dooms du jour, November/2000
[Commentary] ©2000 Phil Hyde, The Timesizing Wire, Box 117, Harvard Sq, Cambridge MA 02238 USA (617) 623-8080

11/30/2000 thu
5 takeovers reported, totaling $2.03B + $??
+ 2 downsizings reported, totaling 920 lost US jobs:
• up to 870 early retirements in Va. as Norfolk Southern
cuts costs (& ridership) instead of working hours & stress
• 50% workforce cut (50 L.A. jobs lost) as Icebox.com strains for profitability,
vs. workweek cut for all, incl. top execs, & all keep earning & focused on sales & mktg
+ 1 bankruptcy mentioned:  • eyed for eyepopping acctg, Lernout &
Hospie goes Chapter 11 & drags Dragon and Dictaphone down with it
+ 1 prison mention: • sample courses for inmates at county correctional facility
vs. glimmers of intelligence : • 2 UNtakeovers, worth $2.3B + $??
- Verizon heaves $2.3B Northpoint gobble  - Barnes&Noble drops "designs on" TVGuide
• Harvard shrink almost pops The Big Question  • Amtrak gets wise, offers Frequent Rider Miles

11/29/2000 wed
4 takeovers reported, totaling $959m + $undisclosed
+ 4 downsizings reported, totaling 2104 lost jobs:
• 44% workforce cut (1200 worldwide jobs lost) as IXL
e-consulting does lethal merge&shrink, vs. workweek cut for
all, incl. top execs, & all keep earning & focused on sales & mktg
• 600 lost Argentine jobs as Wendy's prunes money-losing locations, vs.
hrs&pay cut for all & everyone stays employed & buying burgers
• 250 lost jobs globally as Kelloggs closes a plant & tidies up before Keebler takeover,
vs. hours cut for all & all keep working & affording costly b'fast cereals
• 54 lost Ill. jobs as Nova Chemicals goes into takeover-&-shutdown mode
vs. Huntsman Chemical's polystyrene plant in Joliet
+ omens: • Franken-corn merchants squeal for mercy after granting us none
• speculators still suckering into risky startups
vs. glimmers of intelligence : • 1 UPsizing - FleetBoston adds 32 branches in Chile
• 1 UNtakeover - Knorr Capital & VMR back apart after both stocks slump
• US Customs enforces child-labor ban, blocks Mongolian clothing imports
• Dutch Parliament votes to decriminalize suicide when pain unbearable

11/28/2000 tue
12 takeovers reported, totaling $1.87B + $$undisclosed
+ 8 downsizing reports - 1 industry, & 7 corporate totaling 1497 jobcuts:
• 8789 Nov. cuts in 'hottest' industry (dot-coms) alone, 55% over last month
• 6% workforce cut (500 lost New England jobs) as Sovereign Bancorp does lethal
merge&shrink, vs. 6% workweek cut for all & all keep working & banking
• 13% staff cut (400 lost US jobs) as Covad ISP cuts costs & own mkts,
vs. 13% hrs&pay cut for all & everyone stays employed & websurfing
• 6.7% workforce cut (280 lost Va. jobs) as Bassett Furniture cuts costs
& mkts, vs. 6.7% hours cut for all & all keep working & shopping
• 50% staff cut (130 lost US jobs) as ReplayTV tries to match a rival,
vs. 50% hrs&pay cut for all & all work less & recharge more
• 48% workforce cut (76 lost US jobs) as E-Stamp drops online postage,
vs. 48% workweek cut for all & all stay working & snailmailing
• 75 cuts as InsWeb acquires Intuit's QuickenInsurance to gain customers...
• 22% staff cut (36 lost US jobs) as CUseeMe webcomms software struggles
for profits, vs. 22% hrs&pay cut for all & everyone keeps earning & surfing
+ 2 bankruptcy mentions:  • $5.4B Inter-Lease opens new crevass in Japan Inc.
• $?? bankrupt NextWave 'up the creek' without 100 wireless licenses
+ 2 corporate fines mentioned, totaling $19.5m & change:
• Hancock to pay Unisys Trust $19.5m for fiduciary fumble
• 3 toystore chains fined $1800 for pricing errors at nine locations
+ omens: • US seed firms seek slacker standards to slip thru Franken-seeds
• RC archdiocese of Chicago appoints full-time exorcist (any help with F-seeds?)
vs. glimmers of intelligence : • GM/Europe joins timesizers - prolongs holidays to trim inventories

