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

5/31/2001 thu
8 takeovers reported in NYT & BG, totaling $7.45B + $?? -
+ 5 downsizings, totaling 3919 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• 3000 US, British & Swiss jobcuts at Roche pharmaceuticals 
• 4% workforce cut (700 US jobs lost) as CompUSA shifts from b2c to b2b,
instead of just trimming its workweek 4% (to four 8-hr days for whole firm
including top execs), re-investing pay from any overline hours in overtime-targeted
training & hiring - keeping everyone employed, earning & spending 96% as much as usual
• 150 US cuts at American Skiing  • 60 at Saatchi & Saatchi  • 9 at Martin Agency
+ 1 bankruptcy story: • One.Tel of Australia declared insolvent 
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• 3 UPsizings: Tiffany opens 450-employee factory in RI, Finsbury and Mark Allen open in NYC
• looong-term view shows stock returns VERY erratic - social security beware
• 2 TIMEsizing items: - U.S. medical students open battle for 1840-level workweek limit of 80 hours
- Swiss upper house to debate 36-hour workweek though already rejected by lower house

5/30/2001 wed
- CEOs back in groove, mergin' & downsizin' their own mkts via their headcount -
9 takeovers reported in NYT & BG, totaling $9.99B + $undisclosed -
+ 5 downsizings, totaling 13,123 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• 25% workforce cut (9700 Japan jobs lost) as truck-maker Isuzu Motors closes huge
Kawasaki factory, instead of just trimming its workweek 25% (to four 8-hr days for whole
firm including top execs), re-investing pay from any overline hours in overtime-targeted
training & hiring - keeping everyone employed, earning & buying 91% usual # trucks
• 2250 US jobcuts at Supervalu  • 1100 at EMC  • 70 at Fleet  • 3 at Korn/Ferry
+ 1 prison story: • the Zen of American inmate maintenance?
+ omens: • Japan worse yet - jobs, output & spending down
vs. glimmers of hope: • 1 UPsizing: Fidelity opens an office in India
• US venture capitalists look to 'socialist' Europe for better opportunities

5/29/2001 tue
- American media assume, because they have a holiday, there's no news -
no takeovers reported in NYT or BG
and only 1 downsizing, totaling 2000 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• 9% workforce cut (2000 US jobs lost) as Knight Ridder tries to balance news quality &
Wall St., instead of just trimming its workweek 9% (43 mins/day for whole firm including
top execs), re-investing pay from any overline hours in overtime-targeted training & hiring
- keeping everyone employed, earning & buying 91% as many newspapers as usual
+ omens: • David Warsh outlines the progressive dismantling of the
money centrifuge provided by the graduated income tax
vs. glimmers of TIMEsizing:
• French Commies may derail bill barring firms from layoffs unless they've embraced 35-hr workweek

5/27-28/2001
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 17 downsizings reported, costing over 3,198 lost jobs
• 34 takeovers reported this week, worth over $16.41B
• 2 bankruptcies   • 4 prison stories &   • 1 suicide story
vs. 7 TIMEsizing stories + 1 UPsizing (650 new jobs) + 0 UNtakeovers ($0)
< YTD: 543 dnsz (669788 jbcts) +631 takv($424B) +112 bkrp vs. 132 timsiz +48 upsz (25444+=4%) +26 untk ($36B+)>
1 weekend takeover reported, worth $3B: • 2 buyout vultures gobble Yell + 1 weekend downsizing: • 50 jobs lost worldwide as Viasec of Donegal closes all its subsidiaries
+ weekend omens: • grads working harder to find first job
vs. weekend glimmers of intelligence:
• Jill Andresky Fraser writes on the "White-Collar Sweatshop -
The Deterioration of Work and its Rewards in Corporate America"
• Dave Barry illustrates the deterioration of work from the newspaper angle
• Dave Warsh celebrates the consumer ads for the 'morning after' pill

