dooms du jour, January/2001
[Commentary] ©2001 Phil Hyde, The Timesizing Wire, Box 117, Harvard Sq, Cambridge MA 02238 USA (617) 623-8080

1/31/2001 wed
10 takeovers reported, worth $1.24B + $??
+ 7 more downsizings reported in NYT & Boston Globe, totaling 3,774 lost jobs:
• 15% workforce cut (1,300 U.S. jobs) as Amazon.com promises profits by closing
2 operations ctrs & clobbering morale, instead of having 15% workweek cut for all (to 36
hrs), including top execs & keeping everyone together earning & spending 85% of normal
• 1000 jobcuts at ING Group  • 750 cuts at Pitney Bowes  • 487 cuts at Sonoco Products
• 170 at IronBridge Networks  • last 43 at MVP.com  • 24 at Epinions
vs. glimmers of timesizing:
• Charles Schwab brokerage cuts 3 Fridays for its non-customer-linked staff, instead of cutting jobs

1/30/2001 tue
CEOs create another recession by cutting jobs, not hours,
all counting on using somebody else's workforce as customers
7 takeovers reported, worth $6.28B + $??
+ 7 downsizings reported in NYT & Boston Globe, totaling 32,223 lost jobs:
• 20% workforce cut (26,000 worldwide jobs) as DaimlerChrysler hurts itself over slower
sales, instead of doing 20% workweek cut for all (four 8-hour days), including top execs &
keeping everyone together, working, earning & with 80% of normal to spend on a car
• 4000 jobcuts at Xerox  • 1200 cuts at OfficeMax  • 468 cuts at WestPoint Stevens
• 400 at Disney's Go.com  • 160-70= 90 at Convergent Comms  • 65 at PolyOne
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• Sony executive sees the light - the way we're going, we're creating hell, not heaven

1/28-29/2001
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 30 downsizings reported, costing over 72,335 lost jobs
• 20 takeovers reported this week, worth $9.41B + $??
• 7 bankruptcy/failure mentions, with $300m + $?? debt
vs. 6 TIMEsizings + 0 UPsizings (0 new jobs) + 0 UNtakeovers reported ($0)
< YTD: 120 dnsz (118,234+ jobcuts) +91 takov ($56.59B+) +45 bkrp vs. 17 timsiz +2 upsz (5000=4%) +6 untak ($3.5B)>
4 weekend takeover reports, totalling $51m + $??
+ makework rampant in world of "efficiency": • US lag in wireless may be just as well
+ weekend omens: • Internet bubble deflation hisses on
• conditioning our kids to be good little slaves
vs. weekend glimmers of intelligence:
• a Clark U. mgmt prof exposes true nature & place of layoffs

1/27/2001 sat (re fri biz)
5 takeovers reported, worth $3.02B + $??
+ 3 downsizings reported in NYT & Boston Globe, totaling 12,900 lost jobs:
• 13% workforce cut (10,000 worldwide jobs) as WorldCom harikaris by cutting
costs & markets and chopping employees including sales staff, instead of doing a
13% workweek (one hour a day) & pay cut for everyone, including top execs
& keeping everyone together, working, earning & spending 87% of normal
• 2% staff cut (1,700 US jobs) as Hewlett Packard self-mutilates & cuts
marketing in response to slumping sales, instead of having a barely no-
ticeable 2% company-wide hours&pay cut (10 mins. a day) & keep-
ing everyone together, working, earning & spending 98% of normal
• 1200 US jobs lost at bankrupt Computer Learning Centers as
Education Dept. orders refund of $187m subsidy for bribery of
school admission officers (why the subsidy in the first place?!)
+ 1 bankruptcy: • Computer Learning Centers goes Chapter 7
+ 1 prison mention: • Y2001 halfway houses with a full 1940 work schedule
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • Delphi timesizes, not downsizes, with 5,000 employees next week