11/26-27/2000
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 29 takeovers reported this week, worth $21.07B + $??
• 10 downsizings reported, costing over 4,102 lost jobs
• 1 corporate fine/settlement mentioned @ $14m+
• 7 bankruptcy/closure mentions, with $?? debt
vs. 3 UPsizings (?? new jobs) + 0 UNtakeovers reported ($0)
< YTD:  549 dnsz (532,055+  jobcuts) +2042 takov ($2206.9B+) vs. 129 upsz (86,541+=16%) +130 untak ($111.51B+) >
1 weekend downsizing report: • 2000 Israeli jobs lost as Bezeq, state phone company,
tries to compete with new rivals by cutting overhead - & its own markets
+ 1 weekend biz-failure story - types of exit: • graceful (Garden.com)
• graceless (Living.com) • oscillating (Boo.com)
+ 3 weekend homeless stories: homelessness bandaided by
• Boston Mayor Menino • Interfaith Volunteers & • state programs
+ weekend omens: • not only students sleep-deprived, but now teachers are moonlighting
• "land of the free" now has over 100,000 slaves with 50,000 more trafficked in each year
vs. weekend glimmers of hope: • 2 weekend UPsizings - 48 new NYC jobs at Dotglu & Ruido Gp
• Clinton acts to cut truck pollution, create wildlife preserve, enforce federal labor & environment rules...
• Brookline reader slams handheld wireless distraction contraptions while driving
• big article on job-sharing on front of BostonWorks sec. of Globe
• South Korean unions want workweek cut from 44 to 40 to create jobs

11/25/2000 sat (re fri biz)
- post-holiday 'news lite,' day 2 -
1 takeover reported, worth $undisclosed
+ 2 post-holiday downsizing reports, totaling 11 + ?? jobcuts:
• 85% staffcut (11 lost Calif. jobs) at Solopoint.com, Silicon Valley ISP
• unspecified Japanese cuts planned as Mitsui Construction attempts reorg
+ 1 business failure/bankruptcy mentioned:  • Solopoint.com, another dying dot-com
+ omens: • US again the big block to global progress - this time in global warming talks
• number of women down in state offices though up in federal offices
vs. glimmers of intelligence : • Finnish fines set as % of income, eg: $71,000 for speeding!
• Swissair will tie down dangerous rowdies • Nov. 7 - Mass. had 2nd-biggest voter turnout

11/24/2000 fri
- post-holiday 'news lite' -
no holiday downsizings reported,
but 1 downsizing-inducing takeover reported, worth $??
+ 1 prison mention: • advice column 'Ask Beth' gets unusual letter
+ omens: • false choice in New Delhi, India - jobs vs. the environment
vs. glimmers of intelligence : • the last gasp of constructive makework in America - the G.I. Bill

