hopes/dooms du jour, July/2002
[Commentary] ©2002 Phil Hyde, The Timesizing Wire, Box 117, Harvard Sq, Cambridge MA 02238 USA (617) 623-8080 - HOMEPAGE

7/31/2002 wed
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • Aussie union is trying to organize job sharing at Qantas
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm 'when will they ever learn' dept. - 2 more applicants for admission to merger hell:
• IBM gulps PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting for $3½B &
• Guidant gobbles Cook Group for 3
+ 3 downsizings, totaling 1,944 jobcuts, reported in NY Times (NYT) & Wall St Journal (WSJ):
• 16% workforce cut (1300 jobs lost) as credit-card issuer Providian Financial closes 3 offices in over-reaction to consumer loan defaults, instead of just trimming its workweek 16%  (to five 6¾-hr days for whole company including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & credit-card shopping 84% of normal
• 550 Ma. jobcuts by MeadWestvaco   • 94 Va. cuts by Motient
+ 1 bankruptcy mentioned in New York Times & Wall St Journal:
• Vanguard Airlines of Kansas City files with $8m debt
+ 2 prison items: • USA up to a prison population of 2,100,000 by the end of last year
• California's guard shortage to cost taxpayers halfa billion a year by 2007

7/30/2002 tue
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • Tasmania squawks about long hours in mines
• Montreal printing firm squawks about short hours in France
vs.  doom du jourtm  
1 downsizing, totaling 215 jobcuts, reported in NY Times (NYT) & Wall St Journal (WSJ):
• 0.06% workforce cut (215 jobs lost) as Siemens electronics & engineering closes an acquired Ohio plant, instead of just trimming its workweek 0.06%  (1½ mins/wk for whole company including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & shopping 99.94% of their usual amount
+ 1 bankruptcy mentioned in New York Times & Wall St Journal:
• owner of Budget Rentacar & Ryder Rentatruck files with $280m debt

week ending 7/28-29/2002
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
weekend roundup per the NY Times & various regional papers:
• 8 TIMEsizing stories (40+ jobs saved) & • 3 UPsizings (500+ new jobs) reported
vs. doom of the week:
• 18 downsizings, totaling over 21,362 lost jobs 
• 3 eroded-retirement stories   • 7 bankruptcies, totaling $?? in debt   • 4 prison stories
‹‹YTD: 307 tmsz(22480+ jobs)+89 upsz(29773+=8%) vs. 422 dnsz(619156+)+102 bkrp($52.1B+)+37 hmls+52 jail+20 vilc››
- hope of the weekend -
timesizing awareness: • 46% of Japanese firms have longer hours for survivors after downsizing
+ headlines from heaven: • California passes stricter emission standards
• Louisville exec praises TBM Consulting & their zero-layoff advice
vs.  doom of the weekend -
headlines from hell: • a quick second recession or just one long slump?   • we still haven't a clue how to handle technology   • US 'system' is losing its feedback function   • we still think we're the envy of the world?!   • clinching our crashpath with fast track  
+ retirement omens: • Time Mag has huge cover story on the death of retirement
+ 2 downsizings, totaling 580 jobcuts: • 11% of workforce cut (350 lost Mass. jobs) as Brook-PRI Automation self-amputates post-merger, instead of just trimming its workweek by 11% (to five 7hr7min days for whole firm including top executives), implementing overtime-targeted training and keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 89% as much computer stuff as usual
• 230 Paris & NYC jobcuts by Vivendi Universal
+ 1 bankruptcy story: • bankruptcy bill shows corporate clout still strong - final vote in Sept.
+ 1 prison story:  • NYT documents one of the 'drug war' fiascos, in cretinous Texas naturally

