Publicly Announced Layoffs for May, 1999

Publicly Announced Layoffs for May, 1999
May, 6, 1999
Bodyshop Profits Fall, Details Job Cuts
LONDON - Britain's Body Shop International Plc Thursday reported a steep drop in underlying annual profits and said it cut 300 jobs in a restructuring announced in January.
The company, the brainchild of ``green'' campaigner Anita Roddick, is undergoing a major shake-up to try to revive flagging profits and sales in Britain and overseas.
In January, the group revealed plans to sell two UK manufacturing plants and cut staff at its head office in Littlehampton on England's south coast. No job numbers were given in January, but Body Shop confirmed Thursday that 300 jobs would be lost by the end of June.
Chief Executive Patrick Gournay, brought in almost a year ago to try to revitalize the company, said it would take time to turn the business around.
Body Shop has more than 1,600 stores across Europe, Asia and the United States.
May 12, 1999
Some Shrinkage in the L.A. Garment Industry
Cheaper imports are partly to blame in loss of 3,700 jobs in the county's apparel sector. But nationwide, it was worse.
Job losses in Los Angeles County's apparel industry accelerated during the first quarter amid stiff competition from cheaper imports and the flight of garment assembly to countries with lower labor costs, according to a report to be released today by local economists.
Roughly 3,700 .jobs were lost in garment manufacturing in Los Angeles County from January through March, and the hemorrhaging is expected to continue through the end of the year, the report by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. concludes.
The losses have hurt mostly small, private businesses, since roughly 90% of apparel manufacturers in the county employ fewer than 50 people, the report found. Los Angeles County is the focal point of California's apparel manufacturing industry, accounting for 70% of all such jobs in the state.
May 13, 1999
Boeing to cut up to 7,000 jobs in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS - Boeing will eliminate between 6,500 and 7,000 jobs in St. Louis by 2001 because of a decline in orders for the F-15 fighter plane.
The company announced the moves Thursday and said it will consolidate factories that make three planes, including the F-15. The company said it expects the cuts to come from management and union members.
About 800 workers already have been given notice. Jerry Daniels, a Boeing vice president, said 300 to 400 workers would be let go every month until the reduction is complete.
Last month, the Greek government signed a $3.5 billion contract to buy Lockheed Martin's F-16s instead of the Boeing jets. That order alone could have kept the Boeing line open two more years.
Two weeks later, the Israeli government postponed a $2.5 billion purchase of F-15s.
May 13, 1999
Food Maker ConAgra to Cut Jobs, Close Plants
OMAHA, Neb. - In its second major restructuring move in three years, foods giant ConAgra Inc. plans to cut 7,000 jobs and close at least 15 production plants.
ConAgra said Wednesday it wants to reduce expenses and concentrate on selling its major food brands and other products.
Analyst David Nelson of CS First Boston said the company had not grown much in the past few years.
"It's a company that's having some problems and it's using this to strengthen" its operations, Nelson said.
Most of the job cuts, including about 4,000 to be announced by May 30, will take place in the next few months, with others coming more than a year away, spokeswoman Lynn Phares said. The majority of workers probably will be laid off while others might find new jobs within the company, she said.
The effort announced Wednesday is broader than a 1996 restructuring that eliminated 6,300 jobs and overhauled 29 plants because it involves the way ConAgra's businesses work together, Ms. Phares said.
May 17, 1999
Compaq to close plant, cut 900 Jobs
HOUSTON--Compaq Computer will close its Salem, New Hampshire, plant and cut most of the 900 jobs there as it looks to slash costs.
Compaq will move production of the Alpha-based server computers that it got in its $8.7 billion acquisition of Digital Equipment to two other plants in the next six to nine months. Some employees will be offered the opportunity to relocate to the sites in Fremont, California, or Houston, though Compaq said the majority of the jobs will be eliminated.
Houston-based Compaq is in the midst of completing its integration of Digital, which it acquired in June 1998. The company has cut about 12,600 jobs already and is looking for more ways to reduce costs and become more competitive in both personal computers and expensive servers. The Digital high-end business didn't perform as well as expected in the first quarter.
May 18, 1999
Atlanta rest home chain to cut 7,300 jobs
ATLANTA - Mariner Post-Acute Network, one of the largest nursing home operators in the United States, is laying off 7,300 employees.
The Atlanta-based company Monday blamed deep cuts in Medicare reimbursements for the layoffs. It also reported a second-quarter loss of about $79 million.
Mariner operates 400 nursing homes - 10 of them in Georgia - with 50,000 beds. The layoffs will affect nearly 300 Georgia employees.
The company was formed last year in a merger between Atlanta-based Paragon Health Network and Mariner Health Group of Connecticut.
Nursing homes nationwide are reeling from Medicare changes in which they get paid fixed daily fees for treating patients rather than being reimbursed for the actual cost to the nursing home.
May 21, 1999
Railroad To Cut 1,400 Jobs
DALLAS - Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. will cut 1,400 jobs over the next year as the railroad attempts to become more competitive and lower costs.
Seven percent, or 400, of the company's 5,200 salaried positions will be cut. In addition, another 1,000 union jobs will be eliminated, the company said Friday.
``We're in the process of identifying where those (1,000) positions are, and that will take the better part of three to four weeks,'' said railroad spokesman Richard Russack.
BNSF, the second-largest railway company in the U.S. with 34,000 route miles, is cutting back at the same time the country's largest railroad, Union Pacific Corp., has been hiring at record levels and has spent nearly $1.5 billion in upgrading its track and trains.
``Burlington Northern has been spending heavily to increase capacity and probably has reached a point where even in a stronger revenue environment it would reach a point where it could take people out,'' Higgins said of the job cuts.
May 24, 1999
U.S. Job Market to Stay Strong, Survey Says
The U.S. labor market will lose no steam in this year's third quarter amid steady demand for new employees, according to a survey released today. The poll of more than 15.000 U.S. companies by temporary employment company Manpower Inc. found 32% planned to add staff, while 6% expected job cuts. Fifty-eight percent expected no change in their work force, and 4% were uncertain. The figures compared with second-quarter findings of 29% expecting to increase staff, 6% planning job cuts, 61% unchanged and 4%, uncertain. In the third quarter of 1998, a similar survey found that 32% planned to recruit workers, 5%. saw job reductions, 59% were unchanged, and 4%i were uncertain. Manpower President and Chief Executive Jeffrey Joerres said the similarity in survey results for the third quarter of 1999 and the year-ago quarter was "part of a steady demand for new employees that has persisted over the past nine quarters." He said the expected increase in hirings in the third quarter of this year over the second quarter was due to "seasonal variation." The construction sector will lead others in hiring activity, with 40% of the firm surveyed expecting to employ more workers and just 4%, seen cutting jobs.
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