1/26/2001 fri
4 takeovers reported, worth $1.24B + $??
+ 8 downsizings, totaling 12,175 + unspecified lost jobs:
• 2% workforce cut (5,300 US jobs) as J.C. Penney closes 47 stores & slams
5300 of its own best customers in response to slumping sales, instead of just having
a barely noticeable 2% company-wide workweek & pay cut (10 mins. a day) &
keeping everyone together, working, earning & spending 98% of normal
• 2400 US cuts at Standard Register  • 2350 NM & AZ cuts at Phelps Dodge
• 1200 Ont. cuts at Visteon  • 650 US cuts at Brunswick pleasure boats
• 150 US cuts at Webvan  • 125 Jacksonville cuts at The Pantry
• unspecified US cuts at AMC theaters
+ omens: • gettin' bad - the strained cheerleading is going into high gear
• a headline that says it all - 'Acquisitions increase JDS loss'
• wages rose in Q4 (but fewer people gettin'em)
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • GM & Ford timesizing, not downsizing, 18,550 employees this week

1/25/2001 thu
5 more takeovers reported, worth $2.08B + $??
+ 6 downsizings, totaling 23,630 + unspecified lost jobs:
• 9.4% workforce cut (10,000 US jobs) as Lucent self-amputates in response to
slumping sales, instead of just doing a 9.4% workweek cut (to 36¼ hrs) and
keeping everyone together, working, earning & spending 90.6% of normal
• 7000 worldwide cuts at Sara Lee  • 6000 worldwide at Whirlpool Corp.
• 500 at Sony Electronics in San Diego  • 130 at HungryMinds in NYC
• unspecified NYC cuts at Jupiter Media Matrix
+ 2 bankruptcies: • Mediq, with $117m debt  • Pseudo.com, last fall bust, now sold
+ omens: • UN says 160 million jobless globally, Asian crisis added 20m
vs. glimmers of hope: • U.N. says need 500m jobs in next 10 yrs - no problem
if we redefine "full time" downward - to 35, 30 or 25 hrs/wk, whatever it takes

1/24/2001 wed
5 takeovers reported, worth $2.78B + $undisclosed
+ 5 downsizings, totaling 7900 lost jobs:
• 5% workforce cut (3600 US jobs) as Textron aeronautic & industrial products
over-reacts to declining sales, instead of just having a 5% workweek cut (to 38 hrs) &
keeping everyone together, working, earning & spending at 95% of normal
• 2000 at AOL Time Warner  • 1500 at Norfolk Southern RR
• 550 at MarchFirst e-consulting  • 250 at Excite@Home
+ omens: • Ross Perot starting to wake up to bizarre US
employee overload? - but gender & population issues...
vs. glimmers of timesizing:
• Caterpillar Inc. gives 2500 Illinois employees this week off
to trim production to fallen demand levels instead of indefinitely cutting jobs
• Swedish steel workers get a 1.5% wage raise in the form of shorter working hours without a paycut

1/23/2001 tue
- anatomy of a disaster -
1 takeover reported, worth $120.5m
+ 7 downsizings, totaling 1550 + unspecified lost jobs:
• 1000 US & Mex. jobcuts as Converse Inc. packs production off to Asia
• 300 NH cuts at Vitts Networks  • 125 at Drugstore.com in Bellevue, Wa. 
• 125 at Equistar Chemicals in Tx.  • unspecified cuts at Dura Automotive in US & UK, &
• Loews Cineplex in US & Canada, &  • Computer Learning Ctrs in 25 US cities
+ 4 bankruptcy stories including Converse Inc. with $183m debt
+ omens: • largest drop in Leading Econ Indicators in 5 years
• workfare works - with gov't charity  • Marc Rich is ba-a-ack
vs. glimmers of timesizing: • 2 autoparts suppliers cut a week instead of a factory
• businesses are trimming overtime & straight time instead of jobs in order to keep their skill set intact

1/21-22/2001
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 29 downsizings reported, costing over 13,342 lost jobs
• 26 takeovers reported this week, worth $26.07B + $??
• 14 bankruptcy/failure mentions, with $?? debt
vs. 4 TIMEsizings + 1 UPsizings (?? new jobs) + 3 UNtakeovers reported ($??)
< YTD: 90 dnsz (45,899+ jobcuts) +71 takov ($47.35B+) +38 bkrup vs. 11 timsiz +2 upsz (5000=11%) +6 untak ($3.5B) >
+ 1 weekend economywide downsizing report: • nearly 134,000 US jobcuts in Dec.
+ weekend omens: • economists say wages rise with output, but gap widens
vs. weekend glimmers of intelligence:
• "new" economy? same old issues, led by overwork