5/26/2001 sat (re fri biz)
- movie called "Human Resources" about 35-hr workweek has come to Blockbuster Video
= the inside story & some wrenching situations dressed in the beautiful French language
with clear subtitles -
4 takeovers reported in NYT & BG, totaling $2.81B
+ 5 downsizings, totaling 1065 jobcuts + ??, reported in NYT & BG:
• 12% workforce cut (600 Calif. jobs lost) as Boeing trims costs (& markets), instead of
just trimming its workweek 12% (58 mins/day for whole firm including top execs), re-
investing pay from any overline hours in overtime-targeted training & hiring - keeping
everyone together, employed, earning & spending 88% as much as usual
• est. 300 as Pacific SX automates  • 85 to take buyouts at ABC News
• unspecified cuts at Reuters in London
+ 1 prison story: • Boston Globes mud-raking pans out - probe urged
vs. glimmers of hope: • 1 UPsizing: - Boeing's 9-yr-old Moscow design center now up to 650 jobs
• 2 TIMEsizing items: - Brazil mulls 4-day workweek to avert power blackouts - M/F 'national holiday'
- GM's Opel unit stays closed twice the usual 2-wk vacation in Aug. due to drop in German car mkt

5/25/2001 fri
5 takeovers reported, totaling $2.71B & $undisclosed
+ 7 downsizings, totaling 701 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• 400 NH jobcuts by Teradyne  • 100 at Ezenia software 
• 20% workforce cut (75 Seattle jobs lost) at Avenue A interactive ad services, instead of
just trimming its workweek 20% (to four 8-hour days for whole firm including top execs),
re-investing pay from any overline hours in overtime-targeted training & hiring - keeping
everyone together, employed, earning & spending 80% as much as usual
• 70 at Jack Morton Worldwide  • 33 at Draft Worldwide
• 17 at TBWA/Chiat/Day  • 6 at Rapp Collins Worldwide
+ 1 prison story: • taxpayers pay a 40-hr/wk salary to sheriff who works just 20 hr-wk
+ omens: • trafficking in humans spreads
• White House press corps changed from Clinton-era attack dogs into lap dogs today
vs. glimmers of hope: • Dubya, Jeb & Scalia steal the prezduncy, then
Jeffords steals back the US Senate = 'white male millionaires working for you' (Dave Barry)

5/24/2001 thu
8 takeovers reported, totaling $3.67B & $$undisclosed
+ 5 downsizings, totaling 1432 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG
• 700 jobcuts at Glenayre Technologies  • 332 at EBT International  • 250 at Fedex 
• 12% workforce cut (150 jobs lost) as Goldman Sachs reshrinks after bloating on the
dot-com bubble, instead of just trimming its workweek 12% (to five 7-hour days for whole
firm including top execs), re-investing pay from any overline hours in overtime-targeted
training & hiring - keeping everyone employed, earning & spending 88% as much as usual
• unspecified Indiana jobcuts at CTS cellphone components
+ 1 bankruptcy story: • personal bankruptcies up 18% in Q1, 26% so far in Q2 
+ 1 prison story: • rampant guard brutality in "enlightened" Massachusetts
+ 1 work-related suicide: • vampy singer jumped cuz dumped, doubly
vs. glimmers of TIMEsizing:
• Brockton Hospital nurses strike in Mass. to force sufficient hiring to avoid overtime

5/23/2001 wed
no downsizings, reported in NYT & BG
but 6 layoff-inducing takeovers reported, totaling $739m & $?? 
+ 1 prison story: • Ala. prison crisis - state may have to build new prison (oh nooo!)
• Mass. prison crisis - 3-part series begins - #1: sexual abuse of inmates
+ omens: • Dubya gets ready to yank regulations with nothing better to replace them
vs. glimmers of TIMEsizing: • 35-hr workweek France has lower domestic demand in April due to
heavy rains, but is still star performer in Europe & less vulnerable to US downturn than most neighbors
• French turn out en masse pushing their parliament to raise pressure vs. layoffs by profitable firms

5/22/2001 tue
no downsizings, reported in NYT & BG:
but 10 downsizing-inducing takeovers reported,
totaling $6.11B & $??  + 1 bankruptcy reported: • Teligent Inc. 
+ omens: • hiring outlook approaching levels last seen in 90-91 recession
vs. glimmers of TIMEsizing: • France denies outright layoff ban
while economists defy facts & fret shorter workweek may chill foreign investment

5/20-21/2001
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 26 downsizings reported, costing over 12,580 lost jobs
• 31 takeovers reported this week, worth over $17.77B
• 5 bankruptcies   • 1 prison story
vs. 7 TIMEsizing stories + 2 UPsizings (?? new jobs) + 1 UNtakeover ($7B)
< YTD: 526 dnsz (666590 jbcts) +597 takv($408B) +110 bkrp vs. 125 timsiz +47 upsz (24794+=4%) +26 untk ($36B+)>
1 weekend takeover reported, worth $372m
+ weekend omens: • 'Overworked American' revisited
& new study on unintended costs of employee overload
• grad derailments due to screwups during 72-hour workweeks at testing firm
vs. weekend glimmers of timesizing:
• timesizing Nucor Corp. was steel industry's most profitable firm last year