11/23/2000 thu
6 takeovers reported, totaling $2.93B + $$undisclosed
+ 3 downsizings reported, totaling 440+?? Swedish & U.S. jobcuts:
• 17% workforce cut (340 lost Swedish jobs) as Framfab webconsulting
closes offices to regain profitability, instead of just doing a 17% workweek
cut for everyone (to 33-hr week) & everyone stays employed & untraumatized
• 80% staff cut (100 lost Conn. jobs) as Walker Digital fails to raise continuation capital
• unspecified cuts as Big V Supermarkets closes 7 stores in NY & Pa.
+ 1 multiple corporate settlement cited, totaling over $14m:
• Tufts Health Plan left employees in 3 states in lurch, so...
+ 2 bankruptcies/failures mentioned: • Big V Supermkts files...
• bankrupt Grand Union's sale to C&S Wholesale Grocers cited
+ omens: • another jolly season for luxury merchants even as stock bubble deflates
• joblessness makes surp-rise despite economy hungry for new workers (or cheap...)
vs. glimmers of intelligence : • 1 UPsizing, ?? new jobs - Dominion to build big Pa. powerplant
• snowmobiles booted out of last two national parks
• judge stops Calif. company from dumping labor issues & running to Mexico
• whole Internet craze looking like big snowjob to get blank check on employees' lives
• Ford & DaimlerChrysler practice timesizing, not downsizing on week-on week-off basis

11/22/2000 wed
- Happy Turkey Day -
6 takeovers reported, totaling $1.23B + $undisclosed
+ 1 Turkish downsizing reported on Turkey Eve, with unspecified US jobcuts:
• Kombassan-owned 'Hit or Miss' plans to shut down 28 of its 199 apparel stores
+ 2 bankruptcies/failures mentioned: • Hit or Miss misses profits, hits Chapter 11
• Loewen Group funeral homes holds funeral for shareholder assets
vs. glimmers - a host of “good, but's” appropriate for Turkey Eve:
• 1 UPsizing, unspecified new jobs, but in Singapore - Sonus Networks opens Asian HQ
• Canada moves toward lower taxes, but packaged in with religion & social conservatism
• New England unemployment hits record low, but the "records" only go back two decades
• EU rejects US double-dealing on free trade, but US still talks the talk despite own record deficit
• Ford starts multiple social benefits but they're just stocking stuffers compared to shorter working hours

11/21/2000 tue
- periods of takeover frenzy bespeak a bored & frustrated management class -
15 takeovers reported, totaling $16.91B + $??
+ 4 more downsizings reported, totaling 3651 + ?? global jobcuts:
• 3651 UK-US cuts as ING bags plan for global investment bank
• ?? NY cuts at Chrysler's new consolidated ad agency, as BBDO
CEO spreads demoralizing 'rosenshine' of double-edged biz deal
• ?? Japanese cuts as Time Warner & Daiei close joint toy venture
• riots mark unspecified jobcuts as India shuts down polluting factories
+ 1 homeless report - another crack in 'prosperity' = mounting homelessness
+ 3 bankruptcies/failures mentioned: • Time Warner & Daiei give up on venture
• over-acquisitive over-indebted Metal Mgmt recycling goes bellyup
• Hyundai to sell properties to save construction unit
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• 2 UPsizings, 1 corporate & 1 industry - Convergent opens research lab
in Illinois, & 60,000 troops pledged for European Union military presence
• 2 small steps for better health insurance & a good thing too, considering the
emerging public health nightmare described in Laurie Garrett's new book "Betrayal of Trust"

11/19-20/2000
- Nov. 7: like Nader, Hyde 'won when he started' with
the only candidacy focused on shortening the workweek
in the world's largest economy at the turn of the Millennium -
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 38 takeovers reported this week, worth $20.90B + $??
• 21 downsizings reported, costing over 7,093 lost jobs
• 6 corporate fines/settlements mentioned @ $648m+
• 13 bankruptcy/closure mentions, with $350m+ debt
vs. 0 UPsizings (0 new jobs) + 6 UNtakeovers reported ($??)
< YTD:  539 dnsz (527,953+  jobcuts) +2013 takov ($2185.8B+) vs. 126 upsz (86,541+=16%) +130 untak ($111.51B+) >
+ weekend omens: • beneath the 'boom,' poverty for working families has risen 50%
vs. weekend glimmers of hope: • MIT prof says hi tech should be making more time for ourselves, not less
• LA Times columnist questions equating technology with progress