1/20/2001 sat (re fri biz)
4 takeovers reported, totaling $100m + $??
+ 8 downsizings, totaling 1345 lost jobs:
• 402 jobcuts at Potash Cp. in Fla. & Ia. 
• 201 at Mynd Cp.  • 200 at Ebeon in Dublin  • 200 at Miller Beer in Calif.
• 8.3% staffcut (150 Pa. jobs) as VerticalNet e-commerce cuts costs & mkts, instead of
8.3% hours&pay cut (to five 7&1/3-hr days) & keeping everyone together,
working, earning 91.7% of normal & e-shopping @ 91.7% of normal
• 90 at Net2000 Comms  • 90 at Globopolis.com in Prague  • 12 at Hippocrates
+ 1 general & 2 specific failures:
• last year had highest postwar bankruptcy debt in Japan, $205B
• Globopolis.com in Prague  • Hippocrates in Boston
vs. glimmers of hope - 2 wakeup calls about widening inequality:
• open markets don't automatically fix it & • uncontrolled immigration definitely worsens it

1/19/2001 fri
6 takeovers reported, totaling $994m + $??
+ 4 downsizings, totaling 980 lost jobs + unspecified:
• 15% workforce cut (350 jobs) as Vignette e-commerce software speeds slowdown, vs.
15% workweek&pay cut (to four 8½-hr days) & keeping everyone together,
working, earning 85% of normal & e-shopping @ 85% of normal
• 280 jobcuts at Rayovac batteries  • 200 more cuts at AltaVista  • 150 more at NBCi
+ 2 bankruptcy/closure mentions: • spec re Sunbeam • CMGi shutters ExchangePath
+ 1 prison mention: • proposed easing of drug laws would cut tax burden of NY prisons
+ omens: • contemptible court rules for hi-risk airpilot overtime • slimy exec 'takes the 5th'
• US already spends more military $$$ than next 12 combined & Rumsfeld wants MORE
vs. glimmers of hope: • 1 UNtakeover - 40 lawyers from Burns&Levinson form Donovan Hatem
• GM does some more timesizing   • French unions contrast with wimpy US labor,
make gov't cut workweek without paycut, but gov't sets bad example

1/18/2001 thu
- CEOs & B-schools continue their recession-begging "strategies" -
3 takeovers reported, totaling $773.2m + $undisclosed
+ 10 downsizings in NY Times & Bos. Globe, totaling 3110 lost jobs + unspecified:
• 1030 jobs lost as GE enjoys Q4 earnings (16%) & revenue (6%) growth
• 600 Can., Indian & Thai jobs lost as Dresdner Bank focuses in on Germany
• 3% workforce cut (500 jobs) as Humana health insurance reacts exacerbatingly
to a decline in membership, instead of just trimming 3% off its company
workweek (1h12m) & keeping everyone working & insured
• 400 jobcuts as CNN targets Internet  • 300 jobcuts as General DataComm cuts costs
• 10% investment banking staffcut (280 Boston jobs) as Credit Suisse 1st Boston fishes
for public reaction in advance of announcement, instead of just trimming
10% off hours & pay (4 hrs) & keeping everyone working & investing
• 'many' cuts with 3M's 'significant attrition'  • ?? cuts at Allegheny Technologies
• 19% cut at NorthPoint hi-speed ISP  • ¼ cut at So.Korea's Hyundai Electronics
+ 2 bankruptcy mentions: • NorthPoint points finger at failed merger (sure sure)
• biggest Euro e-tail flop so far, 'Dutch Priceline,' LetsBuyIt.com goes full-scale bust
+ makework abounding: • despite "tight job mkt," UK offers Nissan $60m to build plant
+ omens: • mfg plunges, rife audit problems in govt , rolling power blackouts (Cal.)
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • 1 UNtakeover - Italy blocks takeover of TV network
• scientists from 150 nations gather to hustle action on global warming
• timesizing reinvented in Dixie furniture factories