5/19/2001 sat (re fri biz)
1 downsizing, reported in NYT & BG:
• 13% workforce cut (950 jobs lost) as Mpower Communications broadband self-
amputates in desperation for profitability, instead of just trimming its workweek
13% (to five 6h58m days for whole firm including top execs), re-investing pay
from any overline hours in overtime-targeted training & hiring - keeping
everyone together employed, earning & spending 87% as much as usual
+ 1 takeover, worth $28m  + 1 bankruptcy reported: • Casual Male Corp. 
vs. glimmers of TIMEsizing:
• workweek chops in France have cut minimum growthrate (GDP) needed to create jobs
• French lawmakers move beyond requiring would-be downsizers to cut their workweek

5/18/2001 fri
- another "tragedy of the commons" = the job market is a general resource
not owned by any individual firm so each CEO just imposes on it indefinitely
to supply jobs for all his layoffees, however many in the aggregate -
9 takeovers, worth $13.61B & $?? 
+ 4 downsizings, totaling 1400 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• 1000 job cuts as Alamac Knits closes 2 N.C . plants  • 180 at the Miami
Herald  • 120 at the San Jose Mercury News  • 100 at USA Today
+ 2 bankruptcies reported: • CyberRebate, $100m debt  • Tandycrafts
vs. glimmers of TIMEsizing:
• Philly Fed notes willynilly reduction in work hours again this month - let's quit fighting it

5/17/2001 thu
- "against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain" - Asimov -
8 downsizings, totaling 6020 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• 20% workforce cut (950 jobs lost) as APW computer parts panics
over slowing demand & slows it more, instead of just trimming its workweek
20% (to five 6-hr days for whole firm including top execs), re-investing pay from any
overline hours in overtime-targeted training & hiring - keeping everyone employed, earn-
ing & shopping 80% as much as usual (or more as well-rested creativity pays off)
• 1300 cuts at GenTek  • 750 at FleetBoston  • 600 at Motorola  • 400 at Comair 
• 400 at Hyperion Solutions  • 40 at McCann-Erickson  • 30 at Frankel
+ 8 takeovers, worth $476m & $??  + 1 prison story: • Ala. stints jampacked jails
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• 1 UNtakeover - court blocks Schneider Electric's $7B takeover of Legrand
• Steve Roach braves torrent of happytalk & warns of real "new economy" = chronic
under-capacity (unless we face implications of technology & share yet-unautomated work)
• 3 TIMEsizing items: - French growth forecasts trimmed (but currently best in Europe)
- more overtime (above 35 hrs) plus comp time means more long weekends for the French
- French strike for a meaningful shorter workweek, block Channel ferries

5/16/2001 wed
- "against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain" - Asimov -
8 downsizings, totaling 3295 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• 15% workforce cut (950 jobs lost) as EGL global freight flips over slowdown-
damaged customers & damages some more, instead of just trimming its workweek
15% (to 34-hr week for whole firm including top execs), re-investing pay from any
overline hours in overtime-targeted training & hiring - keeping everyone
together, employed, earning & shopping 85% as much as usual
• 900 cuts at KeyCorp  • 540 at Tax People  • 365 at Vodafone Australia  • 197 at Union
Yarn Mill  • 165 at Artificial Life  • 118 at N.E. Business Services  • 60 at Mass. Mutual
+ 5 takeovers, worth $1.62B & $?? + 1 bankruptcy reported: • Zany Brainy 
vs. glimmers of TIMEsizing:
• French say 35-hour workweek makes for better lifestyle

5/15/2001 tue
7 takeovers, worth $2.04B + $$undisclosed
+ 4 downsizings, totaling 705 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• 25% workforce cut (350 jobs lost) as Agency.com e-consulting
spooks over widening losses, instead of just trimming its workweek
25% (to five 6-hour days for whole firm including top execs), re-investing pay from any
overline hours in overtime-targeted training & hiring - keeping everyone
together, employed, earning & spending 75% as much as usual
• 220 cuts at Avaya  • 95 at Booz-Allen & Hamilton  • 40 at FairMarket
+ 1 bankruptcy reported: • Washington Group International construction 
vs. glimmers of hope: • 2 UPsizings: - new ad agency, Bink Inc.  - new Biogen plant in Denmark
• 1 TIMEsizing item: - FAA plans to enforce 16-hr duty max for pilots but needs fatalities to do it

