Job Creation & Labor

Hino To Lay Off Workers At WV Plant

February 5, 2013 1:39 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Hino Motors Manufacturing USA plans to cut production at its Williamstown plant and lay off temporary workers. Hino spokesman Sandy Ring tells media outlets that the cuts are due to unexpected soft sales in the fourth quarter. Ring says the number of layoffs hasn't yet been determined. The cuts are expected to occur at the end of the month.

How To Bring Manufacturing Back: A Lesson From Germany

February 5, 2013 8:00 am | by Jeremy W. Crane | Blogs | Comments

If we were to change our education system, as well as put a higher value to those who serve the economy outside of cubicles and office space, we would see corporations bring their manufacturing back to the United States. They would create the jobs that so many are searching for. The price for manufacturing will drop domestically, which will in turn bring manufacturing jobs back home.

Boeing Engineers Begin Vote On Strike Next Week

February 4, 2013 1:48 pm | by Joshua Freed, AP Business Writer | News | Comments

Just when Boeing really needs its engineers, they're voting on whether to strike. It's bad timing for Boeing. The aircraft maker is working around the clock to solve battery problems that have grounded its 787s around the world, and unionized engineers are a big part of that effort.

Foxconn To Widen Scope Of Union Elections

February 4, 2013 1:46 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Taiwan-owned Foxconn Technology Group, a leading maker of Apple's iPhones and gadgets for other global brands, is widening the scope of union elections at its sprawling facilities in China. The move, confirmed by the company Monday, follows a series of recommendations from an international panel hired by Apple to audit conditions for the 1.2 million workers in Foxconn's mainland factories.

Obama To Let Jobs Council Expire

February 1, 2013 1:45 pm | by Josh Lederman, Associated Press | News | Comments

President Barack Obama is letting his jobs council expire, cutting off one source of input from business leaders while unemployment remains stubbornly high. Obama formed the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in January 2011, when unemployment was about 9 percent. It's now 7.8 percent, though more than 12 million people are out of work.

Harman To Cut Up To 1,000 Jobs

February 1, 2013 1:42 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Harman International Industries Inc. said Thursday it plans to cut about 1,000 jobs, or about 4 percent of its work force, to reduce operating expenses. The announcement came in the heels of fiscal second-quarter results that fell below Wall Street's expectations amid a slowdown in the automotive sector and economic challenges, especially in Europe.

Bringing Manufacturing Jobs Back Home

February 1, 2013 1:14 pm | by CNN Money | Videos | Comments

Workers are cranking out precision machine parts at the Komo Manufacturing plant in Lakewood, New Jersey now that the work has returned from China. Skilled manufacturing jobs are returning to the United States, as labor costs rise abroad and quality concerns permeate the market.

Daimler Trucks Plants May Lose 1,300 Jobs

February 1, 2013 10:24 am | by Emery P. Dalesio, AP Business Writer | News | Comments

Daimler Trucks North America warned Thursday that about 1,300 factory jobs could be lost in North Carolina and Oregon, reversing course a year after announcing a rebound in U.S. and overseas commerce was boosting demand for freight-hauling equipment.

How Has Manufacturing Fared In The Second Half?

February 1, 2013 8:00 am | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | Blogs | Comments

Anyone who watched the Super Bowl last year likely caught a glimpse of Clint Eastwood proclaiming that it was “halftime in America.” The country had been knocked down: The housing bubble had burst and top U.S. automakers – employing thousands of American workers – had sought a government bailout.

Economy Is Thawing

January 31, 2013 11:44 am | by NBC News | Videos | Comments

The stock market is now back at pre-recession levels at a five-year high and unemployment is at a five-year low. CNBC's Jim Cramer talks about whether we're back on solid footing or looking at a short-lived bubble in this video from NBC's Today show.

Union Backers: Nissan Threatens Plant Closure

January 30, 2013 10:23 am | by Jeff Amy, Associated Press | News | Comments

Pro-union workers said Tuesday that Nissan Motor Co. has threatened to close its Canton assembly plant if workers vote for the United Auto Workers to represent them, though the company denies such threats. Such threats would violate federal law, which bars managers from telling employees they'll close a plant in retaliation for a pro-union vote.

MI Gov. Asks For Ruling On Right-To-Work Law

January 29, 2013 2:05 pm | by David Eggert, Associated Press | News | Comments

Gov. Rick Snyder asked the Michigan Supreme Court on Monday to rule quickly on the constitutionality of the new right-to-work law that takes effect in late March, saying questions on how it would impact 35,000 unionized state employees must be resolved before new contract talks begin this summer.

