffs are effective Oct. 8, according to the WARN notice.

In a statement to SFGATE on Aug. 27, a Genentech spokesperson wrote that the company periodically has to “make adjustments in our organization, including decisions around the right make-up of our workforce within the many functions in our company.” The spokesperson further stated that as a result of those ongoing evaluations, the organization “identified certain positions across Genentech that are no longer needed in support of our future work.”

This is the second round of layoffs at Genentech in 2024. In April, a company representative said it would reduce its workforce by about 3% across multiple departments, with more than 400 jobs estimated to be affected. The Genentech spokesperson said there were no reductions at parent company Roche.

GM lays off more than 1,000 salaried software and services employees

GM is laying off more than 1,000 salaried employees globally in its software and services division following a review to streamline the unit’s operations.

• The layoffs include roughly 600 jobs at General Motors’ tech campus near Detroit.

• The job cuts represent about 1.3% of the company’s global salaried workforce of 76,000 as of the end of last year.

 

DETROIT — General Motors  is laying off more than 1,000 salaried employees globally in its software and services division following a review to streamline the unit’s operations, CNBC has learned.

The layoffs, including roughly 600 jobs at GM’s tech campus near Detroit, come less than six months after leadership changes overseeing the operations, including former Apple executive Mike Abbott leaving the automaker after less than a year in March due to health reasons.

“As we build GM’s future, we must simplify for speed and excellence, make bold choices, and prioritize the investments that will have the greatest impact,” a GM spokesman said in an emailed statement. “As a result, we’re reducing certain teams within the Software and Services organization. We are grateful to those who helped establish a strong foundation that positions GM to lead moving forward.”

GM declined to disclose the full number of layoffs, but a source familiar with the matter, who declined to be named because the information is private, confirmed more than 1,000 salaried employees would be laid off, including 600 in Warren, Michigan. Impacted employees were notified Monday morning.

The layoffs represent about 1.3% of the company’s global salaried workforce of 76,000 as of the end of last year. That included about 53,000 U.S. salaried employees.

The cuts come as automakers attempt to reduce costs and, in many instances, employee headcount amid fears of an industry downturn — and as they’re spending billions of dollars on emerging markets such as all-electric vehicles and so-called software-defined vehicles.

GoPro to cut about 15% of its workforce

GoPro will cut approximately 15% of its workforce as part of a previously announced plan to reduce operating expenses by about $50 million from projected fiscal 2024 expenses.

The company said on Monday that the board approved the restructuring plan and that the cuts to its workforce, which stood at 925 full-time employees at the end of the second quarter, will begin in the third quarter. The jobs cuts are expected to be substantially completed by the end of the year.

Intel to Cut Thousands of Jobs

• CEO Gelsinger embarks on ambitious effort to regain share

• Chipmaker is spending on research, development and new plants

Intel Corp. plans to eliminate thousands of jobs to reduce costs and fund an ambitious effort to rebound from an earnings slump and market share losses.

The workforce reduction may be announced as early as this week, according to people familiar with the company’s plans, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Intel, which is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings Thursday, has about 110,000 employees, excluding workers at units that are being spun out.

Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems to lay off about 400 employees

May 16 (Reuters) - Spirit AeroSystems is laying off several hundred members of its workforce in Wichita, Kan., according to an internal memo, as the company deals with high debt and slowed production at Boeing, its key customer.

“The recent slowdown in the delivery rate on commercial programs compels a reduction to our workforce in Wichita,” spokesman Joe Buccino said. “In the coming weeks, we will inform affected employees. We are committed to implementing this transition in as compassionate a manner as possible.”

 

The headquarters of Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc, is seen in Wichita, Kansas, U.S. December 17, 2019. REUTERS

The memo, first reported by Wichita-based KSN, said about 400 employees would be affected. Buccino did not confirm that figure to Reuters. Spirit had already started to limit overtime and hiring as production declines due to lower output of 737 MAX jets following a January mid-air blowout on a Boeing plane.

