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.