AR Gov. Announces $1.1B Steel Mill Plan

January 29, 2013 2:02 pm | by Michael Stratford, Associated Press | News | Comments

Gov. Mike Beebe on Tuesday unveiled Arkansas' largest ever economic development project, saying investors were poised to build a $1.1 billion steel mill along the Mississippi River if legislators approve startup funding. Big River Steel LLC, to be located near Osceola, would employ 525 people with an average salary of $75,000 — twice the state average.

6 Police Injured In Fight With Steel Workers

January 29, 2013 10:23 am | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Six Belgian police officers have been injured in scuffles with some 2,000 steel workers protesting plans to lay off 1,300 workers at several plants in Liege. Workers seeking to get close to the regional government offices in southern Namur threw bricks at police. Authorities responded with tear gas and water cannon.

BAE To Lay Off 300 Workers

January 29, 2013 10:15 am | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Defense contractor BAE Systems PLC is laying off 300 employees, two-thirds of them at its plant in southern New Hampshire. The company, headquartered in London, said Monday that affected employees will be notified by March 4. About 4,600 employees work at the plant in Nashua, N.H.

Manufacturing: The Solution To The Jobs Crisis

January 28, 2013 1:02 pm | by CNN Money | Videos | Comments

Dow Chemical CEO and chairman Andrew Liveris says advanced manufacturing is coming back to America and will drive our economy. Liveris argues that technology became the new word for manufacturing since technology has to be researched and made.

French Autoworkers Disrupt Peugeot Citroen Plant

January 28, 2013 10:13 am | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

A few hundred French striking autoworkers are disrupting production at a key Peugeot Citroen plant north of Paris, protesting layoffs linked to its pending closure. France's largest automaker, struggling to compete in Europe's stagnant car market, is cutting 8,000 jobs and closing the Aulnay-sous-Bois factory.

MI OKs Grants For $1B In Business Expansions

January 25, 2013 12:14 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

State officials say they have approved incentives for 14 business expansions that could generate more than $1 billion in investments and about 4,600 jobs in Michigan. Gov. Rick Snyder announced Wednesday the Michigan Strategic Fund approved the performance-based grants for projects across the Lower Peninsula.

Scuffles Outside PM's Office After Steel Layoffs

January 25, 2013 10:06 am | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Some 250 steel workers from Liege's ArcelorMittal plant have scuffled with police outside the prime minister's office, a day after the leading steel and mining company announced it would close seven facilities in eastern Belgium. The workers pitched stones at police, who retaliated by using the water cannon in freezing temperatures.

Manufacturers Cutting White-Collar Jobs Now, Too

January 24, 2013 2:21 pm | by Bernard Condon, Paul Wiseman, AP Business Writers | News | Comments

Manufacturers have been using technology to cut blue-collar jobs for years. Now, they're targeting their white-collar workers, too. Factory Automation Systems makes machines that help companies cut, bundle and load products faster and cheaper than humans can. But it didn't realize how much technology could help its own business until the Great Recession hit.

Is Technology A Job Killer?

January 23, 2013 2:17 pm | by Bernard Condon, AP Business Writer | News | Comments

To workers being pushed out of jobs by today's technology, history has a message: You're not the first. From textile machines to the horseless carriage to email, technology has upended industries and wiped out jobs for centuries. It also has created millions of jobs, though usually not for the people who lost them.

Unions See Sharp Decline In Membership

January 23, 2013 2:14 pm | by Sam Hananel, Associated Press | News | Comments

The nation's labor unions suffered sharp declines in membership last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday, led by losses in the public sector as cash-strapped state and local governments laid off workers and — in some cases — limited collective bargaining rights.

Umicore OK Plant To Lay Off A Quarter Of Workforce

January 23, 2013 2:07 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

A northeastern Oklahoma plant has announced plans to lay off nearly a quarter of its workforce. Umicore Optical Materials USA said Tuesday that it will lay off 34 of its 137 workers at its plant in Quapaw. Umicore's Timothy Douglas tells the Miami News-Record that all affected employees were offered severance packages and job-seeking assistants.

Italy Steel Exec Arrested In UK Over ILVA Plant

January 23, 2013 10:26 am | by Nicole Winfield, Associated Press | News | Comments

An Italian steel executive turned himself into British authorities on Tuesday after being placed under investigation in Italy over environmental and health problems at Europe's largest steel mill — a case that has become a major headache for the government given the 20,000 jobs at risk if the plant closes.

Union: Rolls-Royce To Close UK Plant

January 22, 2013 2:05 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Britain's largest trade union, Unite, says that Rolls-Royce is planning to close one of its U.K. defense operations, resulting in the loss of some 400 jobs. The union said staff at the firm was informed of the company's plans to shut the plant at Ansty, near Coventry, an internal memo Tuesday.