1/17/2001 wed
5 takeovers reported, totaling $669m + $undisclosed
+ 5 downsizings in NY Times & Bos. Globe, totaling 3407 lost jobs:
• 22% workforce cut (2800 Korean jobs) as Daewoo autos cuts costs
(& mkts) instead of just trimming 22% of its workweek for everyone
(to four 7h48m days) & keeping everyone working & buying cars
• 300 U.S. jobs lost as Cooper Cameron pipeline eqpmt closes a plant in Ohio
• 5% workforce cut (190 Ark. jobs) as Dorel furniture closes a factory instead of cutting
5% of its workweek cut for all (24 mins/day) & keeping everyone working & buying
• 14% workforce cut (100 Ma. jobs) as C-bridge e-consulting gets hysterical about
market conditions instead of just trimming 14% of its workweek for everyone
(to five 6h7m days) & keeping everyone working, earning & e-shopping
• 10% workforce cut (17 US jobs) as Idealab cuts costs (& mkts), instead of trimming
10% of its workweek for all (to 36 hrs) & keeping everyone working, earning & spending
+ 4 bankruptcy/bust mentions: • the Calif. utilities snivel piteously...again
• & the world's biggest banana producer joins their front-page chorus
• & so does nation's biggest sugar producer • & cute little Pets.com
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• some crystal-clear thinking on immigration & underclass
• latest vibes from Europe on France's big 35-hr workweek expt

1/16/2001 tue
8 takeovers reported, totaling $23.53B
+ 2 downsizings in NY Times & Bos. Globe, totaling 4500 layoffs:
• 2% workforce cut (2500 U.S. jobs) as Motorola cellphones & chips cuts costs (& mkts),
instead of galvanizing its team with a barely noticeable 2% workweek cut for everyone
(10 mins/day) & keeping everyone working, earning & buying cellphones & computers
• at least 2000 U.S. jobs lost as DaimlerChrysler pulls off the kid gloves & shows
Chrysler how real the "merger of equals" was, instead of galvanizing its team
& trimming hours&pay for everyone, including top execs, & keeping
everyone together, working, earning & purchasing jeeps
+ 2-in-1 bankruptcy mention: • 2 large Calif. utilities teetering
+ 1 homeless story: • from welfare to the street is 'reform'?
+ 2 violence/suicide items: • 20 US workers/wk murdered
• maybe it's time to reassess the absolute exceptionless evil of suicide
vs. glimmers of hope: • 1 UPsizing - Krispy Kreme donuts opens 16 shops in MA, RI, CT
• Clinton the Good moves to deter hiding of illicit wealth in US banks
• Clinton the Bad backed globalization - & its global-warming side effects

1/14-15/2001
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 32 downsizings reported, costing over 15,543 lost jobs
• 21 takeovers reported this week, worth $13B + $??
• 9 bankruptcy/failure mentions, with $?? debt
• 2 prison stories  • 1 workplace murder-suicide
vs. 1 TIMEsizing + 0 UPsizings (0 new jobs) + 2 UNtakeovers reported ($??)
< YTD: 61 dnsz (32,557+ jobcuts) +45 takov ($21.28B+) + 24 bkrup vs. 7 timsizs +1 upsz (5000=15%) +3 untak ($3.5B) >
+ 1 weekend downsizing report: • unspecified jobs lost as MobShop closes division
+ 1 weekend bankruptcy story - Commodore Cruise Line files Ch. 11
+ 1 prison story: • tough justice a long-term disaster
vs. weekend glimmers of hope:
• 1 weekend UNtakeover - Britain's Kingfisher PLC retail stores continue plans for spinoff
• Sh-arr yawshoov! = a remnant shall return - & what's left of our once-great major parties
should return to their strengths, the GOP to conservationism & the Dems to Labor
• She'ar yashubh - some even in the Israeli army want to turn back & take no
part of the treaty-breaking settlements in the West Bank & Gaza Strip
• Bob Reich has started talking about shortening the workweek
• Clinton has an idea for getting out the vote

1/13/2001 sat (re fri biz)
3 takeovers reported, totaling $107.5m
+ 2 downsizings in NY Times & Bos. Globe, totaling 820 layoffs:
• 7.5% staff cut (450 U.S. jobs) as NBC reacts hysterically to shrinking
ad revenues, instead of galvanizing Team NBC with a 7.5% hours&pay cut
for everyone (to a 37-hr wk) & keeping everyone working, earning & shopping
• 370 W.Va. & Oh. jobs cut as American Electric Power shuts down 2 coal mines
+ omens: • GOP starts revving up its makework campaign again - as
usual, thru the Pentagon - "we need it for Defense!" - yeah, right
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • 1 UNtakeover - Pharmacia does a spinoff
• Internet jobs double from 1/99 to 6/00 (but after 6/00???)
• alert Times reader warns of economic dependency on population growth
• two polisci profs squeal for their jobs as referendums begin to boot the Demublican duopoly

