AM I NEXT? NO LOVE -- LAYOFFS AT MICRON TECHNOLOGY (12/22/22)

DECEMBER 22, 2022 — LAYOFFS, BONUS SUSPENSIONS IN 2023

The company has announced a 10% reduction in headcount in 2023 and suspending 2023 bonuses. The company has 48,000 employees, thus putting 4,800 employees at risk.

According to an SEC filing, “On December 21, 2022, we announced a restructuring plan in response to challenging industry conditions. Under the restructuring plan, we expect to reduce our headcount by approximately 10% over the calendar year 2023 through a combination of voluntary attrition and personnel reductions.”

JUNE 12, 2019 — Original blog entry…

Boise, Idaho-based Micron Technology, a designer of computer semiconductors and related products appears to be under suspicion by the media and employees of staging its layoffs to avoid the filing of WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notices and using NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) to keep employees from speaking to the media.

It appears that Micron has ceased assembling products at the Boise facility, with a corresponding loss of jobs to an unnamed third-party vendor. Some Micron employees were encouraged to train their counterparts in Micron’s Taiwan facility.

While the company has acknowledged the closure of the assembly operation, layoffs, and outsourcing to a third-party vendor, they refused to provide details which are standard practice in this highly competitive industry. The company further acknowledged the use of stacked ranking employee evaluations or discuss the matter further.

For those not familiar with stacked ranking, it is a distributive evaluation method that forces managers to rank employees in a similar manner as students being graded on a curve where every A is balanced with an F; the lowest-scoring employees are then laid off with a severance package. The practice, also known as “rank and yank” was devised in part by General Electric’s legendary CEO. Jack Welch.

The semiconductor industry is fraught with danger, from disruptive new technology to wild swings in chip consumption. Adding to Micron’s normal business risks is the Trump Administration’s prohibition of selling certain technology to the Chinese-owned Huawei without special waivers. It is believed that Huawei was responsible for up to 13 percent of Micron’s revenue in the first half of fiscal 2019.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE -- LAYOFFS AT LOOT CRATE

Los Angeles, California-based Loot Crate, a subscription box service that provides monthly boxes of geek- and gaming-related merchandise, is restructuring its distribution model. The company has announced that they will be transitioning to an outside logistics vendor and permanently laying off 150 employees as they close their own Vernon, California warehousing and distribution operations.

According to a company spokesperson, "This isn't closure for Loot Crate's business, and instead is the company transitioning out of our current warehouse operations to a third party logistics company. The employees affected were predominantly our on-call shipping and receiving staff, who were notified earlier this year when the transition process began. Today is simply the final day of our warehouse operations, and we have begun full-time packing, shipping, and receiving for our products through the third party logistics company."

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT UNITED AIRLINES (08/17/21)

AUGUST 17, 2021 — OUTSOURCING FOOD SERVICES IN CLEVELAND, OHIO

The company has announced that it is outsourcing its in-house kitchen operations, menu design, and administration function to third-party vendor Sky Cafe at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in mid-October. Approximately 45 employees are impacted.

According to a company spokesperson, “In January, we noted that the Covid crisis had forced us to re-examine every aspect of our business, including catering."

AUGUST 1, 2021 — OUTSOURCING FOOD SERVICES IN DENVER, COLORADO

The company has announced that it is outsourcing its in-house kitchen operations, menu design, and administration function to third-party vendor Gate Gourmet. 454 employees at Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado will be laid off and may be subject to re-hire by our new vendor. The layoffs are scheduled for October 19, 2021.

According to a company statement, "In January, United submitted a Request for Proposal to consider transitioning our kitchen operations and menu design functions to a third-party supplier. After a comprehensive six-month review, we are moving forward in partnership with three suppliers that will prioritize our current employees and advance our kitchen capabilities to improve the United customer experience."

JULY 13, 2020 — GETTING WORSE

The company has announced that it will lay off more than 4,700 workers in Houston, Texas, and Dallas, Texas commencing October 1, 2020, according to a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act notice filed with the State of Texas.

The layoffs will include 71 employees at DFW International Airport, 3,904 employees at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and 781 employees at two other Houston, Texas locations.

The company also suggested that the layoffs could reach 40% of its nationwide workforce and total of 36,000 employees.

The decision was driven by the COVID-19 pandemic which has crippled air traffic and many destination attractions.

According to a company spokesperson, “Based on current demand, while we are hopeful the reductions for our frontline team members will be temporary, we presently anticipate that they will last six months or longer. Even if demand continues to slowly improve, it is unfortunately very likely that we will need to adjust the size of the company to reflect lower demand levels and implement a workforce reduction to reduce our labor expenses.”

In addition, an unknown number of contractors and vendors will also be affected.

The company has warned 66 employees at the Indianapolis International Airport that they could be laid off in October as part of a massive, nationwide reduction in force.

MAY 4, 2020 — UP TO 4,457 PILOTS AT RISK FOR JOB LOSS

According to the company’s route bidding procedure for pilots, there will be a “displacement” of 4,457 postions effective June 30, 2020 and affecting October 1, 2020 flight assignments.

According to Chief Pilot, Bryan Quigley …

“Even though the volume of this displacement is enormous, and its impact on the lives of many of our pilots significant, none of us should believe it solves all of our problems. This displacement bid aligns pilot staffing to a schedule reduction of around 30%, yet our schedule in May, and our expected schedule for June, are reduced by 90%. No one knows when travel demand will return, so, unfortunately, the results of this displacement are likely to be a baseline from which future displacements are conducted.”

According to various company spokespersons…

“Travel demand is essentially zero and shows no sign of improving in the near term. We expect to fly fewer people during the entire month of May than we did on a single day in May 2019.”

“I think this industry is going to be smaller for some period of time here as we build back, and I don’t know what that pace of recovery will be. It will really be dictated based on when customers feel safe to travel again in large numbers.”

“If we want to emerge stronger, if we want to emerge the world’s leading airline on the other side of this, we have to have flexibility. But that flexibility will likely mean economic pain in the form of unpaid leave or fewer hours for many in the short term.”

MAY 23, 2019 — Original Post…

Following through on their July 2018 transition announcement, Chicago-based United Airlines, has chosen July 2019 to initiate laying off 100 employees in its passenger revenue accounting department located in Houston, Texas. The jobs will be transitioned to an outsourced vendor.

According to a company spokesperson, “"This was a difficult decision and we understand the impact this announcement has on our employees. As such, we provided assistance in finding a position either within United or elsewhere. As one of the city's largest employers, we remain committed to the city and people of Houston and surrounding markets." There will be approximately 1,200 employees remaining at the Houston location.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere ... are you now wondering, Am I Next?