Abbott Laboratories layoffs 700 employees

Abbott Laboratories notified 700 employees Wednesday that they will be out of work.

Most of those employees work on company's vascular business, particularly the Xience stent that the company will no longer make – it was part of a partnership agreement with Boston Scientific that dates to 2006 and was set to expire this year. Boston Scientific produces and sells its own stent, the Promus.

The layoffs were announced the same day Abbot Laboratories announced that fourth quarter earnings jumped 12.3 percent, to $1.6 billion, compared with $1.4 billion for the same period in 2010.

This latest round of cuts is not entirely unexpected. Spokesperson Adelle Infante says that the 200 jobs eliminated in Illinois are part of an efficiency program that was announced four years ago. Infante says California will lose 300 jobs and Puerto Rico 100, with the remainder to be spread across Abbott locations.

Abbott Labs announced a year ago that it would cut 1,900 jobs globally due to economic weakness and health reform, among other causes. This was preceded by their 2010 announcement that they would slash 3,000 jobs by 2012.

The company's top-earning drug, Humira, which is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and Crohn's disease, had $3.4 billion in domestic fourth-quarter sales and $4.5 billion in international sales.

Deutsche Bank research analyst Barbara Ryan writes in a January research note that Abbott's pipeline is sluggish and that its $7.9 billion in sales for 2011 is not enough to insulate the company, which she predicts will see its next strong seller “later in the decade.”  Ryan also writes that competitors and expiring patents are eating away at the company's generics business as Tricor/Triplix go off patent in 2012 and 2014, Niaspan loses its protection in 2013, Androgel in 2015, and Kaletra in 2016.

Source: MMM Online

Amonix cuts 200 jobs

As President Barack Obama's message of clean energy still resonates in the Las Vegas valley, a solar plant in North Las Vegas is laying off several hundred workers.

The employees of an Amonix contractor say they just got the word on Monday and pink slips Tuesday.

The contractor says they're re-tooling to produce new technology, and that is the reason for the layoff. Amonix says it's cycling out its old systems and doesn't need as many employees. They went from about 300 workers down to 100.

Just seven months ago, Governor Brian Sandoval, Representative Shelley Berkley and North Las Vegas Mayor Shari Buck talked about the hundreds of clean energy jobs that would boost the economy.

Some employees say the announcement came out of nowhere.

"(I'm) praying that we get called back to work," said laid off worker Louis Cattuah. "(I) filed for unemployment -- take whatever that is and just keep praying and look forward."

Cattuah has worked at the plant since last April. He has a wife but no kids. He says he's concerned about some of his co-workers who did have younger mouths to feed.

Amonix says the cuts are temporary and they plan to re-hire in the second half of the year. They say former employees like Cattuah will have top priority.

Source: News Now

600 layoffs at ConocoPhillips Refinery

Layoff notices went out for Thursday and Friday at the ConocoPhillips Refinery in nearby Trainer.

“Officially we are finished work by the 31st of January,” said Dennis Stephano, President of the Steelworkers Local Union. He says not only are 190 union members at the refinery losing their jobs, but management and contractors too. He says the total comes to about 600 layoffs.

Joe Hastings says his brother-in-law is one of them.

“They have a mortgage payment, they have car payments, they have medical bills just like everyone else,” said Hastings about his brother-in-law and his wife. They have two children.

It’s likely he and others laid off won’t be spending much locally. The trickle down effect begins.

“If they’re not there, nobody’s going to come,” says George Kolionis, owner of New English Style Pizza. He is trying to stay positive.

“The consumers in the U.S. are going to be impacted by this, this summer. In the winter, heating oil is going to go up, gasoline, jet fuel,” said Stephano.

Conoco Phillips announced on January 25th earnings of $3.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to $2 billion in the same quarter in 2010. Stephano questions the closing despite the company’s announcement in September that it would close this March if a buyer for the site wasn’t found. Workers knew then layoffs would come now says Stephano. He says they will be paid through March according to the union contract and given one weeks pay per year of service capped at 16 weeks.