11/18/2000 sat (re fri biz)
7 takeovers reported, totaling $9B
+ 4 downsizings reported, totaling 4380 jobcuts:
• 9% workforce early-retired (1800 Japanese jobs gone) as Mazda strains to
regain profitability by clobbering morale & markets, instead of just doing a 9% work-
week cut (to four 9.1-hr days/wk) for all & keeping everyone working & buying cars
• 22% staff cut (1400 Polish jobs lost) as Bank Handlowy, still reeling from Citigroup's
takeover in Feb., cuts costs & skills ahead of another merger, instead of just having a 22%
hours & pay cut (to 31.2-hr wk) for everyone & keeping everyone working & spending
• 10% workforce in limbo (1100 Detroit jobs laid off for at least 5 mos.) as Firestone
over-reacts to excess inventories, instead of just doing a 10% workweek cut
(to four 9-hr days/wk) for all & keeping everyone commuting & shopping
• 89% staff cut (80 U.S. jobs gone) as ZipLink wholesale ISP shuts down
+ 2 corporate settlements cited, totaling $105.5m:
• Italy's biggest insurer coughs up $100m for Nazi victims
• Time Warner pays $5.5m for skirting benefits by dubbing "temp" or "contract"
+ 1 bankruptcy/closure mentioned: • ZipLink wholesale ISP shuts down
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• chad, shmad - no state's ballots should require judgement calls
• Nader 'won when he started,' sees Greens as major party in 12 yrs
• SEC will probably recommend charges against Chainsaw Dungflap
• Ken Chenault becomes 1st black CEO of a company in the Dow

11/17/2000 fri
- the commoditization & sell-off of loyalty & morale throughout the economy grind on -
4 takeovers reported, totaling $1.86B
+ 1 industry-wide downsizing, & 5 corporate-level totaling 645 jobcuts:
• 8000 US & Euro jobs lost as 130 dot-coms shut down since Jan.
• 111 US & UK jobcuts as TheStreet.com freaks over fallen shares and
sacrifices skills & morale for thin chance to do takeovers = doom compounded
• 400 Texas jobs cut as Clear Channel engulfs AMFM in ongoing media monopolization
• 18% staff cut (73 Canadian jobs) as Chapters Online aggravates its problems, instead of
doing an 18% hours&pay cut for everyone & keeping everyone employed & morale high
• 50% staffcut (40 US&Israel jobs lost) as Virtual Communities fails to find new financing
• 21 people axed at Audiohighway.com, only 9 survivors - but how long can they hold on?
+ 1 corporate settlement cited: • Coca-Cola ponies up record $192.5m for racial bias
+ 3 bankruptcy/closure-failure mentions:
• 130 dot-coms close this yr, now 1/day  • Wheeling-Pittsburgh steel goes Ch.11
• Armstrong Holding plans Chap.11 if can't find $$ to cover asbestos lawsuits
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• America finally gets its first bullet train, up to 165 mph DC-NYC-Boston
• General Motors & Chrysler timesize, not downsize on week-on week-off basis

11/16/2000 thu
- y'know how everybody has been considering takeover?
today they're considering or doing bankruptcy -
record 7 bankruptcies/failures/closures mentioned:
• Garden.com • CondeNet's Swoon.com & Phys.com
• Regal Cinemas • Harrah's JCC Holding unit • Beamscope Canada
• Hyundai considers selling HQ to save unit • Japanese bankruptcies surge
+ also 7 takeovers reported, totaling $2.7B + $??
+ 4 downsizings reported, 127 + unspecified jobloss :
• 127 cuts as Garden.com enters dot-com graveyard
• ?? cuts as CondeNet closes Phys.com & Swoon.com
• Dow Jones drops 6 regional editions & their staffs
• Commerzbank closes 200 branches in Germany 'to cut costs'
+ 2 corporate fines/settlements cited: • Qwest to pay AT&T $350m
• Virginia Electric Power settles lawsuit & must clean up air pollution
+ omens: • United Airline pilots got more money, but they wanted less overtime
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• 2 UNtakeovers - AT&T spins off Liberty Media, Willamette rejects Weyerhaeuser bid
• Brookline 1st town in Ma. to ban cellphoning while driving • abortion pill finally coming to U.S.