1/12/2001 fri
- we are witnessing our primitive mgmt theories in the act of clinching a recession -
only 1 takeover reported, worth $undisclosed
but 7 downsizings in NY Times & Bos. Globe, totaling 11,180 layoffs:
• 4000 voice-comm jobs cut as Nortel clobbers morale & consumer spending while
recruiting & acquiring wireless, e-optical & e-biz workers, instead of retraining & cross-
training their team & keeping everyone together working, earning, & spending normally
• 3000 French jobcuts as cowardly Danone mgmt lets Le Monde deliver the bad news
• 10% staff cut (2400 U.S. jobs) as Gateway Inc. reacts hysterically to off-
target profits, instead of galvanizing the company with a 10% workweek
cut (to a 36 hr/wk) & keeping everyone working, earning & shopping
• 1000 Chicago jobs lost as Brach's Confections closes its historic HQ plant
• 500 cuts at USG  • 150 cuts at Sotheby's  • 130 NY jobcuts by Moore Cp
+ 2 bankruptcy mentions: • Waste Systems International • American Homestar
+ 1 prison mention: • Texas corrections officials fingerpoint at guards for big prison break
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • Americans want shorter hours for drowsy truckers
• The Good Move (but necessary???)  • two big Montrealers want more family time
• gov't dismantling for pork (literally)  • gov't undismantling for ESL  • sue biotech!

1/11/2001 thu
7 takeovers reported, worth $453.5m + $$undisclosed
+ 5 downsizings in NY Times & Bos. Globe, totaling 2114+?? layoffs:
• 23% workforce cut (1750 US jobs) as Service Merchandise catalog
jewelry cuts costs (& markets), instead of trimming its workweek 23%
(to five 6h,10m days) & keeping everyone working, earning, & shopping
• 2.7% staff cut (200 US jobs) as Perot Systems focuses its b2b markets while
demoralizing its team, instead of galvanizing everyone with a 2.7% workweek cut
(13 mins/day) & keeping everyone working, earning, & spending near-normally
• 124 Idaho jobcuts as Potlatch lumber & paper cuts costs
• 40 employees dismissed by Caliber Learning Network in Baltimore
• unspecified cuts as Reebok sells its Rockport div. HQ in Marlboro MA
+ 1 bankruptcy mention: • Service Merchandise emerges from Chapter 11
+ 1 prison mention: • Texas has America's biggest prison system,
but low pay & high violence leads guards to quit in droves
vs. glimmers of hope: • 1 UNtakeover - NEC spins off chip unit
• Treasury Dept. proposes new tax-shelter limits

1/10/2001 wed
only 2 takeovers reported, worth $3.5B + $undisclosed, but
+ 7 downsizings reported in NY Times & Boston Globe, totaling 531+?? layoffs:
• 300 jobcuts as Amer Oyj moves tennis ball factory from S.C. to Thailand
• all 82 employees gone as the Giver's online giftshop Send.com shuts down
• 60 workers dismissed as Rouge Industries idles a blast furnace for 3-5 wks
• 10% workforce cut (40 Ma. jobs) as Excelon focuses its business while demoralizing
its people, instead of galvanizing its whole team with a 10% workweek cut
(to 36-hr wk) & keeping everyone working, earning, surfing & shopping
• 25 Ma. jobs vanish at Harvard Pilgrim HMO  • 24 layoffs at MutualFunds.com
• unspecified cuts as American gobbles TWA
+ 4 bankruptcy/liquidation stories:
• TWA • Send.com • MutualFunds.com • Grumpalumpa Investments
+ 1 workplace-related suicide: • 5 dead at Houston small businesses
+ omens - 2 steps backward: • workweek gets longer at schools
• workweek gets longer for immigrants
vs. 1 step ahead - glimmers of intelligence:
• doctors in Canada put their foot down on spreading working hours