With Sunoco closing refineries in Marcus Hook and potentially Philadelphia, US Senator Bob Casey is pressing both companies for more information.

“We’re asking them to do what they should do, be concerned about the region, energy markets, and consumers, not only about some bottom line,” said Casey.

Source: CBC Philly

Mabe to close Quebec factory, layoff 700 by 2014

Quebec’s ailing employment picture has suffered yet another blow with the announcement by Mexican home appliance maker Controlodora Mabe S.A. de C.V. that it is shutting down a dryer manufacturing factory in Montreal’s east end.

Some 700 workers will lose their jobs as production winds down gradually toward a scheduled close by the end of 2014, Mabe said Thursday. The company blamed the high value of the Canadian dollar and soft consumer demand for the move. It said producing dryers in Quebec is unsustainable given that 90% of the plant’s output is exported to the United States.

Mabe is the manufacturer, distributor and marketer of General Electric appliance brands throughout Canada. It also owns the Moffat brand.

“There is no path to profitability for the plant, not even with significant government subsidies coupled with wage concessions from the union – the gap is simply far too large,” Michael McCrea, vice president of operations for Mabe Canada said in a statement. “The decision to close the plant was deemed necessary and is final.”

The strength of the Canadian dollar against other currencies, and the U.S. dollar in particular, has been a drag for Canadian-based exporters as the cost of making their goods in Canada increases relative to sales. The loonie has risen 25% in value against the greenback in the past two years alone. It is now trading roughly at par with the U.S. dollar.

Canada tallies about half of its export revenue from the sale of raw materials, including crude oil.

Mabe’s announcement comes almost one year after Swedish appliance giant AB Electrolux confirmed it would shut down a manufacturing plant, also in Montreal’s east end, that makes cooking appliances. It said at the time the Montreal plant was “not a viable site.” The work was transferred to Memphis, Tenn., costing 1,300 jobs. In this case, the work will also be shifted to other Mabe plants in Mexico and the United States.
Analysts speculate that the unionization of the workforce of both companies was a factor in the decisions.

They say it’s no accident that manufacturers such as Kia, Boeing Co. and Volkswagen AG have chosen to locate new facilities in southern U.S. states that have right-to-work laws, by which workers can’t be forced to join a union or pay union dues to get a job. Wages are typically lower in states with such laws.

Quebec has lost nearly 70,000 jobs over the past three months, including 8,000 in manufacturing. It’s a bloodletting that has not been seen since the 15-month recession of 1981-1982. The unemployment rate now stands at 8.7%, higher than that of the United States.

Economists are somewhat puzzled over the numbers, questioning whether they are merely a blip or whether Quebec is experiencing trouble that will hit other provinces in the months ahead.

Quebec weathered the 2008 recession better than most other jurisdictions, in part because its government initiated a $41.8-billion, five-year infrastructure spending renewal program that was well underway during the worst of the downturn.

But the province has been losing manufacturing jobs for years. The last time Quebec experienced a creation of manufacturing employment was in 2004. Since then, the number of people employed in the sector has dropped 25%, to 474,000 from 633,000, according to National Bank.

“We’re used to this” kind of job loss in manufacutring, said Marc Pinsonneault, senior economist with the bank. “But it’s the larger number, the 70,000 in three months, that’s not normal.”

Mabe said it took “all reasonable options” to try to make the Montreal plant financially viable and that it has worked closely with employees to try to boost productivity. Almost half of the factory’s staff will remain in their jobs until the facility closes, Gabe said.

One union leader said his members were “in shock” at the closure announcement. But company officials insist they have clearly communicated the plant’s financial difficulties with workers. The plant is currently operating at less than half capacity, the company said, and has generated extensive negative cash flow over the past six years.

Source: Financial Post

PerkinElmer reportedly cuts 75 jobs at Shelton facility

Global manufacturer PerkinElmer is reportedly issuing pink slips to about 75 workers at its Shelton facility, located at 710 Bridgeport Avenue, after deciding to send most of those positions overseas.