5/13-14/2001
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 33 takeovers reported this week, worth over $14.63B  • 2 prison stories
• 23 downsizings reported, costing over 18,907 lost jobs
vs. 9 TIMEsizing stories + 4 UPsizings (75 new jobs) + 0 UNtakeovers
< YTD: 500 dnsz (654010 jbcts) +566 takv($390B) +105 bkrp vs. 118 timsiz +45 upsz (24794+=4%) +25 untk ($29B+)>
1 weekend takeover reported, worth $??
+ 1 downsizing: • 210 jobs (70%) cut as HAL Computer Systems shuts down
+ weekend omens: • NYT thinks it has new theory of biz cycle = executives
vs. weekend glimmers of hope:
• 2 new cancer cures - Gleevec & EGFR-blockers
• 'good, but' #1 - coalition forms against further Medicare cuts
(but why necessary when previous cuts have shred US healthcare?)
• 'good, but' #2 - talks inch ahead vs. germ warfare (but why took 29 yrs?)

5/12/2001 sat (re fri biz)
4 takeovers cited by NYT & BG, worth $1.07B + $??
+ 2 downsizings, totaling 1100 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• 40% workforce cut (900 Va. jobs lost) as Teligent telecoms tries
to pretty up for financiers by self-amputation, instead of just trimming its workweek
40% (to four 6-hour days for whole firm including top execs), re-investing pay from any
overline hours in overtime-targeted training & hiring - keeping everyone
together, employed, earning & spending 60% as much as usual
• 200 cuts at StarMedia Network
vs. 3 glimmers of TIMEsizing:
• French employees keep up pressure to goad employers into making 35-hr week lessen joblessness
• 35-hour week temporarily makes French inflation lowest in Europe even without incentive balancing
• German labor minister, Riester, helped negotiate 35-hr week for 3.5m-member IG Metall union

5/11/2001 fri
- In Memoriam - Phil Hyde's role model, George Hopton, Toronto SCM Sec. 1962-67
Funeral is today 11 am at St. Ansgar's Lutheran, Avenue Rd at Lawrence in Toronto -
6 takeovers cited by NYT & BG, worth $1.2B + $??
+ 5 downsizings, totaling 5756 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• 6.5% workforce cut (3600 So. African jobs lost) as Gold Fields Ltd. overreacts
to falling gold prices & 14% profit decline, instead of just trimming its workweek
6.5% (31 mins./day for whole firm including top execs), re-investing pay from any
overline hours in overtime-targeted training & hiring - keeping everyone
together, employed, earning & doing 93.5% of usual shopping
• 2000 jobcuts at Siemens  • 102 Tex. cuts at Temerlin McClain 
• 45 US cuts at Lowe Lintas  • 9 US cuts at Boston Globe
vs. glimmers of hope : • 3 UPsizings: - Brit Telecom to break up
- Toyota to create Mexican unit  - KSE & LIPA to add powerplant on Long Is.
• 3 TIMEsizing items: - France removes a few cushions from unemployment lounge
- coal strike in 70s briefly gave Brits 3-day week  - Australia got shorter hours willynilly

5/10/2001 thu
- In Memoriam - Phil Hyde's role model, George Hopton, Toronto SCM Sec. 1962-67
Funeral is Friday 11 am at St. Ansgar's Lutheran, Avenue Rd at Lawrence in Toronto -
6 takeovers cited by NYT & BG, worth $184.5m + $??
+ 3 downsizings, totaling 1571 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• 696 US & Canada jobcuts at Comdisco & Prism 
• 15% workforce cut (675 Calif. jobs lost) as Exodus Communications website mgmt
overreacts to wider losses due to customer cutbacks, instead of just trimming its workweek
15% (to 34-hr wk for whole firm including top execs), re-investing pay from any
overline hours in overtime-targeted training & hiring - keeping everyone
together, employed, earning & doing 85% of their usual spending
• 200 Niagara Falls jobcuts at Nabisco's Triscuit 
vs. glimmers of hope : • 1 UPsizing: Fleet to add 75 tellers in Boston area despite layoffs elsewhere
• Boston Capital column in Globe needles Dick Cheney toward greater respect for conservation

