layoffs Archives - The Michigan Star

Luxury Electric Vehicle Maker Becomes Latest in Industry to Announce Huge Layoffs

May 25, 2024 Michigan Star Staff

Electric vehicle (EV) maker Lucid Motors announced that the company would be laying off staff in a bid to lower expenses amid a slowdown in the market.

The layoffs will affect 6% of its workforce, equating to around 400 employees, and will trim from all employee levels, including leadership and mid-level management, according to a filing submitted Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Lucid is one of several EV makers to announce layoffs in recent months as consumers decline to adopt the product at the rate expected.

Walmart Cuts Hundreds of Jobs, Requires Remote Workers to Come to the Office

May 19, 2024 Just the News

Walmart has announced layoffs impacting several hundred jobs at its campus offices and is requiring remote employees to come to the office.

The retail giant said in a staff memo Tuesday most of the remote workers and personnel in its Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto offices will relocate to its primary offices in Bentonville, Arkansas; Hoboken, New Jersey; and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Electric Vehicle Maker Launches Another Round of Layoffs as Demand Slows

April 19, 2024 Michigan Star Staff

Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Rivian announced its second round of layoffs just this year on Wednesday as consumer demand for EVs stalls.

The layoffs at Rivian will affect around 1 percent of the company’s staff as they continue to look for ways to cut costs to bolster struggling profits due to less-than-expected EV sales, the company confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation. Rivian announced in February that it was laying off 10 percent of its workforce after it released its 2024 production forecast, which was well below analyst expectations, according to Reuters.

Job Market Continues Hot Streak Despite Persistent Layoffs

April 6, 2024April 5, 2024 Michigan Star Staff

The U.S. added 303,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in March as the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.8%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday.

Economists anticipated that the country would add 200,000 jobs in March compared to the 275,000 jobs that were added in initial estimates for February, and that the unemployment rate would remain unchanged at 3.9%, according to Reuters. The job gains are in spite of persistent layoffs that reached a 14-month peak in March at 90,309.

Layoffs Surge for Another Month Despite Job Gains

March 8, 2024March 7, 2024 Michigan Star Staff

Layoffs at U.S. companies surged for another month as businesses adjusted to current market conditions, despite huge reported job gains, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

Job cuts increased to 84,638 in February, 3% higher than in January when layoffs also soared, and 9% higher than February last year, which had 77,770 cuts, according to the report. The layoffs are in spite of strong reported job growth, with the U.S. adding 353,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in January, far higher than expectations of 180,000.

Vice Media ‘Eliminating Several Hundred Positions’, Will Stop Publishing on Website

February 25, 2024 Just the News

Vice Media on Thursday announced that it would stop publishing content on its website and lay off hundreds of its employees as a cost-cutting measure.

“We create and produce outstanding original content true to the Vice brand,” CEO Bruce Dixon said in a statement obtained by the Washington Post. “However, it is no longer cost-effective for us to distribute our digital content the way we have done previously.”

Former CEO: High Interest Rates ‘Killing’ Companies as Layoffs Continue

February 18, 2024 The Center Square

President Joe Biden is blaming corporations for high prices and “shrinkflation.” Business executives and many economists disagree, arguing the real problem is inflation created by federal deficit spending policies.

Ahead of the Super Bowl, Biden posted a video on X saying, “While you were Super Bowl shopping, did you notice smaller-than-usual products where the price stays the same? Folks are calling it Shrinkflation and it means companies are giving you less for every dollar you spend. I’m calling on the big consumer brands to put a stop to it.”

Citigroup Set to Begin Massive Layoffs

November 16, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

One of the U.S.’ top banks will begin massive layoffs on Wednesday in a corporate overhaul as the company seeks to trim its operating expenses to levels more in line with its competitors, according to CNBC.

Citigroup will begin cutting employees on Wednesday, with new terminations continuing to be announced through next week, affecting some chiefs of staff, managing directors and lower-level employees, according to CNBC. Following the initial round of layoffs, more employees in less senior positions are expected to be dismissed in February, with the layoffs being expected to be fully completed by March 2024.