According to a report in the Hartford Courant, the company is sending the jobs to existing manufacturing sites in Singapore and Llantrisant, U.K.

PerkinElmer reportedly had about 500 employees at its Shelton facility.

Company officials told the Courant the layoffs would begin in the second half of 2012 and continue into the early part of 2013.

Source: Shelton Patch

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals to cut 33% of workforce

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. recently announced a restructuring plan which included the layoff of almost one third of its workforce. Alylam arrived at this difficult decision because it wanted to focus on its pipeline candidates with the maximum potential.

The proposed restructuring is expected to slash cash operating expenses by $20 million in 2012 as against a one-time restructuring cost of $4 million which will be recorded in the first quarter of this year.

Alnylam, which currently has no product on the market, develops novel therapeutics based on a biological breakthrough technology known as RNA (Ribo Nucleic Acid) interference (RNAi). The company wants to focus its resources on its core product strategy, Alnylam 5x15, which is aimed at developing five RNAi therapeutic products for the treatment of genetically defined diseases addressing major unmet medical needs.

The five programs under the strategy include ALN-PCS (for hypercholesterolemia), ALN-TTR (transthyretin (TTR) mediated amyloidosis or ATTR), ALN-HPN (refractory anemia), ALN-APC (hemophilia) and ALN-TMP (hemoglobinopathies). Among these, Alnylam aims to accelerate development of ALN-TTR and ALN-APC which it believes holds the most promise.

Under the ALN-TTR program, Alnylam is currently conducting a phase I study of ALN-TTR01, a systemically delivered RNAi therapeutic that employs a first-generation lipid nanoparticles (LNP) formulation to treat ATTR. ATTR is an orphan disease which is difficult to be addressed by currently available therapeutic approaches. In late November 2011, Alnylam presented encouraging data on ALN-TTR01 which showed that it led to statistically significant reductions in serum TTR protein levels for the treatment of ATTR. Overall, the candidate was well tolerated with no serious adverse events observed in the study. This is the first time an RNAi has silenced a disease-causing gene in clinical trials, thus highlighting the potential of RNAi as a new class of therapeutics.

Alnylam however intends to accelerate development of ALN-TTR02 which is a second generation delivery formulation for the treatment of ATTR. Alnylam has chosen ALN-TTR02 as its go-to market product over ALN-TTR01. Alnylam filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for ALN-TTR02 in early January 2012 and expects to initiate a phase I study in the UK in the first half of 2012. Data from the trial is expected in the third quarter of 2012 with phase II studies scheduled to begin in the second half.

Further, ALN-APC is in preclinical development and is expected to move into clinical stages in the first half of 2013.

Source: Zacks

Toyota Australia to layoff 350 workers

Toyota Motors in Australia said Monday it was laying off 350 workers due to declining sales, the Japanese automaker's top executive in Australia said.

"Toyota Australia is facing severe operating conditions resulting in unsustainable financial returns due to factors including the strong Australian currency, reduced cost competitiveness and volume decline, especially in export markets," Toyota Australia President and Chief Executive Officer Max Yasuda said.

Yasuda said a decline in production the company considered temporary had become permanent, The Australian reported.

"The reality is that our volumes are down. What we assumed was a temporary circumstance has turned into a permanent situation. This drop of 36 percent in just four years shows the scale of our challenges," he said.

Production has dropped from 149,000 vehicles in 2007 to 94,000 in 2011, he said.

This year, Toyota Australia expects to make 95,000 vehicles.

The plant employs 3,350 workers, The Australian said.

Source: UPI

Fashion retailer SuperGroup announces 60 job cuts

Fast-growing fashion retailer SuperGroup has announced a shock decision to lay off up to 60 staff at its Gloucester distribution centre.

The Cheltenham-based business behind Cult Clothing and Superdy famously begun on a market stall by founder and chief executive officer Julian Dunkerton has entered in consultation with staff over redundancy.