5/09/2001 wed
- In Memoriam - Phil Hyde's role model, George Hopton, Toronto SCM Sec. 1962-67
Funeral Friday 11 am at St. Ansgar's Lutheran, Avenue Rd at Lawrence in Toronto -
5 takeovers cited by NYT & BG, worth $1.21B + $??
+ 7 downsizings, totaling 2840 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• 10% workforce cut (1100 jobs lost) as National Semi cellfone & PC chips overreacts to
sales slump by cutting employment aka consumer base, instead of just trimming its work-
week 10% (48 mins. a day for whole firm including top execs), re-investing pay from
any overline hours in overtime-targeted training & hiring - keeping everyone
together, employed, earning & buying 90% of their usual cellfones & PCs
• 900 US jobcuts at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers  • 500 Spanish & US jobcuts at
TerraLycos  • 150 NC & NY cuts at Fab Industries  • 100 US cuts at FCB Worldwide 
• 50 Boston cuts as Picker Institute closes  • 40 Ma. cuts at post-takeover eYak
+ 1 prison story: • Ala. plays shell game with inmates instead of fixing system
vs. glimmers of hope : • 2 UPsizings: Lehman Bros. 1000 new jobs, UBS Warburg 150
• 4 TIMEsizing items: - US firm, Mattson Technologies, restricts layoffs with shorter workweeks
- Germany is unintentionally cutting work hrs in worst possible way - short-hrs workers up 11% from yr-ago
- big German union ('Verdi') that wants shorter workweek rejects 2% pay hike offered by insurers
- big Swedish firm, Securitas, raises its prices in France to 'compensate' for 35-hr workweek (huh?)

5/08/2001 tue
- good crowd (about 60?) at "Whatever happened to the shorter workweek?" at
Boston Public Library this eve at 6:30 pm - thanks to Terry Crystal, Ellen Graf & BPL -
12 takeovers cited by NYT & BG, worth $10.97B + $??
+ 6 downsizings, totaling 7640 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• 10% workforce cut (4000 Tex. jobs lost) as Dell Computer "increases market share"
by dumping 4000 of its best customers, instead of just trimming workweek 10%
(48 mins. a day for whole firm including top execs), re-investing pay from any
overline hours in overtime-targeted training & hiring - keeping everyone
together, employed, earning & making 90% of usual purchases
• 3000 Ca. jobcuts at 3Com  • 375 Ma. cuts at PRI Automation  • 120 Ca. cuts at Network
Peripherals  • 100 Ma. cuts at AT&T Broadband  • 45 Ma. cuts at Astral Point Comms
+ 1 prison story: • man freed but lost 15 years because of sleezy chemist's data
+ omens: • 'bad, but' - a third of nurses under 30 leaving the field in next yr
(but this acute shortage will get them better working hours & pay)
vs. glimmers of hope : • 1 UPsizing: Apple Cptr will open up to 10 stores
• 'good, but' - consumers slow borrowing (but only because so many laid off)

5/06-07/2001
- "Whatever happened to the shorter workweek?" with Phil Hyde
at Boston Public Library, Mezzanine Conference Rm on Tues, May 8, at 6:30 pm -
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 23 downsizings reported, costing over 25,083 lost jobs
• 34 takeovers reported this week, worth over $35.51B
• 4 bankruptcies  • 1 prison story  • 1 suicide story
vs. 3 TIMEsizing stories + 0 UPsizings (0 new jobs) + 1 UNtakeover ($7B)
< YTD: 477 dnsz (635103 jbcts) +533 takv($375B) +105 bkrp vs. 108 timsiz +41 upsz (24719+=4%) +25 untk ($29B+)>
+ weekend omens: • US loses 223k jobs in April, most since last recession 
• "tossing public health into the trash" - nation's capital bags its last public hospital 
• some cities (NY, Boston...) now must dial 10-11 numbers even to phone next door
vs. weekend glimmers of intelligence: • readers point to real rogue state in human rights

5/5/2001 sat (re fri news)
- "Whatever happened to the shorter workweek?" with Phil Hyde
at Boston Public Library, Mezzanine Conference Rm on Tues, May 8, at 6:30 pm -
3 takeovers cited by NYT & BG, worth $3.82B + $??
+ 1 downsizing, totaling unspecified jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• ?? jobcuts as Dupont Photomasks shuts factory in Hamilton, Scotland
+ omens: • more testimony on 12-hour days in high technology
• result - jobless rate up to 4.5%  • result - office vacancies up
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• 1 UNtakeover - court blocks Schneider Electric's $7B takeover of Legrand
• reader: "we blamed Communists for not keeping treaties - now we're breaking them"
• let's change our pollution control from reactive focus on outputs to proactive redesign of inputs