1/09/2001 tue
10 downsizings reported in NY Times & Boston Globe,
totaling 829 layoffs: • 300 layoffs as Ameritrade warns of Q1 losses
• 7% workforce cut (280 Ma. jobs) as Cambridge Techology e-consulting
self-mutilates in response to less business, instead of galvanizing the team with a 7%
workweek cut (30-35 mins/day) & keeping everyone working, earning, & getting ideas
• 120 layoffs as Kozmo.com closes operations in Houston and San Diego
• 36 more jobs cut at MVP.com • 36 Calif. jobs vanish at Standard Media
• 34 Ma. layoffs at LavaStorm • 18 Boston layoffs at GetConnected.com
• 5 Ma. layoffs at Cablevision • unspecified cuts as e7th.com ceases
• unspecified cuts as Foodline.com goes out of business
+ 8 takeovers (corrected 3/02) reported, worth $8.94B
+ 2 liquidation stories: • e7th.com • Foodline.com
+ omens: • consumers deeper in debt
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • reader nails business doubletalk
• new Ford hybrid raises fuel efficiency from 42%, as OPEC talks about cutting output

1/07-08/2001
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 29 downsizings reported, costing over 17,014 lost jobs
• 24 takeovers reported this week, worth $8.28B + $??
• 15 bankruptcy/failure mentions, with $140m+ debt
vs. 6 TIMEsizings + 1 UPsizing (5000+ new jobs) + 1 UNtakeover reported ($3.5B)
< YTD: 29 dnsz (17,014+  jobcuts) +24 takov ($8.28B+) + 15 bkrupvs. 6 timsizs + 1 upsz (5000=29%) +1 untak ($3.5B) >
+ 1 weekend downsizing report: • 17% workforce cut (69 lost US jobs) as N.Y. Times
overreacts to falling Web ad revenues, instead of just cutting Web workweek 17%
(1h&20m/day) & keeping everyone working, surfing & shopping
vs. weekend glimmers of timesizing:
• Labor Dept. reports hiring dropped but unemployment
held steady at 4% - partly because many factories are timesizing, not downsizing

1/06/2001 sat (re fri biz)
5 downsizings reported in NY Times & Boston Globe, totaling 3258 layoffs:
• 1850 jobs wiped as So.Cal. Edison "saves money" & worsens Calif's utility meltdown
• 20% workforce cut (1200 Belgian jobs) as Lernout & Hospie speech recognition keeps
fighting for air, instead of galvanizing the company with a 20% workweek cut
(to four 8-hr days) & keeping everyone on board & fighting insolvency
• 185 layoffs as Breakaway Solutions e-consultants couldn't even recognize its own
overreach in moving to costly waterfront space last month
• 23 more jobs cut at Adero networked Web servers in Waltham MA
• unspecified cuts at another blind e-consultant, MarchFirst
+ only 2 takeovers reported, worth $337m
+ 3 bankruptcy/liquidation stories:
• Bilzerian again - to save $5m "home" despite $140m
• L&H granted concordat in Flanders  • G-I Holdings files
+ omens: • NYT spins "tight labor mkt" despite slowing economy,
meaning "no crying over downsizing" (alias "heads we win, tails you lose")
• Delta still whining & blaming safety-minded pilots
vs. glimmers of timesizing:
• New Process Gear in upstate NY furloughs (but does not fire) 1150 employees for 1 week

1/05/2001 fri
- well at least they waited till after the holidays... -
1-day record of 13 downsizings reported in NYT & BG, totaling 9,266 layoffs:
• 3% additional workforce eliminated (2575 cuts) as Xerox moves jobs to Mexico
• 2400 jobcuts as Sears Roebuck & Co. closes 89 of its nearly 3000 stores
• 1400 layoffs (74%) as Ann & Hope loses hope for all 4 Mass. stores
• 700 layoffs (70%) as eToys closes 2 warehouses a day after closing in Europe
• 9% workforce cut (675 Ga. jobs lost) as Lockheed Martin "saves $25m/yr"
• 550 positions eliminated (50%) at Engage Inc. of Andover, Mass.
• 400 layoffs (49%) at Covad Business Solutions' Comms Gp
• 300 layoffs at News Corp. • 150 layoffs in Chicago at True North
• 60 fired worldwide (27%) as Gensym closes offices in 3 cities
• 56 Penn. jobcuts at Armstrong Holdings floors & ceilings
• ?? cuts as George Magazine & • Mercata Inc. shut down
+ 3 takeovers reported, worth $47.4m + $undisclosed
+ 4 bankruptcy/liquidation stories: • George magazine ceases
• bankruptcy court gives out golden parachutes to Bradlees execs
• bag-holder balks at bestowing $10m bonanza on ex-S&W CEO
• Mercata.com quits  • LetsBuyIt.com execs rev toward the cliffs & bail
+ omens: • Bill Gates' tentacles inch into consumer electronics • great timing, Bill!
vs. glimmers of timesizing:
• GM to idle 8 plants & furlough (but not fire) 23,000 employees next wk