7/27/2002 sat (re fri biz)
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • Solomon Is. in budget crunch considers a 3-day workweek for civil servants
• Lindenwood U. in Missouri swallows $2k in rm&bd if students work 10 hrs/wk on campus
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm - 2 UPsizings: unspecified new jobs at
• Armstrong Gustine Development in Phoenix & • Caterpillar in Poland
vs.  doom du jourtm  
2 retirement horror stories: • with stock plunge, some retirees will have to go back to work
• some baby boomers will have to delay retirement, blocking advancement of younger employees
+ 3 downsizings, totaling 2949 jobcuts, reported in NY Times (NYT) & Arizona Republic (AR):
• 12% workforce cut (450 jobs lost) as Avaya fone gear spooks over slumping demand & worsens it, instead of just trimming its workweek 12%  (to five 7-hour days for whole company including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & spending 88% of normal on phone equipment & everything else
• 440 jobcuts as Sanmina-SCI closes plant in Maine   • 9 cuts as Saks sells off credit-card unit
+ 2 bankruptcy stories in New York Times: • editorial calls bankruptcy bill bankrupt
• flood of filings likely before new bankruptcy bill makes things difficult
+ 1 prison item: • Southern states still enforce racist laws that disenfrachize even released inmates

7/26/2002 fri
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • So. Korea auto union had higher pay &
shorter hours demands, but got only the relatively meaningless one, higher pay
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm • majority of US families don't own stock after all
• corporate governance bill passes - rule-breakers risk de-listing   • at last - CEOs in handcuffs
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm • de-stock market   • Argentina   • Brazil
+ 6 downsizings, totaling 1098 jobcuts + unspecified, reported in NY Times (NYT) & Wall St Journal (WSJ):
• 3¾% workforce cut (450 jobs lost) as Bausch & Lomb eyecare downsizes despite tripling its earnings, instead of just trimming its workweek 3¾%  (12 mins/day for whole company including execs), paying the same money for slightly shorter hours, & keeping everyone together working, earning & spending normally on eyecare & everything else
• 308 jobcuts by GM/Brazil   • 240 cuts by Tweeter   • 100 by E*Trade Group
• unspecified cuts by Jacobson Stores in the Midwest, & • JDS Uniphase in Calif.
+ 1 bankruptcy & 1 bankruptcy story in New York Times & Wall St Journal: • Jacobson Stores of Mich... liquidates
• Congress settles on form of new bank-friendly, consumer-hostile bankruptcy law

7/25/2002 thu
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • Cameco, world's #1 uranium supplier, saves ~40 jobs by job sharing   • Aussie unions probably failed to tighten workweek max by not building in annualization for seasonal industries like agriculture
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm • Dow regains 488 points, 6.4% (just like summer 1929!)
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm • re-stock? market
• Canada's #1 fone co. writes off $5.7B   • Milken's ba-a-ack  
• snooty brokerages averted eyes for 15 yrs while grottysaur (=sociopath?) emptied accts
+ 4 downsizings, totaling 5015 jobcuts, reported in NY Times (NYT) & Wall St Journal (WSJ):
• 4% workforce cut (2400 jobs lost) as Merrill Lynch over-reacts to the mergers-advisory slump, instead of just trimming its workweek 4%  (19 mins/day for whole company including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & shopping 96% as much as before
• 2271 jobcuts by Morgan Stanley   • 300 cuts by Maytag   • 44 by Frost Securities
+ 1 retirement horror story: • Idaho public pension fund had lost $473m on stox even before last 3 weeks
+ 1 bankruptcy story in New York Times (NYT) & Wall St Journal (WSJ):
• Pacific 'tigers' now experiencing plague of bankruptcies

7/24/2002 wed
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • Australian unions try for real workweek maximum (but fail this time)
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm • de-stock market
• tuff to indict them CEOs   • our top Zero plans to fiddle while USA burns
+ 3 downsizings, totaling 11,100 jobcuts, reported in NY Times (NYT) & Wall St Journal (WSJ):
• 15% workforce cut (8000 jobs lost) as Lucent Technologies telecom gear panics over contracting spending, instead of just trimming its workweek 15%  (to five 6.8-hour days for whole company including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 85% as much telecom services as before
• 2500 jobcuts by GE Power Systems   • 600 cuts by Pinnacle West Capital
+ 1 bankruptcy story in New York Times (NYT) & Wall St Journal (WSJ):
• DIP (debtor-in-possession) financing is spreading among broke companies