5/04/2001 fri
- still trying to base secure investments on insecure jobs -
7 takeovers cited by NYT & BG, worth $26.7B + $??
+ 5 downsizings totaling 4705 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• 6% workforce cut (3000 US jobs lost) as Newell Rubbermaid spooks about weakened
global economy & resulting retail slowdown, instead of just trimming workweek 6%
(29 minutes a day for whole firm including top execs), re-investing pay from any
overline hours in overtime-targeted training & hiring - keeping everyone
together, employed, earning & doing 94% of usual shopping
• 800 US cuts at Genuity  • 700 US cuts as iMotor.com closes 
• 125 Irish cuts at Iona Technologies  • 30 Mass. cuts as iEmily.com closes
vs. glimmers of timesizing:
• spreading market-demanded employment & income inoculates France vs. worst of global slowdown

5/03/2001 thu
- "Whatever happened to the shorter workweek?" with Phil Hyde
at Boston Public Library, Mezzanine Conference Rm on Tues, May 8, at 6:30 pm -
7 takeovers cited by NYT & BG, worth $2.86B + $??
+ 2 downsizings totaling 1,260 jobcuts + ??, reported in NYT & BG:
• 1260 cuts as Rohm & Haas closes plants in Calif. & Miss.  • unspecified cuts when
Campbell Soup's Arnott's biscuits unit closes Melbourne plant 'down under' next year
+ 2 bankruptcies mentioned: • Hook Media online ads  • Worldwide Xceed e-designer
+ 1 suicide story: • US Surgeon General kicks off prevention campaign, mostly rhetoric
+ makework abounding: • Chile follows FDR's flop, not France's successful shared work
vs. glimmers of hope: • solar energy shines in Calif. utility crisis

5/02/2001 wed
- "Whatever happened to the shorter workweek?" with Phil Hyde
at Boston Public Library, Mezzanine Conference Rm on Tues, May 8, at 6:30 pm -
11 takeovers cited by NYT & BG, worth $1.46B + $??
+ 5 downsizings totaling 5,769 jobcuts, reported in NYT & BG:
• 8% workforce cut (4500 US jobs lost) as Dow Chemical gets the 'heaves' after gobbling
Union Carbide, instead of just trimming workweek 8% (38 minutes a day for whole firm
including top execs), re-investing pay from any overline hours in overtime-targeted training
& hiring - keeping everyone together, employed, earning & doing 92% of usual spending
• 800 cuts at Nextel  • 308 at Newmont Mining  • 122 at Loudcloud  • 39 at SoftLock.com
vs. glimmers of timesizing: • garment workers march through Cambodian capital demanding their
workweek be reduced to the American level of 63 years ago (1938) = 44 hours a week

5/01/2001 tue
- "Whatever happened to the shorter workweek?" with Phil Hyde
at Boston Public Library, Mezzanine Conference Rm on Tues, May 8, at 6:30 pm -
6 takeovers reported in NYT & BG, worth $665m + $??
+ 9 downsizings totaling 13,294 jobcuts, cited by NYT & BG:
• 8000 Mexican cuts at Delphi autoparts  • 2500 Mex. cuts at Chrysler 
• 1357 Mexican cuts at Goodyear  • 450 Mexican cuts at Grupo Saltillo
• 6% workforce cut (400 mostly US jobs lost) as Comverse software over-reacts to
slowdown, instead of just trimming hours by 6% (29 minutes a day for whole firm
including top execs), re-investing pay from any overline hours in overtime-targeted training
& hiring, & keeping everyone together, employed, earning & buying 94% usual software
• 380 US job cuts at Excite@Home  • 150 Ca. & NH cuts at At Comm Corp. 
• 37 Ma. cuts at Atlantic Data Services  • 20 NYC cuts at NY Daily News
+ 2 bankruptcies mentioned: • American Appliance  • MarchFirst, again
+ 1 prison story: • Alabama's packed jails draw ire of courts, again
+ 1 suicide story: • Lawrence High tops high Mass. highschool suicides
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • when campaign finance reform needs repeated stiffening from
initiatives & referendums, maybe we need to go back one step & stiffen initiative access & enforcement
• Harvard's low wages have lessons to teach, but they aren't about 'living wages'