Inside these posts: Layoffs

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Number of mass layoffs falls in November

The number of mass layoffs decreased slightly in November to roughly 1,500, affecting more than more than 5,000 workers in Illinois, according to the statistics released today by the Bureau of Labor statistics. Get the full story »

Clearwire cuts jobs amid cash crunch

From The Wall Street Journal | Wireless operator Clearwire Corp. said it is cutting 15 percent of its 4,200 employees and warned that uncertainty about new financing raises substantial doubt about its ability to continue to operate.

Abbott profit tumbles after layoffs, drug withdrawal

Abbott Laboratories reported third-quarter profits tumbled 40 percent thanks to the costs of withdrawing a diet drug from the U.S. market and global cost-cutting in the wake of its acquisition of Solvay Pharmaceuticals.

The North Chicago-based drug and medical product giant reported earnings of $891 million, or 57 cents a share, compared to $1.5 billion, or 95 cents a share in the third quarter of 2009.

Net earnings included after-tax charges of $513 million, or 33 cents a share due to a major product withdrawal, a recall of infant formula in the U.S. and costs that Abbott said was primarily related to restructuring following the Solvay deal. Abbott last month said it would cut about 3,000 jobs worldwide or about 3 percent of the company’s global workforce to eliminate redundancies following the purchase. Get the full story »

Aon to cut up to 1,800; HQ being ‘worked out’

Aon Corp., a Chicago-based insurance brokerage and consulting firm, said it will cut 1,500 to 1,800 jobs globally over the next three years as part of its merger with Lincolnshire-based personnel consulting company Hewitt Associates.

It also said the headquarters decision for Aon Hewitt — the consulting arm — is “being worked out.” Aon is currently headquartered in one of the tallest buildings in Chicago.

The restructuring of the combined workforce and of the merged firm’s real estate holdings will cost $325 million, of which $180 million will be due to employee severance costs. Get the full story »

Abbott to cut 3,000 jobs globally, none in Lake Co.

Drug and medical product giant Abbott Laboratories said this morning it would cut about 3,000 jobs worldwide. But there will be no reductions in Lake County, home to the company’s sprawling Abbott Park headquarters.

The cuts, which amount to about 3 percent of its global workforce, come in the wake of its acquisition earlier this year of Solvay SA’s drug business. Abbott has 93,000 employees worldwide, including 13,000 in Illinois that are largely at its campus just east of the Tri-State Tollway. Get the full story »

Caterpillar opens new Arkansas factory, hiring 600

Caterpillar Inc. has formally opened a $140 million road grader plant in central Arkansas, a factory that the company built even though the economy went through the floor after it announced its intentions.

Caterpillar laid off 24,000 workers worldwide last year, but the North Little Rock plant stayed on course. Company officials say highway projects funded by stimulus money helped build demand for the new road graders.

Sears to close eight stores by April

cbb-a-sears.jpg(Gary Gardiner/Bloomberg News)

By Sandra M. Jones | Sears plans to close eight of its namesake stores by early April as parent Sears Holdings Corp.continues efforts to trim underperforming locations from its ranks.

The retailer intends to shutter four full-line department stores in Waycross, Ga., Columbia, Tenn., Wilson, N.C., and Houston. Another four Sears Essentials stores–a freestanding, big-box format that once had been pegged as Sears’ growth vehicle–will close in Plainfield, N.J., Carlton, N.J., West Bend, Wis., and Londonderry, N.H.

See also
• Kmart to shut down 2 Illinois stores

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