1/04/2001 thu
8 takeovers reported, worth $2.08B + $??
+ 4 more downsizings reported, totaling 136,650 mostly Japanese layoffs:
• 25% workforce cut (135,000 Japanese civil servants) as Tokyo embarks on
contradictory policies of costly public works projects to spur the economy, & costly
government layoffs to shift power to politicians, instead of just a 25% workweek cut for
everyone - to five 6-hour days - & cushioning the predictable contraction of the economy
by keeping everyone working & earning 75% of their previous pay
• 1590 jobs eliminated in US & Canada as Office Depot closes 70 stores,
instead of just trimming hours for all & really getting efficient
• 85% staff cut (60 Va. jobs) as Kinkos.com shuts its Alexandria HQ
• 100% workforce cut as Musicmaker.com moves toward liquidation
+ 5 bankruptcy/liquidation stories: • 210 dot-coms died in 2000
• Bradlees CEO seeks $6m severance for self (for leading his firm to ruin),
avg $210K for next 11, avg $1800 for next 7300, zip for bottom 2488 employees
• Musicmaker.com to close  • Lernout finds out if qualifies for bankruptcy in 2 days
• government to blow another 3.3B of taxpayers $$ on Hyundai in So.Korea
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• 1 UPsizing, 5000 new jobs - Wal-Mart bldg 13 sprmkts in Britain
• 1 UNtakeover - UK regulators squelch Interbrew's $3.5B deal for Bass
• Philippine manufacturers, under pressure, rediscover primitive timesizing

1/03/2001 wed
- new political motto - "it's the time crunch, stupid!" -
10 takeovers reported, worth $1.12B + $?
+ 4 downsizings reported, totaling 940 lost jobs:
• 680 Ill. shoppers out of work as Nacco phases out assembly plant over next 18 mos.
• 20% workforce cut (98 Israeli jobs) as CommTouch Software cuts costs (& its own
markets) instead of doing a 20% workweek cut for the whole company -
to four 8-hour days - & cushioning the contraction of the global economy
by keeping everyone working & earning 80% of their previous pay
• 36% staff cut (87 Calif. jobs) as Viador web software cuts costs (& its own throat)
instead of doing a 36% hrs&pay cut for everyone - to four 6hr24min-days -
& keeping everyone employed & earning 64% of their previous pay
• 13% workforce cut (75 Mass. jobs) as Pegasystems software over-reacts to sales slump
instead of doing a 13% workweek cut for everyone (1 hr & 2 mins per day)
& softening the landing of the global economy by keeping everyone working
with 87% of their previous pay to spend & maintain markets
+ 3 bankruptcy/closing stories: • LetsBuyIt.com saves you money but wastes your time
• VideoCity closing VideoSmiths & West Coast Videos in Boston area
• Legend Airlines gets a stay of execution
+ omens: • factory index fell 8% in Dec. • cuz CEOs think workoholism is cool
vs. glimmers of timesizing:
• France seeks shorter-workweek funds - look no further than taxing
overtime profits (while exempting reinvestment in training&hiring!)
• Air France 'stewardi' strike to get same 35-hr bennies as pilots

1/02/2001 tue (re holiday biz)
- kick around those people! - they're only your own markets -
1 takeover reported, worth $4.7B
+ 3 downsizings reported, totaling 1,900 lost Hungarian jobs:
• 1100 employees stranded, 1/3 of town's workforce, as Mannesmann
moves car audio plant from Sarbogard to China for cheaper labor
• 500 jobs lost as Shinwa moves cassette-deck assembly plant to China
• 300 layoffs as a German-Swiss cement factory moves to the Ukraine
+ 1 prison mention: • INS sets standards to protect jailed immigrants
+ 2 suicide stories: • American West is experiencing high suicide rates
• Harvard Univ.'s graduate chemistry department ditto among students
+ omens: • Russian healthcare in crisis after mismanaged economic transition
• China's rush for economic growth bypasses safety & turns deadly
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • telemarketing squelch update
• editorial - "it's still the economy, stupid!"  • reader connects family stress & longer hours
• surplus is bogus, taxcut is based on bogus  • lower costs? less air pollution? = freight RR!