Walmart to cut jobs at headquarters, relocate hundreds of corporate workers across the country

• Walmart is laying off and transferring hundreds of its corporate employees.
  

• The company is relocating remote workers and those at its Dallas, Toronto and Atlanta offices.
  

• The discounter is currently building a new headquarters in its hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas.

Walmart is laying off hundreds of corporate workers across the country as it relocates many employees to its Arkansas headquarters.

The big-box retailer confirmed the layoffs and relocations in a memo sent to employees Tuesday.

In the memo, Chief People Officer Donna Morris said the move is meant to bring more of its employees back to the office after the Covid-19 pandemic. The company brought corporate employees back to its Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters in February 2022.

Now, she said, Walmart is taking that a step further. The majority of employees working remotely and in offices in Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto have been asked to relocate. Most will be moved to the company’s Arkansas headquarters, but some will also relocate to offices in the San Francisco Bay Area or Hoboken, New Jersey, she said.

The layoffs are the latest cost cut for the discounter. In late April, Walmart announced it would shutter 51 health clinics across Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Texas. The new clinics, which offered doctor, dentist and therapy appointments, were part of Walmart Health, a broad effort by the discounter to bring lower prices to the health-care industry. It had opened the health clinics next to its big-box stores, but said in an announcement on its website that the business was not financially sustainable.

Walmart is the nation’s largest private employer with about 1.6 million employees, most of whom work at its stores across the country.

Walmart has another reason to bring more employees to Bentonville: It is building a nearly 350-acre campus there. The major development, which is well underway, includes 12 office buildings, along with parking lots, a hotel and other amenities. The campus’ first few buildings have already opened, including a fitness center and a day care.

Bristol Myers Squibb to cut 2,200 jobs

Bristol Myers Squibb revealed in its first-quarter 2024 earnings report on Thursday that it will implement a sweeping “strategic productivity initiative” in a bid to generate approximately $1.5 billion in cost savings through 2025, including eliminating around 2,200 jobs by the end of 2024.

Under the realignment effort, BMS is looking to optimize its operations by reducing management layers, among other cost-cutting measures, according to the company’s Thursday investor presentation. The pharma said it will use these savings to fund innovation, paying particular attention to R&D programs with the highest potential return on investment with an eye toward long-term growth.

BMS’ restructuring efforts come as the pharma sustained a 6% drop in sales for Opdivo (nivolumab). In the first quarter of 2024, the lung cancer therapy brought in nearly $2.1 billion worldwide, down from a little more than $2.2 billion in revenue during the same period in 2023.

The CAR-T therapy Abecma (idecabtagene vicleucel)—which Elkins said was “impacted by ongoing competitive pressures” and “unfavorable pricing pressures”—also took a 44% sales hit, brining only $82 million worldwide in Q1, compared to $147 million in the same period last year. In April 2024, the FDA approved the use of Abecma as an earlier-line treatment for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Despite these sales slumps, BMS brought in almost $11.87 billion in Q1, a 6% increase from the same period the prior year and beating consensus estimates, according to an investor note from William Blair analyst Matt Phipps.

Reblozyl (luspatercept), indicated for anemia in beta thalassemia and myelodysplastic syndromes, was a strong driver of BMS’ Q1 growth raking in $354 million worldwide and representing a 72% increase. The melanoma therapy Opdualag (nivolumab/relatlimab) also performed well in the quarter, with sales spiking 76% to $206 million.

The anticoagulant Eliquis (apixaban) was BMS’ top-performing asset bringing in $3.72 billion, which is a 9% jump from the same period in 2023.

Tesla to lay off 2,688 workers in Austin, more than 3,000 in California

Tesla Inc. will be laying off 2,688 employees at its Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, and more than 3,000 in the San Francisco Bay Area and elsewhere in California, the EV maker said in official notices.

At the Austin Gigafactory, the layoffs equal to about 12% of staff at the facility and will start June 14, according to to a worker adjustment and retraining notification, or WARN notice, which companies are required to file with a state labor department to give workers 60 days’ notice before layoffs.

