Filed under: Jobs/employment

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Playboy cuts corporate controller post

Playboy Enterprises Inc. said its recently announced round of layoffs include the elimination of the job held by Michael S. Dannhauser, who had served as senior vice president and corporate controller.

Stock options a disappearing perk

CNN | Long a popular tool for compensating employees at burgeoning start-ups and top executives at multi-national corporations, the practice of granting options to workers has increasingly fallen out of favor.

Last year, a little more than three-quarters of the companies in the S&P 1500, which tracks small- and mid-cap stocks as well as the conventional S&P 500 index, relied upon stock options to pay their CEOs. Compare that to five years prior, when that figure stood at nearly 93 percent. Get the full story »

Kraft confirms job cuts at Cadbury HQ

Kraft Foods Inc. confirmed Monday it has laid off around 120 staff at the global headquarters of the Cadbury business it bought earlier this year for $17.78 billion.

A spokesman for the Chicago-based company said the global headquarters of Cadbury on the outskirts of London has now closed, with the loss of about 120 staff. Only around 50 of Cadbury’s global head office staff had been found new roles within Kraft, he said. Get the full story »

Jobs jolt too much for stocks in slow session

A disappointing jobs report sent stocks falling Friday and gave the Dow Jones industrial average its longest losing streak since the worst days of the financial crisis.

The Dow dropped 46 points Friday for its seventh straight loss and its longest slide since October 2008. The Dow and other major indexes posted big losses for a second straight week. Get the full story »

Obama says economy going in right direction

President Barack Obama on Friday cast the state of the economy in upbeat terms, declaring that it was headed in the right direction even as employers slashed payrolls last month for the first time in half a year. The unemployment rate dropped to 9.5 percent. “To every American who is looking for work, I promise you we’re going to keep on doing everything that we can,” Obama said. “I will do everything in my power to help our economy create jobs and opportunities for all people.”

Economy loses jobs in June

A wave of census layoffs cut the nation’s payrolls in June for the first time in six months, while private employers added a modest number of jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent, its lowest level in almost a year.

Employers cut 125,000 jobs last month, the most since last October, the Labor Department said Friday. The loss was driven by the end of 225,000 temporary census jobs. Businesses added a net total of 83,000 workers, an improvement from May. But that’s also below March and April totals.

The nation has 7.9 million fewer private payroll jobs than it did when the recession began.

U.S. jobless claims rise, stoke recovery worries

New claims for state jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, while manufacturing activity and employment slowed in June, heightening fears the U.S. economic recovery is stalling.

The data on Thursday added to concerns over the risk of a double-dip recession, although many analysts said a renewed downturn was unlikely as the production side of the economy continues to expand, though less briskly than earlier. Get the full story »

GOP kills extension of jobless benefits again

For the third time in as many weeks, Senate Republicans on Wednesday successfully filibustered a bill to continue providing unemployment checks to millions of people who have been collecting benefits for more than six months.

But this time, the slimmed-down measure attracted two Republican votes, so its passage seems assured once a replacement fills the seat of Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), who died Monday.

South Side Wal-Mart wins unanimous OK

The City Council unanimously voted today to let Wal-Mart build a second store in Chicago, ending six years of political gridlock that prevented the giant retailer to expand inside city limits.

The vote allows construction to begin on the 270-acre Pullman Park development on the South Side that will be anchored by a Super Wal-Mart. It is a project long championed by Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, who said the new store will bring badly needed jobs in a hard-hit area suffering from a dearth of grocery stores.

Survey shows business activity is slowing

A monthly survey of members of the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago reported Wednesday a second month of slowing momentum.

The Chicago Business Barometer, a measure of manufacturing and non-manufacturing activity, slightly decreased from 59.7 to 59.1 in June. June marks the ninth consecutive month of a reading above 50, which indicates expansion. Get the full story »

FedEx to open sorting facility in Grayslake

From the Daily Herald | FedEx Ground said it will open its fourth Chicago-area sorting center in Lake County’s Grayslake.  The company, which received a $1.2 million tax incentive, said it will result in 700 jobs.

ADP hints at bad July employment report

In another sign that the economy is not gaining the way it needs to, the ADP employment report just released shows employment growing just 13,000 for the month. The ADP report generally hints at what is to come with the government’s official employment numbers.  They are due on Friday.

Bill links unemployment extension, home tax credit

Senate Democrats introduced legislation Tuesday night that once again seeks to extend federal jobless benefits and a homebuyers’ tax credit, a week after a similar measure was defeated by lawmakers as part of a wider tax and benefit package. Get the full story »

Playboy cuts jobs to save $3M a year

Playboy CEO Scott Flanders in his Chicago office. (Tribune file photo)

Playboy Enterprises said it is cutting staff in an effort to save more than $3 million annually as it transitions from a media company into one that primarily licenses the Playboy brand.

The company declined to say Tuesday how many employees are affected by the move.

At the end of March, Playboy employed 573 people in its Los Angeles and Chicago offices, down from 651 a year ago. Get the full story »

Ill. minimum wage debated ahead of hike to $8.25

Gov. Pat Quinn today said Illinois’ minimum wage should be increased every year to reflect the rising cost of living, a position at odds with Republican foe Sen. Bill Brady.

The governor’s comments came after Brady said late last week that he supports the idea of the state’s minimum wage being no higher than the federal rate. Illinois’ minimum wage is set to increase to $8.25 an hour on Thursday, $1 higher than the federal version.