Major Environmental Group Is at War with Itself over Race, ‘Equity’

September 11, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

The Sierra Club has experienced major infighting recently after major layoffs and changes left minority staffers feeling snubbed, The Washington Post reported.

Ben Jealous, the executive director of the Sierra Club since November 2022, let go more than two dozen workers, many of whom were people of color, in April and May of 2023 as part of a “reconstruction” effort and relabeled the nonprofit’s “People, Culture, and Equity Department” to just be the “People Department,” according to the Post. Employees at the Sierra Club protested these changes and wrote a letter on Thursday through the Progressive Workers Union, the union for the nonprofit, alleging that the organization’s moves were contrary to its stated goal of diversity.

MTV News Shuts Down amid Paramount Layoffs

May 11, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

MTV News is set to shut down all operations this week, amid a series of mass layoffs at its parent company Paramount Global.

As Fox News reports, the decision was announced in a company memo on Tuesday, thus bringing an end to the pop culture and news outlet 36 years after it was first created. MTV News had been founded in 1987 in an effort to create content that would blend music and pop culture with news and politics, ostensibly to appeal to members of Generation X as well as the then-upcoming Millennial generation.

GM Buys Out 5,000 Workers to Avert Layoffs

April 8, 2023April 7, 2023 The Center Square

General Motors says it bought out 5,000 salaried positions to avert layoffs as it pivots to electric vehicles and others that require less human labor.

In March, The Center Square reported that the automaker is looking to cut $2 billion in fixed costs by 2024 as the company transitions its manufacturing operations to produce electric vehicles.

Disney Set for Layoffs After Billion-Dollar Earnings Miss

November 14, 2022November 13, 2022 Michigan Star Staff

CEO Bob Chapek of Disney told executives that layoffs at the entertainment giant were likely, just days after a weak earnings report that missed expectations by over $1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing an internal memo.

The email also announced a hiring freeze among other cost-saving measures including a request to limit travel without prior approval from executives, according to the WSJ. The company missed expectations for its fourth quarter earnings on Nov. 8 after losing nearly $1.5 billion on its Disney+ streaming service, nearly 40% worse than what analysts anticipated.

Elon Musk’s Twitter Begins Mass Layoffs: ‘Incredibly Challenging’

November 6, 2022November 5, 2022 Michigan Star Staff

Twitter began laying staff off Friday, with up to half its workforce expected to be fired in a cost-cutting move by new owner and CEO Elon Musk.

The move comes eight days after Musk’s $44 billion deal to purchase the company, and after more than a week of conflicting reports about the extent and timing of layoffs that employees considered to be inevitable, Reuters reported. In addition to layoffs, Musk is having remaining Twitter staff work on a “Deep Cuts Plan,” designed to save $1 billion per year in infrastructure costs including server space and cloud computing services, Reuters reported.

Expect Layoffs and a Recession If Fed Doesn’t Let Up, Bank of America Exec Warns

October 12, 2022October 11, 2022 Michigan Star Staff

If the U.S. Federal Reserve continues its policy of aggressive interest rate hikes, the U.S. could lose hundreds of thousands of jobs, spiking unemployment, according to a Bank of America analysis, CNN reported.

Bank of America’s Chief U.S. Economist Michael Gapen expects roughly six months of relatively high unemployment and a”mild recession,” as the Fed’s aggressive interest rate hikes blunt consumer demand, he told CNN Monday. However, Gapen also noted that the typical bounceback seen after a recession might be delayed if the Fed, which has been incredibly hawkish on interest rates, refuses to reduce rates.

Twilio Says Layoffs Planned Through ‘Anti-Racist’ Lens

September 15, 2022September 14, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

A technology company based in San Francisco plans to lay off 11 percent of its workforce, and plans to do so with race in mind.

“As you all know, we are committed to becoming an Anti-Racist/Anti-Oppression company,” said Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson in a message to employees. “Layoffs like this can have a more pronounced impact on marginalized communities, so we were particularly focused on ensuring our layoffs – while a business necessity today – were carried out through an Anti-Racist/Anti-Oppression lens.”