11/15/2000 wed
8 takeovers reported, totaling $1.8B + $??
+ 2 downsizings reported, totaling 390+? lost jobs:
• 390 Mass. jobs lost as ShopLink.com crowds into dot-com graveyard
• unspecified So. Korean jobs junked as another Daewoo plant starves for parts
+ 1 business failure/closure mentioned: • ShopLink.com abruptly shuts (see above)
+ 1 corporate settlement cited: • MP3 pays Universal Music $53.4m in copyright fight
+ omens: • newly released files show US slimed with Allende's blood, Pinochet's crimes
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • 4 UNtakeovers - TV Azteca won't buy Conn. TV station, DeBeers
gives up on Ashton Mining, ThyssenKrupp holds onto steel biz, Asia P&P drops Northern Bleached buy
• Russia pushes for further nuclear disarmament before W. gets in & revs Star Wars

11/14/2000 tue
- the economy that dominates the new century will quit bashing its workforce
& start building its consumer base -
9 takeovers reported, totaling $5.52B + $??
+ 5 downsizings reported, totaling 1449+? lost jobs:
• 10% workforce cut (1000 lost US jobs) as MarchFirst webconsulting
compounds its demoralization & employee flight in vain attempt to hype
its hopeless stock price, instead of doing a 10% workweek cut (to 36-hr/wk)
for everyone, including top brass, & keeping everyone 'whistlin' a happy tune'
• 310 US jobs lost as CMGI shutters iCast & 1stUp in pathetic grasp at profitability
• 37% staff cut (93 lost US jobs) as Netpliance low-cost
web terminals over-reacts to sales slump, instead of
having 37% hrs&pay cut for all (to five 5-hr days)
& keeping everyone working, earning, surfing & selling
• 46 people uprooted or (more likely) dumped as Del Monte
squishes a Woodland, California tomato (processing) plant
• unspecified NJ & Ma. jobs junked as Streamline.com calls it quits
+ 1 business failure/closure mentioned: • Streamline.com (see above)
+ omens: • Boston-area medical students protest straight 36-hour shifts
• risky silence on immigration  • breeding is decimating livestock diversity
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• ecological worldview is ousting the economic  • Forest Service pushes to extend logging ban
• Her Majesty bans cellphones in Buckingham Palace  • more women climb corporate ladder

11/12-13/2000
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 41 takeovers reported this past week, worth $18.15B + $??
• 17 downsizings reported this week costing over 20,079 lost jobs
• 5 corporate fines/settlements mentioned @ $203.7m+
• 6 bankruptcy mentions, with $5.4B + ?? debt
vs. 2 UPsizings (4000+ new jobs) + 2 UNtakeovers reported ($??)
< YTD:  518 dnsz (520,863+  jobcuts) +1975 takov ($2164.9B+) vs. 126 upsz (86,541+=17%) +124 untak ($111.51B+) >
3 weekend takeovers reported, totaling $15m + $??
+ 1 weekend downsizing report: • 50% staff cut (99 US jobs lost) as
Discovery.com runs into weakening support from parent Discovery Channel
+ weekend omens: • flurry of articles chanting "labor shortage" despite flat pay,
no training, early retirement, the working poor, disabled, homeless, incarcerated...
vs. weekend glimmers of hope: • presidential chaos pressures for e-democracy
• New Yorkers flock to block telemarketing