7/23/2002 tue
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • Japan's 3 sectors keep meeting on work sharing
• timesizing blocked by shortsighted employees at Germany's Commerzbank - ergo, 900 jobcuts
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm - 1 UPsizing: • 500 new jobs at MBNA in Ireland (but gov't subsidized)
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm • the stock market   • the minimum wage mistake repackaged
• Bush disses rest of world on family planning   • Israel disses rest of world on Hamas overkill, includes 9 kids
+ 2 downsizings, totaling 1200 +?? jobcuts, reported in NY Times (NYT) & USA Today (USAT):
• 21% workforce cut (1200 jobs lost) as Comverse Technology software spooks over weak telecom capital spending, instead of just trimming its workweek 21%  (to four 7.9-hour days for whole company including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 79% as much telecom services as before
• unspecified cuts by Avaya in NJ & Israel
+ 1 prison item: • pre-Rockefeller drug offender tells how he salvaged his life but probably wouldn't if judge lacked discretionary power

week ending 7/21-22/2002
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
weekend roundup per the NY Times & various regional papers:
• 10 TIMEsizing stories (?? jobs saved)   • 4 UPsizings (405+ new jobs) reported
vs. doom of the week:
• 6 downsizings, totaling 7,749 lost jobs   • 1 eroded-retirement story  
• 1 bankruptcy, totaling $?? in debt     • 1 work-linked incident of violence
‹‹YTD: 299 tmsz(22440+ jobs)+86 upsz(29273+=9%) vs. 404 dnsz(597794+)+95 bkrp($52.1B+)+37 hmls+48 jail+20 vilc››
- hope of the weekend -
timesizing news: • (7/09) big German bankruptcy, Babcock Borsig, cut hours too little too late
vs.  doom of the weekend -
headlines from hell:
• selection of disastrous weekend headers, with commentary, starting with incredible shrinking stock market
• 60% of execs think their 'watchdog' board members are too $$$dumb to spot a fudged balance sheet
• CEOs & boards still don't get it - still trying to pass the pressure to the populace
• nemesis - laid-off execs finding tougher time getting rehired
+ 1 bankruptcy: • WorldCom files biggest bankruptcy in history, with $107 billion in assets
+ 2 prison stories:  • NY state (& the nation?!) is trying to fight drug addiction with prison addiction
• 'home'-made inmate weapons are called 'shanks' or 'shivs'

7/20/2002 sat (re fri biz) -
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • Japan labor ministry report urges full-time jobs with shorter working hours
• South Korea auto union urges shorter hours at Kia Motors
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm • GOP lawmakers are distancing from Bush like rats leaving a sinking ship
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm • Dow plunges, again   • Bush tries distraction, fails   • Nader nails 5 lethal bugs in the system
+ no downsizings today, but here's some dirt on downsizing-inducing takeovers:
• NY Times editors pan huge AOL TimeWarner merger

7/19/2002 fri -
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • Euro survey mixes meanings of 'leisure', elicits built-in results
• Portugal halves maximum allowable overtime hours per year & raises overtime pay
vs.  doom du jourtm  
1 downsizing, totaling 200 jobcuts, reported in NY Times (NYT) & USA Today (USAT):
• 40% workforce cut (1164 jobs lost) as chipmaker Transmeta panics over quarterly loss, instead of just trimming its workweek 40%  (to four 6-hour days for whole company including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 60% as much computerphanalia as before
+ 1 retirement horror story: • poverty looms for many older Americans

7/18/2002 thu -
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • timesizing Nucor Corp. posts 79% profit jump
• city of Niagara Falls, NY, toughens up on overtime
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm • how $$ concentrates - Salomon cronyism
• surprise! - poll finds concern that Bush is overly influenced by business
• big corporations still obsessing about tax avoidance instead of "takin' care o' bizness"
+ 1 downsizing, totaling 1,164 jobcuts, reported in NY Times (NYT) & Wall St Journal (WSJ) :
• 16% workforce cut (1164 jobs lost) as Siebel business software abreacts to slumping software sales with self-amputation, instead of just trimming its workweek 16%  (to five 6¾-hr days for whole company including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone working, earning & buying 84% as much software as usual
+ 1 prison item: • the august American legal system = Rockefeller drug laws lock up framed mother-of-3 for 15-to-life, while guy who shot his uncle gets 5 yrs, comes out & kills his sister