WARN notices in California call for more than 2,500 layoffs in the Bay Area, mostly at the Tesla factory in Fremont and former headquarters in Palo Alto, and a few hundred more in Burbank, southern California, and the Central Valley's Lanthrop, where Tesla makes energy-storage products. The layoffs in California are starting on June 14, Tesla told the state.

The company already announced it would lay off 285 workers at two plants in Buffalo, N.Y., equal to 14% of that workforce, starting July 15.

Tesla recently announced large-scale job cuts equal to more than 10% of its global workforce as it struggles to boost profit and pave a path to future growth.

Nike to layoff 740 Portland area workers

 BEAVERTON, Ore. (KPTV) – Nike has announced the layoff 740 workers at its world headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, as part of a company restructuring plan.

On Friday, the company reported the layoffs to the state’s Office of Workforce Investments.

The filing is the start of a second wave of layoffs. The company previously let go a number of workers in February.

In February, CEO John Donahoe announced that Nike would layoff 2% of its total workforce, or about 1,600 people, but didn’t provide specifics.

The layoffs in Oregon announced Friday do not affect retail stores or manufacturing facilities. Only workers at Nike’s campus in Beaverton will be affected.

Nike provided the following statement to KPTV on Friday:

“Nike’s always at our best when we’re on the offense. The actions that we’re taking put us in the position to right-size our organization to get after our biggest growth opportunities as interest in sport, health and wellness have never been stronger. While these changes will impact approximately 2% of our total workforce, we are grateful for the contributions made by all Nike teammates.”

Nike is one of the Pacific Northwest’s largest employers, with more than 15,500 employees in Oregon and Southwest Washington, and more than 83,000 employees worldwide.

Google Fires 28 Workers Protesting $1.2 Billion Israeli Contract

Google has fired 28 employees who staged in sit-in which was protesting the company’s $1.2 billion cloud contract with Israeli government.

Nine employees were also arrested.

In a note sent to employees the company says: “If you're one of the few who are tempted to think we're going to overlook conduct that violates our policies, think again.”

Googlers,

You may have seen reports of protests at some of our offices yesterday. Unfortunately, a number of employees brought the event into our buildings in New York and Sunnyvale. They took over office spaces, defaced our property, and physically impeded the work of other Googlers.

Their behavior was unacceptable, extremely disruptive, and made coworkers feel threatened. We placed employees involved under investigation and cut their access to our systems. Those who refused to leave were arrested by law enforcement and removed from our offices.

Following investigation, today we terminated the employment of twenty-eight employees found to be involved. We will continue to investigate and take action as needed.

Behavior like this has no place in our workplace and we will not tolerate it. It clearly violates multiple policies that all employees must adhere to - including our Code of Conduct and Policy on Harassment, Discrimination, Retaliation, Standards of Conduct, and Workplace Concerns.

We are a place of business and every Googler is expected to read our policies and apply them to how they conduct themselves and communicate in our workplace. The overwhelming majority of our employees do the right thing. If you're one of the few who are tempted to think we're going to overlook conduct that violates our policies, think again. The company takes this extremely seriously, and we will continue to apply our longstanding policies to take action against disruptive behavior — up to and including termination.

You should expect to hear more from leaders about standards of behavior and discourse in the workplace.

Tesla is slashing its workforce by more than 10%

Tesla is slashing its workforce by more than 10%, part of a global retrenchment for Elon Musk’s embattled electric vehicle maker as it struggles with slowing demand. 

 

In an email to workers, the chief executive cited duplication of roles and the need to cut costs. If Musk’s mass firings apply companywide, they would amount to more than 14,000 people losing their jobs. 

 

Alongside the terminations, Senior Vice President Drew Baglino and Rohan Patel, vice president of public policy and business development, are said to have departed. Baglino, an 18-year company veteran, is said to have resigned. Analysts are bracing for the EV maker’s sales to possibly shrink, citing slow output of its Cybertruck and a coming lull in new products.

Take-Two Interactive laying off around 5 percent of its workforce, or approx. 579 workers

Take-Two Interactive announced today that it is laying off 5 percent of its workforce, or more than 500 employees, despite earlier claims that it had "no current plans" for additional layoffs. 