11/11/2000 sat - re fri biz
6 takeovers reported, totaling $779m + $undisclosed
+ 1 corporate-level downsizing reported + 1 more industry-level:
• 3,500 layoffs in NY's Silicon Alley as dot-com industry shakes out
• 200 Silicon Alley/NY jobs as 24/7 Media misses analysts' expectations
+ 1 corporate settlement cited: • Affymetrix loses patent suit, damages yet unknown
+ 1 bankruptcy mentioned, again: • Daewoo Motor now filing for court receivership
+ omens: • "recovery" seen stumbling in Japan
• you don't want to know John Adams' answer to his
spunky wife's "remember the ladies" admonition - or its forebodings...
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
- this Election Day buried a Timesizing 'time capsule' in thousands of government election record books
for some distant future when Americans realize that technology, markets, & assuming men are angels
can't solve the big bad boring old problems & they need to share the vanishing work & skills -
• US economists who part company with the prevailing US wisdom/fad get Europe's attention
• Russki scopes US election quagmire & goes "how are so many stupid mistakes possible?"
• 2 readers blast the Globe & the Dems (= redundant ref?) for skindeep democracy
& scapegoating Nader for Gore's own betrayal of his base

11/10/2000 fri
8 takeovers reported, totaling $6.48B + $??
+ 5 corporate downsizings reported, totaling 2453+? cuts, + 1 industry-level megacut:
• 20% force cut (600,000 lost jobs, behind in pay anyway) as Putin shrinks military
• 2000 lost U.S. jobs as Ames closes 32 stores, talking 'relocation' of those 'affected'
• 313 lost US & Euro jobs as SLI lighting trims costs (& morale) - & this is just appetizers
• 100 US jobs go byby as Unigraphics Solutions software cuts costs & own throat - oops,
"just a nick" - after gulping down rival, Engineering Animation of Ames, Iowa
• 41% cut in geographic banking staff (40 lost US jobs) as First Union cuts general
services & targets big companies (like everyone else in 'black hole' economy)
• unspecified So. Korean mega job loss as suppliers starve bankrupt Daewoo
+ 2 corporate settlements cited: • Rite Aid settles suit vs. ex-mgmt for $200m
• AT&T settles patent flutterup over interactive voice technology for $??
+ 2 bankruptcy stories: • CareMatrix nsg homes goes Ch.11, Gosman just goes
• Daewoo's main plant stops work as suppliers shut the spigot (see above)
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• on Election Day, the central clue to the future (& our booktitle), "Timesizing Not Downsizing,"
was printed on 2,575,776 millennium-yr ballots & spread across the historic
state of Massachusetts alongside the historic Kennedy name
• 1 UPsizing - Miss. Niss. figures available (4000 new jobs)   • 1 UNtakeover - Brit Telecom to split
• overdue invention = a quiet jackhammer! = good metaphor for Timesizing?!

11/09/2000 thu
- 8,390 votes, this time all for Timesizing on $1000 from a field of six (rather than from
the mainly blind Republican voting that produced Phil's 14,125 on $500 in '98
from a field of four, and 27,303 votes on $600 in '96 from a field of two)
10 takeovers reported, totaling $4.15B + $??
+ 4 downsizings reported, totaling 11,695 cuts - the hitech shakeout rolls on:
• 10% workforce cut (10,000 lost NJ jobs) as Lucent freaks over low profits instead of
doing 10% workweek cut for all (to 36-hr wk) & keeping all working & spending
• 4% staff cut (1500 lost US & Canada jobs) as ArvinMeritor truck parts shrivels costs (&
morale) in response to slump in vehicle output, instead of just 4% hours&pay cut
(20 mins/day) for everyone & everyone keeps working, earning & driving
• 23% workforce cut (145 lost hitech jobs) as Network Access Solutions tries the wrong
way to cut costs, instead of doing a 23% workweek cut for all (to 36-hr wk)
& keeping everyone employed, earning & spending
• 35% staff cut (50 lost US jobs) as Internet Capital faces distaste for e-vesting, instead
of 35% hours&pay cut (to 26-hr wk) for all & all keep workin', earnin' & surfin'
+ 2 bankruptcy stories: • $5.4B Daewoo Motor allowed to sink
• $?? Hyundai Engineering & Construction saved, for now
+ omens: • 'mkt failure dept.' - PG&E tries to soak customers for Calif. utility screwup
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• 2 UPsizings (?? jobs) - Miss. gets Nissan plant
& Mass. gets new Mapletree Networks R&D center
• 1 UNtakeover - court stops Heinz from gobbling BeechNut
• Timesizing at work, clunky version - GM idles vanplant for 2 wks