7/17/2002 wed -
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • new Teamster-UPS contract caps overtime
• authorities in Sarajevo consider cut in working hours due to heatwave
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm - 4 UPsizings: • 400 new jobs @ AmeriCredit
• 5 + ?? @ Newmark Real Estate   • ?? new jobs @ CenterPoint Intermodal Center &   • @ Asprey
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm • mergers won't cure diseases
+ 3 downsizings, totaling 5610 jobcuts, reported in NY Times (NYT) & Wall St Journal (WSJ) :
• 4.8% workforce cut (4000 jobs lost) as Intel over-reacts to slow chip recovery with self-mutilation, instead of just trimming its workweek 4.8%  (23 mins a day for whole company including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 95.2% as many PCs as before
• 810 UK jobcuts by KPMG International   • 800 Brazil cuts by GM

7/16/2002 tue
- late edition -
timesizing in the news: • Canuck union leader, Buzz Hargrove, successfully resists Navistar's efforts to erode time-off & work-hour arrangements
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm • stocks yoyo, Bush happytalks, stocks slide anyway, US$ sinks below euro, Americans distrust leaders
• two NY Times op eds give scum-meister Dubya the coup de grace for 2004
+ 1 downsizing, totaling 775 jobcuts, reported in NY Times (NYT) & USA Today (USAT):
• 5% workforce cut (775 jobs lost) as America's 2d-largest electronics distributors, Avnet, reacts to faltering sales cuts with self-amputation, instead of just trimming its workweek 5%  (24 mins a day for whole company including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 95% as much electronics as usual
+ 1 bankruptcy, mentioned in New York Times (NYT) & Arizona Republic (AR):
• Contour Energy of Houston, an indirect Enron casualty

week ending 7/14-15/2002
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
weekend roundup per the NY Times & various regional papers:
• 7 TIMEsizing stories (?? jobs saved)   • 4 UPsizings (9+ new jobs) reported
vs. doom of the week:
• 19 downsizings, totaling over 17,308 lost jobs 
• 2 bankruptcies, totaling $?? in debt     • 1 homelessness item • 5 prison stories
‹‹YTD: 289 tmsz(22440+ jobs)+82 upsz(28868+=9%) vs. 398 dnsz(590045+)+94 bkrp($52.1B+)+37 hmls+48 jail+19 suic››
- hope of the weekend -
timesizing news: • PR exec's experience reveals mechanism of overwork in America
vs.  doom of the weekend -
work-related violence: • pro alleges predictability, puffs own PR
+ headlines from hell: • Pfizer gobbles Pharmacia in $60B megamerger, like we need another one

7/13/2002 sat (re fri biz) -
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • Japan expands guidelines for recognizing karoshi = death by overwork
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm • 2 UPsizings - 9 new jobs @ Famous Footwear & - ?? @ Best Buy
vs.  doom du jourtm  
6 more downsizings, totaling 2908 jobcuts, reported in NY Times (NYT) & Arizona Republic (AR) :
• 1.6% workforce cut (1300 jobs lost) as Sprint cuts costs the dumb way (includes its own markets) instead of just
trimming its workweek 1.6%  (8 mins a day for whole company including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-
targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 98.4% as many phone services as usual
• 1000 San Francisco jobcuts as FleetBoston completes destruction of takeover victim Robertson Stephens
• 500 cuts by Read-Rite   • 90 by Mercator Software   • 12 by Salomon Smith Barney   • 6 by Lazard
+ 1 bankruptcy story, mentioned in New York Times (NYT) & Arizona Republic (AR):
• 'only' 1439 June biz failures = first decline in Japan bankruptcies in 10 mos., $6B debt
+ 1 homelessness story: • homeless mother helps save motorist

7/12/2002 fri -
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • overwork consciousness & complaints spread to UK
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm • new pessimism in Silicon Valley
• little job talk in online career chats   • Chile cuts benchmark rate 5th time this year
+ 6 downsizings, totaling 2295 jobcuts, reported in NY Times (NYT) & Arizona Republic (AR) : • 1000 Czech jobcuts by Flextronics
• 2% workforce cut (600 German jobs lost) as SAP software flips over a decline in US business, instead of just trimming its workweek 2%  (10 mins a day for whole company including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 98% as much software as usual
• 300 Japan jobcuts by Kenwood audio   • 245 Ariz. cuts by InfoImage   • 100 Ga. cuts by Boeing   • 50 US cuts by Titan