 In the filiing, Take-Two said it is "eliminating several projects in development and streamlining its organizational structure," which includes laying off workers. Take-Two said it expects to incur between $160 and $200 million in total charges, with $120 million to $140 million related to title cancellations.

Apple to lay off more than 600, weeks after canceling electric-vehicle project

Apple Inc. is laying off more than 600 workers in Silicon Valley, weeks after pulling the plug on its secretive, self-driving EV.

Those are the first significant job cuts for Apple since the pandemic. According to a filing with the state of California, 614 employees were informed on March 28 that they’ll lose their jobs, effective May 27. The San Francisco Chronicle first reported the layoffs.

In February, Apple reportedly abandoned its years-long plans to build an autonomous electric vehicle. At the time, Bloomberg News reported that some employees on the project would be shifted to other departments, while others would likely be laid off.

While the state filing did not specify the car project, the layoffs will affect workers at eight satellite offices in Santa Clara, Calif., though none at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.

Citi to lay off 430 employees in New York across units

 (Reuters) -Citigroup will lay off 430 employees across different divisions in New York, the bank disclosed in filings with the State Department of Labor on Monday.

The layoffs will impact 363 employees of the lender's primary banking unit, Citibank. Workers in the technology and broker-dealer arm will also be affected, the filings showed.

The bank last week ended a sweeping overhaul, its biggest in decades, as part of an effort to simplify its structure and improve performance.

Unveiled in September, the reorganization reduced management layers to eight from 13 as part of an effort to cut bureaucracy. Citi has also set a goal to trim its global workforce by 20,000 over the next two years.

The lender did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment. The latest layoffs are scheduled for June, according to the filings.

The bank's CEO, Jane Fraser, said in January that Citi had cut 1,500 managerial roles, comprising 13% of its worldwide leaders. The changes would create annual savings of about $1 billion, she said at the time.

 

 

GoPro to cut total workforce by 4%, reduce office space

GoPro  said it is putting in place a restructuring plan that includes a global workforce cut of about 4% and reducing its office space to save on operating costs.

The wearable-camera maker on Tuesday didn’t detail how many employees would be affected by the headcount reduction, but it employed 930 people as of Dec. 31, according to its latest Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Catalent lays off 130 staffers at massive Indiana facility being sold to Novo Nordisk

Despite a multi-billion-dollar takeover bid from Novo Holdings, contract manufacturer Catalent appears to be continuing with the internal restructuring scheme it unveiled last year.

Catalent will lay off approximately 130 staffers at its massive manufacturing and filling plant in Bloomington, Indiana, a company spokesperson confirmed over email Thursday.

The staff reductions are new and unrelated to the roughly 300 positions the company chopped as part of its cost-cutting campaign between October and December 2023.

“As part of Catalent’s commitment to driving long-term sustainable growth, the company has been focusing on increasing efficiencies and reducing costs across our business,” the spokesperson explained in an emailed statement.

Coupled with those efforts, Catalent made the “difficult, but necessary” decision to cut both current and open roles at the Bloomington site, she added.

Barclays to cut hundreds of jobs across its investment bank

Barclays Plc is preparing to cut several hundred jobs within its investment bank division as the firm embarks on a yearslong efforts to trim costs and boost profits within the unit, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

The cuts will affect staffers in global markets, research and the firm’s investment banking arm, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing non-public information. They are expected to take place in the coming months and are part of the firm’s annual cutting of low performers, the people said.

“We regularly review our talent pool to ensure that we can invest in high-performing talent, execute on our strategy, and deliver for our clients,” Barclays said in an emailed statement, which noted it hasn’t finalized the number of roles included in this year’s review.

In recent months, Wall Street giants from Citigroup Inc. to JPMorgan Chase & Co. have turned to job cuts in response to the global slump in dealmaking and capital markets activity. At Barclays, the moves come as the company is kicking off a lengthy push to improve the profitability of its investment bank division, which has been stung by that dearth of activity as well as higher-than-usual attrition among dealmakers.