11/08/2000 wed
- 7300 votes at 90% return level, but this time they're all for Timesizing -
(rather than robotic partisan voting that produced Phil's 27000 in 96 & 14000 in 98)
7 takeovers reported, totaling $169m + $??
+ 5 downsizings reported, totaling 655 cuts +??:
• 350 St.Louis jobs jettisoned as toxic Tyco gobbles Mallinkrodt, destroys & dispirits
• 80% staff cut (255 lost San Francisco jobs) as Pets.com, latest Web wimpout, closes
• 2½% layoff (50 global cuts) as Tullett&Tokyo brokerage closes LibertyDirect e-trader
• unspecified cuts as Montreal truckers' strike triggers layoffs at docks & warehouses
• ?? cuts as Dutch firm merges parts of US pawns, Tops Mkt & Giant-Carlisle
+ 1 bankruptcy-equiv. cited: • $?? MotherNature.com liquidates
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• pilots wait for profits, then strike for safer working hours
• US regulators asked to link power grids = hint of Bucky's world-round power hookup?

11/07/2000 tue
- election day in america -
- let's see how a cash-free campaign for shorter hours makes out -
9 takeovers reported, totaling $6.67B
+ 1 downsizing reported: • 86% staff cut (76 lost Ma. jobs) as Furniture.com fails
to raise enuf capital to continue, despite $27m in June, & $22m net revenue Q1-Q3
+ 2 corporate fines/settlements cited:
• Microsoft fined $3.7m for unfair business dealings with Bristol Technologies
• L'Oreal settles wrinkle-cream patent infringement with TriStrata for $??
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• several Calif. cities have Internet voting option
• hi tech plus free market does not a poverty solution make
• reader edges toward concept of tax-based wealth cap&spread

11/05-06/2000
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 28 takeovers reported this past week, worth $12.36B + $??
• 11 downsizings reported this week costing over 9,293 lost jobs
• 2 corporate fines/settlements mentioned @ $7m+
• 3 bankruptcy mentions, with $2.2B + ?? debt
vs. 2 UPsizings (500+ new jobs) + 1 UNtakeover reported ($??)
< YTD:  501 dnsz (500,784+  jobcuts) +1934 takov ($2146.8B+) vs. 124 upsz (82,541+=16%) +122 untak ($111.51B+) >
1 weekend takeover reported, totaling $??
+ 1 weekend downsizing reported, totalling 5000 job cuts:
• 12.5% staff cut (5000 Brit jobs) as Rolls-Royce freaks over big 1-day stock drop & cuts
costs (& morale & skillset...), instead of just trimming hours&pay 12.5% for all, including
top execs, to five 7-hr days/wk, & keeping everyone working, earning, & flying
+ omens: • wakeup call - US megahours cut productivity due to drowziness
• Dumbing Down of Mgmt - Abbott Labs altered
document, then based lawsuit on it
vs. weekend glimmers of hope:
• Southwest Airlines' success formula = employees 1st, customers 2nd
• 10,000 turn out to hear Nader urge powershift

11/04/2000 sat (on fri biz)
no downsizings reported, but...
5 downsizing-inducing takeovers reported, totaling $4.56B
+ 1 corporate settlement cited: • 3Com ponies up $259 million
in second-biggest class-action settlement with single firm's securities
+ 1 prison mention: • 7 sadistic prison guards charged with torturing inmates
+ omens: • Canada unemployment up - time to replace sales taxes with overtime tax
and give complete exemption for training&hiring in OT-targeted skills
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• "good, but" - US unemployment steady at 3.9%, but still twice what we viewed as alarming in 1950
• Johns Hopkins professor urges Israel's liberals to speak out for Palestinians -
& isn't it time we weaned down Israel's $5B/yr subsidy?!