7/11/2002 thu -
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • (6/13) review of accreditation
agency's brakes on infinite workhours of American med students
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm • worst bear market in a generation (30 yrs)
• inventories up & prices down = signals of depression
• our filthy rich are neglecting our national parks
+ 2 downsizings, totaling 10,000 jobcuts + unspecified, reported in New York Times (NYT) & Arizona Republic (AR) :
• 3% workforce cut (10,000 German jobs lost) at Deutsche Post flips over regulators' cut in postage rates, instead of just trimming its workweek by 3%  (15 mins a day for whole agency including directors), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 97% as many stamps as usual
• unspecified cuts by Wal-Mart in Germany

7/10/2002 wed
- late edition -
timesizing in the news: • Japanese study shows overtime is bad for your heart
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm • elitist Dubyah poses as populist
• debt & fear of job loss are bigger than terrorism in clipping Americans' travel wings this summer
• Swiss air traffic screwup, atop Swissair debacle, has blown Swiss rep for excellence - sayonara 'Swiss made'
+ 2 downsizings, totaling 80 jobcuts + unspecified, reported in New York Times (NYT) & Arizona Republic (AR) :
• 80 jobcuts by Jose Buitrago coffee of Matagalpa, Nicaragua   • unspecified cuts by Excelon software of Burlington, Mass.
+ 1 prison item: • Ariz’ Maricopa County to go to voters re one-5th cent salestax for jail facilities
+ 1 bankruptcy story, mentioned in New York Times & Arizona Republic:
• Arizona's Jan-May personal bankruptcies up 10% over last year  

7/09/2002 tue -
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • France, Netherlands, Belgium & Norway are all more
productive than USA when their shorter workweeks, longer vacations are factored in
• French employers not as smart as Japanese - never "got" the shorter workweek imperative
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm • 1 UPsizing - ?? new jobs at smaller US Airways
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm • Bush falls in line with Sharon's hard line
• the hometown GM trashed is in state receivership - Flint, Mich.
• carriage trade is doin' just fine, eg: $12,000/night hotels in Manhattan
+ 3 downsizings, totaling 2025 jobcuts, reported in New York Times & USA Today:
• 1.3% workforce cut (1000 jobs lost) as Accenture consulting self-mutilates to reduce costs (& its customers' customers), instead of just trimming its workweek by 1.3%  (10 mins a day for whole firm including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & shopping 98.3% as much as usual
• 600 Ariz. & Ind. jobcuts by Allegheny Energy   • 425 S.C. & Mex. cuts by Kemet

week ending 7/07-08/2002
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
weekend roundup per the NY Times & various regional papers:
• 15 TIMEsizing stories (22000 jobs saved)   • 4 UPsizings (222+ new jobs) reported
vs. doom of the week:
• 13 downsizings, totaling over 5,859 lost jobs 
• 2 bankruptcies, totaling $3.77B in debt     • 5 prison stories
‹‹YTD: 282 tmsz(22440+ jobs)+78 upsz(28859+=9%) vs. 379 dnsz(572737+)+92 bkrp($52.1B+)+36 hmls+47 jail+19 suic››
- hope of the weekend -
timesizing news: • MomMD.com provides job sharing info
for career-life balance to women physicians, med students & pre-meds
+ headlines from heaven: • 1 UPsizing, ?? new jobs - Barnes & Noble planning 45 new stores this year
vs.  doom of the weekend -
headlines from hell: • America's unbalanced power
• analysts still ignoring employment-wages-spending-demand, so ... no recovery