Stanley Black & Decker to lay off 192, close Fort Mill, South Carolina plant

In March 2024, Stanley Black & Decker announced that it would close its Fort Mill, South Carolina plant, which produces DeWalt drills, and lay off 192 employees. The plant is located at 4260 Pleasant Road, outside Carowinds park. 

 

The company's global vice president of manufacturing operations, Steve Maddocks, said that the plant will close in four stages, beginning May 10 with 158 layoffs.

 

The company filed a WARN notice on Monday with the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. That document is required when companies plan large closures or layoffs that will impact workers. The 4260 Pleasant Road facility will be closed between May 10 and the end of the year, according to the notice.

Stanley Black & Decker makes DEWALT cordless power tools in Fort Mill.

In 2017 the company announced it would move into a 345,000-square-foot facility in Lakemont Business Park, across Carowinds Boulevard from the Carowinds amusement park. That move would bring a $31 million investment and 500 new jobs, York County economic development officials said at the time.

Stanley Black & Decker officials could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

The new layoffs filing is the 11th WARN notice in South Carolina this year, but the first for any company in the Rock Hill region.

 

About Stanley Black & Decker
According to its website, Stanley Black & Decker began in 1843 and is headquartered in Connecticut. The Fortune 500 company includes brands like DeWalt, Craftsman, Stanley, Cub Cadet, Hustler and Troy-Bilt.

It has more than 50,000 employees.

Dublin, Pennsylvania, company Alpha Z Charlotte Industrial owns the Stanley Black & Decker building in Fort Mill. It’s on almost 37 acres and also includes an address on Rubin Center Drive.

The building was constructed in 2018. The owners bought the site in 2019 for $28.8 million, according to county land records.

Pfizer stops buildout of $350M Seagen plant, leaving 120 workers' roles in question

• Update Apr 3, 24: Pfizer will layoff 119 employees in Everett, WA on June 3, 2024 as indicated in a WARN notice.

When Pfizer completed its $43 billion buyout of Seagen in December, CEO Albert Bourla said that the New York pharma giant was not just gaining the Seattle biotech’s “golden eggs,” but instead was “acquiring the goose that laid the golden eggs.”

 

Less than three months later, it’s clear that the goose did not include Seagen’s ambitious manufacturing facility under construction, 13 miles north of its current headquarters.

Pfizer has confirmed a report over the weekend from the Puget Sound Business Journal that it is shutting down construction of the $350 million, 270,000-square-foot facility in a business park in Everett, WA.

Seagen had embarked on the manufacturing project to reduce its reliance on contract manufacturers for supplies of its commercial and clinical products in its deep oncology pipeline.

“Pfizer regularly evaluates our manufacturing network to ensure capacity is effectively utilized based on projected product demands. After careful evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to wind down construction of the site,” Pfizer said in a statement.

Seagen’s 120 employees who were working on the initial setup of the new site “will be impacted,” Pfizer said. The company will “make every effort” to place them in open roles at Seagen’s headquarters in Bothell, according to a spokesperson.

Northrop Grumman cutting 1,000 jobs in Southern California's space sector

 Northrop Grumman, a defense contractor, announced plans to lay off up to 1,000 employees in Southern California's space sector. The affected employees work at facilities in Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Azusa. 

The company declines to explain the cause of the layoffs. Separately, it disclosed in a January financial filing that the U.S. government had terminated a classified space program, reducing its backlog by $2 billion.

Northrop Grumman issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notices to employees that might be laid off on Jan. 26. The news of the potential layoffs was first reported by Space News.

“We’re actively working to match impacted employees with existing job openings and opportunities across Northrop Grumman,” the company told Aviation Week on Feb. 27. “These efforts are ongoing, and a higher number of employees received WARN notices than may ultimately be impacted.”

The prime manufacturer’s Space Park facilities have about 7,500 employees.

Northrop Grumman’s planned layoffs come just a few weeks after NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in nearby Pasadena announced plans to cut nearly 600 jobs amid budget uncertainties and an ongoing review of NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission.