11/03/2000 fri
- Phil Hyde appearing at election rally at Taunton, Mass. UU Church 2:30pm Sat -
yet 4 more takeovers reported, totaling $1.58B + $??
+ 5 downsizings reported, totaling 3752 lost jobs:
• 6% staff cut (3000 lost jobs worldwide) as Aon insurance brokerage reacts suicidally
to flat earnings, instead of cutting 6% of its hours& pay (to 37.6 hrs/wk) &
keeping everyone working, earning & buying insurance
• 345 lost V.I. jobs as Alcoa closes a St. Croix plant
• 180 lost English jobs as Rolls-Royce closes Derby plant &
outsources some parts manufacturing to Austria to cut costs
• 10% hourly workforce cut (140 lost Minn. jobs) as USX-US Steel idles parts of
Minntac mine in overreaction to 'staggering' imports, instead of trimming 10% of
its workweek (to 36 hrs/wk) & keeping everyone working, earning & shopping
• 16% staff cut (87 lost Ct. jobs) as Priceline.com web-mkt bid aggregator furthers
its own demise, instead of having 16% hours&pay cut (to 33.6 hrs/wk) &
keeping everyone working, earning & e-shopping
+ 1 corporate settlement cited: • WWF pays $7m to wrestler's family for fatal entry
+ 1 suicide story: • Surgeon General holds hearing in Boston on suicide in America
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• venture capital flees Net startups  • Bill Gates says e-economy no panacea

11/02/2000 thu
- Phil Hyde appearing at election rally at Taunton, Mass. UU Church 2:30pm Sat -
4 more takeovers reported, totaling $1.96B
+ 1 downsizing reported: • 1115 jobcuts as Revlon
cuts costs & advertising - & basically positions itself for extinction
+ 1 corporate settlement cited: • Scour sells assets to media firms to settle their suit
+ 4-in-1 possible bankruptcies cited: • $??Bs native lawsuits look like
they'll bankrupt the 4 big Christian churches in Canada
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• US automakers timesizing on sporadic week-off  basis due to sales slump
• Texas entrepreneur sees his own death before seizing his life back &
cutting to 50 hrs/wk from burnout mode ('24/7' = 168 hrs/wk)

11/01/2000 wed
4 takeovers reported, totaling $908m + $??
+ 2 downsizings reported, totaling 2300 lost jobs:
• 2000 US jobs up in the air as OfficeMax closes/moves 50 stores & shrinks growth plans
• 300 Georgia jobs vanish as British American Tobacco of Ky. responds to sales decline
+ 2 bankruptcies cited: • $2.2B Loewen funeral gp files reorg plan after 17 mos in red
• $?? Dong Ah Construction Industrial company files in South Korea
+ omens: • Thailand having tough recovery from 2-yr recession
• this do-nothing Congress has done great at feathering its own nest
• Electoral College (& Senate) non-democratic (but bars 'tyranny of majority')
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • 1 UPsizing (500 new jobs) - Dell opening site in Ft. Worth
• 1 UNtakeover - FMC Corporation to 'cell-divide' & spin off 20% of its machinery biz
• Gore turns the tables & slams Bush taxcut as "class warfare on behalf of billionaires"
+ Features: • "Mr. Timesizing" challenges Ted Kennedy & his $6m warchest in Y2K Senate race
• why bother with Timesizing when we've got record "low unemployment"?!
• bibliography page • lost key to small government • website reactions
• embryonic legislation page  • 30-hour bill page  • opus errata
• New feature - Porter & Warsh on takeovers