7/06/2002 sat (re fri biz) -
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • 22,000 Tenn. government employees to get paid for their forced leave after all
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm • 1 UPsizing - 200 new AZ jobs at ICT Group Inc.
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm • another 'jobless recovery' as official unemployment edges up to 5.9%
+ 3 downsizings, totaling 442 +?? jobcuts, reported in New York Times & Arizona Republic:
• 340 Ariz. jobcuts by Asarco   • 102 S.C. cuts by AMP Inc.   • unspecified cuts by Actrade Financial
+ 2 bankruptcies totaling $3.77B in debt, mentioned in New York Times & Arizona Republic:
• Dai Nippon Construction of Japan with $2.3B  • Babcock Borsig of Germany with $1.47B 
+ 1 prison-related item: • community service in NYC can be alternative to jail

7/05/2002 fri
- slow news day due to U.S. July 4th holiday -
timesizing in the news: • 22,000 Tenn. employees on furlough to return to work Friday
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm • 3 UPsizings - 22 new AZ jobs at Gold Circuit &
- unspecified jobs at Ford/Russia & - Princess Medical Ctr in AZ
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm • Times frontpage announces 3-sided plan to attaq Iraq
• law loophole lets lobbyists hide clients' identity   • another Enron/Xerox/WorldCom in the works?
+ 2 downsizings, totaling ?? jobcuts, reported in New York Times & Arizona Republic (AR):
• unspecified jobcuts by American Airlines & • Las Vegas trauma center

7/04/2002 thu (re wed biz)
- belated 'happy Fourth' -
timesizing in the news: • Cincinnati nurses 'address' (cut) mandatory overtime
• figures from Tenn. - 22,000 on unpaid furlough instead of layoff
• Raffarin keeps pressure on French 35-hour workweek law in speech
• French still kvetch re costs of 35-hr workweek law sans mentioning tax savings & stronger markets
vs.  doom du jourtm  
headlines from hell_tm • voter turnout for spring primaries down to 16%
• Tenn. slows business with sales tax instead of speeding it with graduated income tax
• firefighting community's dirtiest little secret = arson by firefighters desperate for paycheck
+ 4 downsizings, totaling 1750 +?? jobcuts, reported in New York Times :
• 16% workforce cut (1300 jobs lost) as Scientific-Atlanta TV set-top boxes over-reacts to declining demand by depressing it further, instead of just trimming the company workweek by 16%  (to 6¾ hrs a day for whole firm including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 84% as many set-top boxes as before
• 400 Ariz. jobcuts by Motorola   • 50 NY cuts by Systemax   • unspecified cuts by Speechworks

7/03/2002 wed
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • US average workweek sits down at 34.2 hours
• old railroad laws result in sleep deficit & accidents on the BNSF Railroad
• endorsement of 35-hr workweek has become political albatross in France
• more on Chirac proposing to amend the 35-hour week, still no deets
• South Korea doing well with cut from 44 to 40-hr week
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm • 1 sectorwide UPsizing - 300k jobs added in state & local govts from 3/00 to 3/01
vs.  doom du jourtm  
2 downsizings, totaling 2035 jobcuts, cited in NY Times & USA Today:
• 1.4% workforce cut (2000 jobs lost) as Electronic Data Systems adjusts to weak demand by weakening it further, instead of just trimming the company workweek by 1.4%  (7 mins. a day for whole firm including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 98.6% as many computer services as before
• 35 jobcuts as Ziff Davis Media closes Yahoo Internet Life magazine
+ 1 prison-related item: • Supreme Court makes it even easier to pack our prisons

7/02/2002 tue
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing in the news: • time consciousness rises - overtime lawsuits proliferate
• Boston teenagers get 35-hour summer workweek
• budget-poor Tenn. uses leaves instead of layoffs
vs.  doom du jourtm  
2 downsizings, totaling 1632 jobcuts, cited in NY Times & USA Today:
• 1600 mainly Michigan jobcuts by Compuware software for mainframes
• 3.6% workforce cut (32 jobs lost) as Buffalo police consolidate, instead of just trimming its
workweek 3.6%  (17 mins. a day for whole force including commissioner), re-investing overtime savings
in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone working, earning & shopping 96.4% as much as usual
+ 3 bankruptcies in NYT & USA Today: • Software Logistics dba iLogistix  • PixelNet, & its  • Photo Porst unit
+ 1 prison/crime story: • NYC crime falls but upstate NY's bleak economy has jumped up its crime