​Ironically the grim announcement accompanies the firm’s decision to invest £1.5 million in moving its distribution operation from Barnwood to a Wincanton-owned quarter of a million square foot warehouse on the Gloucester Business Park at Brockworth.

“The new site will require fewer people and it is anticipated that approximately 50 to 60 employees may be at risk of redundancy,” said a statement from the company, which currently employs 186 staff currently in its Barnwood distribution centre.

“SuperGroup is therefore announcing its intension to consult with affected employees about its proposals and this process will commence on Friday January 27, running for 30 days until Monday, February 27.”

While the Cheltenham-headquartered company continues to expand both national and globally even through the recession, issues with its UK distribution arm caused it major headaches in the second half of last year, costing it to the tune of £8.8 million.

Under the proposal being put to staff those affected would in future work out of the new location off Hurrican Road at what is described as a “managed service” site, run by Wincanton under contract to Supergroup. The majority of roles at the new site will remain with Supergroup.

The company said: “At present this does not involve SuperGroup’s other Barnwood-based wholesale or e-Commerce operations.”

Tim Owrid (corr) is head of logistics at Supergroup and the man in charge of reshaping the firm’s distribution operations since September last year. He has previously worked for major retail chains including House of Frazer and Selfridges.

“The site at Barnwood is old and not designed as a distribution centre. Clearly we do not want to detract from the 50 or 60 people facing redundancy, but there is a positive side to this story as well in that we are investing heavily in the new site.

“It is a commitment to our future in the Gloucester area, but we also have an emotional commitment here.”

During the Christmas period just gone the company was sending out 70,000 items a day from its Gloucester base, 20 per cent up on the same period last year. The new building, said Mr Owrid, had the capacity to cope with the company expanding its operations twice over. SuperGroup has signed a two-year lease on the building.

Source: This Is Gloucestershire

Peacocks Group sells Bonmarche stores, 1,400 layoffs planned

A private equity firm has bought Britain's Bonmarche stores, part of the Peacocks Group which collapsed last week.

The buyers, Sun European Partners, said Monday that they planed to close 160 of Bonmarche's 390 stores and lay off 1,400 of the 3,800 staff.

The sale was arranged in a pre-pack deal before Peacocks was placed in administration. The sale price was not disclosed.

KPMG, the administrator of Peacocks, last week fired 249 of the company's head office staff while keeping 266 to work with administrators while seeking new owners for the remaining operations.

The collapse of Peacocks was the biggest retail failure in Britain since Woolworths Group went under in January 2009.

Source: 1340 WGAU

Standard Register plans to layoff 12-15% of workforce

Business data management firm Standard Register Co. said it plans to lay off 12% to 15% of its work force as part of a restructuring effort that will create savings of about $45 million a year.

The company suspended its quarterly dividend in keeping with Ohio law, which requires cash dividends be paid only out of a corporation's surplus. The suspension is expected to save the company about $6 million annually, it said. The fiscal first-quarter dividend, which was declared in December, will be paid.

The changes will "assist us in achieving positive cash flow and in making investments in talent, technology and operational infrastructure, as well as sales and marketing optimization, to drive growth," Chief Executive Joseph P. Morgan said.

Standard Register said it has realigned its business to focus on four markets where it has deep industry knowledge and strong relationships: health-care, financial services, commercials markets and industrial. It said the changes were needed to help lower costs amid revenue declines in its legacy operations.

It expects to post a fourth-quarter loss of $9.6 million to $10.1 million on revenue of $160 million to $162 million. Adjusted earnings, which excludes restructuring and other costs, should be $1.3 million to $1.8 million.

Costs associated with the restructuring should be $5.5 million in the fourth quarter and another $1.5 million in the 2012 fiscal year. The company will record a non-cash charge to tax expense of $70 million to $90 million in the fourth quarter and a non-cash actuarial loss of about $80 million later on.

In October, Standard Register said its third-quarter earnings surged to $8.4 million on higher revenue from its core business.

Source: Market Watch