Southern California has the world’s largest cluster of space companies and government agencies. It also hosts large facilities for other prime aerospace manufacturers, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, RTX and SpaceX. The region also has an ever-growing cadre of space startups. Still, absorbing nearly 1,600 workers in the span of a few months might be more than hiring companies and government agencies can digest.

The layoffs come after other startups also trimmed their number of staff last year amid slower-than-expected revenue growth, a more difficult environment for raising venture capital and higher interest rates. For instance, last year launch company Virgin Orbit of Long Beach went bankrupt and laid off its 750 employees. Astra, a rocket engine manufacturer based in Alameda, also laid off dozens of employees. 

Evonik to cut 2,000 jobs worldwide by 2026

German chemicals group Evonik said it expected no signs of a recovery in 2024 and announced up to 2,000 job cuts worldwide by 2026 in a bid to cut costs

Banco Santander SA cuts 320 jobs in the US

Banco Santander SA has cut roughly 320 jobs in the US as it seeks to focus more on digital operations, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Spain’s largest lender laid off about 2.7% of US employees in recent days, out of a total workforce of about 11,800, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. The dismissals are focused on the bank’s retail operations in the country, the person said.

“We are evolving our US business, investing in digital capabilities and simplified processes to adapt to changing customer needs,” Santander said in an statement in response to questions from Bloomberg. “These steps have resulted in an update to our staffing model that impacts a small percentage of our branch colleagues. We will continue to support them throughout this process and are working to provide internal opportunities, where possible,” it said, without providing further details.

Although Santander is best known as a retail bank with large branch networks in several countries, it has been pushing in recent years to focus more on digital operations in markets where it doesn’t have a strong position, such as the US. Its main retail markets include Spain, Brazil and the UK.

Shiseido to cut 1,500 job in Japan through anticipated retirement program

The Japanese cosmetics giant intends to transform its business in Japan. The plans includes an early retirement incentive plan for employees in Japan that is estimated to result in about 1,500 voluntary leaves, almost 4% of its global workforce.

 

 

As part of its transformation plan, Shiseido also wants to concentrate its activities on “brands, products, and touchpoints with high growth potential and profitability."

In particular, Shiseido wants to boost its online sales in Japan, increasing them to 30% of its national turnover, compared to barely more than 10% currently, through increased collaboration with e-retailers and improvement of its own e-commerce sites.

Shiseido Japan aims to optimize efficiency in terms of cost of goods sold, marketing investments, and other expenses. The company expects a cost reduction of 25 billion yen over the next two years.

Shiseido has reported a nearly 40% slump in earnings in 2023, impacted by China’s sluggish recovery post-Covid and a step decrease of its sales in travel retail.

For fiscal 2024, Shiseido has forecast its net income will grow by 1.1% to JPY22 billion (EUR 136.7 million at current exchange rates), and that revenue will grow by 2.8% to JPY1 trillion (EUR 6.2 billion).

Citigroup to lay off 286 employees in New York

(Reuters) - Citigroup will lay off 286 employees in New York, according to filings to the State Department of Labor, at a time the bank is carrying out its biggest overhaul in decades.

 

Three separate notices dated earlier this week showed the layoffs would impact 239 employees from its primary banking subsidiary, 44 from its broker-dealer unit and three from its technology arm.

Citigroup said in January it would cut 20,000 jobs over the next two years, while acknowledging a "clearly disappointing" quarter marred by one-off charges that resulted in a $1.8 billion loss.

The lender is aiming to reduce its global workforce by roughly 8% through 2026, including layoffs from the reorganization, Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason told reporters at the time.

CEO Jane Fraser announced the sweeping reorganization plan in September to simplify the bank's structure after divesting from non-core markets and focusing on profitable areas.

Bumble to lay off 350 employees, or about 37% of its workforce

• Bumble announced plans to lay off about 350 employees as part of its fourth-quarter earnings report Tuesday.

• The company said the layoffs will help drive stronger operating leverage and align its operating model with “future strategic priorities.”

• Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones said the company is taking “significant and decisive” action to accelerate its product roadmap, according to the release.

Bumble on Tuesday announced plans to lay off about 350 employees as part of a restructuring plan. A company spokesperson said the cuts amount to about 30% of Bumble’s workforce.

Bumble said the layoffs will help drive stronger operating leverage and align its operating model with “future strategic priorities,” according to its fourth-quarter report. Bumble had more than 950 full-time employees as of Dec. 31, 2022, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The spokesperson said the latest annual report will be published later this week.

The dating app reported $273.6 million in revenue for the quarter, up from the $241.6 million in the same period last year. Bumble posted a net loss of $32 million, or a loss of 19 cents per share, compared to the year-ago quarter, when the company reported a net loss of $159.2 million, or 35 cents per share.

Shares of Bumble fell more than 8% in after-hours trading Tuesday.  

Transformation Plan: Today, the company announced that it intends to reduce its global workforce by approximately 350 roles to better align its operating model with future strategic priorities and to drive stronger operating leverage. We expect to incur approximately $20 million to $25 million of non-recurring charges, consisting primarily of employee severance, benefits, and related charges for impacted employees, the majority of which will be recognized in the first two quarters of 2024.

Levi Strauss : cutting its global workforce by up to 15%

NEW YORK (AP) — Denim giant Levi Strauss & Co. said Thursday that it’s slashing its global corporate workforce by 10% to 15% in the first half of the year as part of a two-year restructuring plan that seeks to cut costs and simplify its operations.

The company employed about 19,100 people as of the end of November, according to its annual report filed with securities regulators.
San Francisco-based Levi’s said the restructuring is expected to generate net cost savings of $100 million in the current fiscal year. It estimates it will book charges of $110 million to $120 million in the first quarter and said there could be more restructuring charges ahead.

Update Feb 27, 2024

Levi Strauss announced the difficult but necessary step of reducing its workforce to address its cost structure; in most countries workforce actions will take place this week

• "During Q4 earnings in January, we announced that one aspect of this work would involve the difficult but necessary step of reducing our workforce to address our cost structure. In most countries, workforce actions will take place this week. Where required by local laws, including in some European countries, we will first engage in consultation processes with works councils and local employee representatives, which will affect the timelines in those countries.
• I want to acknowledge how tough these past few weeks have been and thank you for your continued hard work and dedication during a time of uncertainty. The prospect of layoffs and having to say goodbye to valued colleagues is always difficult, but we have a responsibility to all our stakeholders to operate our business so it can thrive over the long term. Unfortunately, our costs have been growing faster than our revenue, which is not sustainable for us or for any company. Continuing this way would further burden us with excess operating costs, make us less competitive and slow our progress toward a DTC-first future.
• While workforce reductions will deliver a significant part of the savings that we described in our last earnings call, it is one step in a larger process to change the way we operate and improve the performance of our business. We are also taking action to advance our long-term strategies, specifically:
  • To expedite our pivot to being DTC-first, we are revamping our global operating model and go-to-market process. In essence, we are rewiring and improving the entire end-to-end process, reshaping our company and positioning us to better meet the expectations of our consumers.
  • To accelerate assortment productivity, provide greater clarity to the consumer and create more focus for our teams, we have activated an initial reduction of 13% across our Levi's product assortment for H1'25 and are deprioritizing footwear in some regions. These efforts, together with the recent decision to exit Denizen, are part of our push to deliver a best-in-class consumer experience, focus on higher-margin products and improve working capital management.
  • To achieve greater retail productivity in the U.S., we are taking a deep look at our labor allocation, sales effectiveness and inventory management. We will be rebalancing store teams and removing some management layers, which will result in the elimination of a small number of store leadership positions.
  • To leverage global capabilities and gain additional cost savings, we are looking at centralizing some work at global capability centers like the one we have successfully established in Bangalore.
  • To drive greater impact and efficiency, we are considering the consolidation of North and South Europe into a single European cluster while maintaining country-focused teams where resources need to be closer to consumers."