December, 2008

AEROSPACE AND DEFENSEBell Helicopter Textron Inc.Ft Worth, TX; Amarillo, TXFaced with the loss of a big defense contract and an impatient corporate parent with a sagging stock price, Bell Helicopter is cutting 500 jobs, mostly from its Fort Worth operations. The job cuts follow in the wake of the Pentagon's Oct. 16 decision to cancel the Army's $5 billion-plus contract with Bell to develop the ARH-70A Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter. All but about 30 of the layoffs will come from personnel at Bell's Fort Worth-area facilities, with the rest from the ranks of its Amarillo workforce. The layoffs and terminations were being made at all levels, including 40 out of about 200 upper-management positions. Significant numbers of engineers, marketing and other white-collar personnel were included in the cuts, and about 20 percent are manufacturing workers.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Ft Worth Star-Telegram

Rockwell Collins Inc.Cedar Rapids, IA; Decorah, IA; Manchester, IA; Bellevue, IA; Coralville, IARockwell Collins plans to lay off 175 Iowa employees in response to the slowing economy and orders delayed by the recent Boeing strike. The company announced the layoffs as part of a larger cost reduction plan that includes delaying 2009 merit increases for management and most employees for three months, leaving some positions vacant and putting off or canceling some hiring plans. In total, 300 Rockwell Collins employees will be laid off, primarily in the operations area that includes manufacturing. About 100 contract employees also will be affected, mainly in engineering. The layoffs are expected to begin in January. In addition to the 100 Cedar Rapids employees that will be affected, about 75 layoffs will occur throughout other Iowa operations in Decorah, Manchester, Bellevue and Coralville.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Gazette

The Boeing CompanyChicago, IL; Wichita, KSBoeing Co.'s defense unit plans to cut 800 jobs, or about 27 percent of the workforce, at its plant in Wichita, Kan., because of the delay of an Air Force tanker replacement program and the end of other work projects. The Chicago-based company, which makes military aircraft, civilian jetliners and surveillance systems, said the reduction at the Integrated Defense Systems facility will affect managers as well as salaried and hourly workers. Their last day of work is scheduled for mid-January. The rest of the layoffs will continue throughout 2009, with most occurring in the first half of the year.Approximate Affected Workforce: 501-1000 Chicago Tribune

APPARELBlock CorporationTupelo, MSApparel maker Block Corp. is laying off more than half its employees, starting Jan. 1. The company's senior vice president of operations, Jim Beisel, said the 120 layoffs of distribution and warehouse workers would be completed by the end of January. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal Hanesbrands Inc.Winston-Salem, NC

Layoffs Update

A North Carolina textile company says it is laying off white collar workers in its home city as part of a cutback that includes closing a yarn plant elsewhere in the state. Hanesbrands Inc. announced that there will be 210 corporate and management jobs cuts across the company, including 155 positions in Winston-Salem. Hanesbrands said half of the cuts are in purchasing, production planning and development and quality control. The other half are in customer management, finance, human resources, information technology and marketing.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Associated Press

AUTOMOTIVEKenworth Truck CompanyRenton, WAKenworth Truck Co. plans to lay off more than 400 workers and end most truck production at its Renton plant as a two-year slump in truck sales moves into a third. Don Hursey, directing business representative for Machinists District Lodge 160, said he was told by Kenworth officials that 329 union and 92 management employees will be laid off. The layoffs and production cuts are effective Jan. 19. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

FINANCIAL SERVICESAmerican Century Proprietary Holdings Inc.Kansas City, MOAmerican Century Investments will lay off 270 employees, nearly all of them in Kansas City, in a cost-cutting move that hits 17 percent of its workforce. The cutbacks at the mutual fund giant reflect the ongoing turmoil on Wall Street that has caused many investors to pull out of the stock market. American Century employees who are let go will receive one month's pay and benefits for each year they have worked at the company, Doyle said. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Kansas City Star

American Express CompanyGreensboro, NCIn a stark acknowledgment of the tough times ahead in the credit card industry, American Express Co. plans to cut 7,000 jobs, or about 10 percent of its worldwide workforce, in an effort to slash costs by $1.8 billion in 2009. An undisclosed number of those jobs will come from the company's Greensboro call center. The job cuts will be across various business units, but will primarily focus on management positions, the company said. "Greensboro is a big service-orientated facility for us; thus the reduction in jobs in the Greensboro area was reasonably small," spokeswoman Joanna Lambert said. The company declined to give the exact number of Triad jobs to be affected by the layoffs. The local call center employs about 2,300 people.Approximate Affected Workforce: over 1000 News & Record

AMERIGROUP CorporationMemphis, TNAmeriGroup Tennessee Inc., part of AmeriGroup Corp. (NYSE: AGP), closed its Memphis office, laying off 130 workers, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Last year, the managed health care services company started offering health care coverage to 170,000 people enrolled in the state's TennCare program. In July 2008, the company said it would shutter subsidiary Memphis Managed Care Corp. on Nov. 1, following the company's losing bid for one of two TennCare contracts in West Tennessee.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Memphis Business Journal

Cash America International Inc.Cincinnati, OHPawn shop operator and short-term lender Cash America International Inc. said the company plans to shutdown about a third of its payday lending shops in Ohio. The Fort Worth, Texas-based Cash America International said it will close 43 Cashland shops in the coming months, including more than a dozen in Greater Cincinnati, and will cost the company 150 jobs. Spokeswoman Mary Jackson said Cash America isn't disclosing the stores to be shut until it informs workers. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Business Courier

Citigroup Inc.New York, NYIn the most dramatic round of layoffs seen to date in the battered U.S. financial sector, Citigroup Inc. plans to cut about 50,000 additional jobs in an effort to cut costs and stem huge losses sparked by bad investment and lending decisions. Management also plans to reduce costs across the company by 20 percent in the near term and will continue to sell off troubled assets. Citigroup's layoffs are the latest in a brutal round of job cuts across the financial industry. The cuts have been sparked by unprecedented losses due to bad credit investments, as well as the subsequent precipitous drop in banking and other financial-services business amid the worst economic conditions in 70 years.Approximate Affected Workforce: over 1000 MarketWatch

CNH Capital America LLCRacine, WIA CNH Capital spokesman says the company has eliminated 115 employees with the majority of the job cuts coming in Racine. Case-New Holland spokesman Tom Witom declined to be specific about how many employees were let go, but employees say that at least 100 people in Racine have been cut. CNH Capital is the financing arm of CNH Global, a manufacturer of farm and construction equipment. Before the job terminations, CNH Capital had approximately 300 employees at its headquarters in Racine.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Associated Press

Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company Inc.Boston, MA; New Hampshire; Rhode IslandBattered by the weakening economy and falling stock markets, Fidelity Investments confirmed it will begin the first of two rounds of job cuts, laying off about 1,300 people from the Boston mutual fund giant. This month's layoffs will represent about 3 percent of Fidelity's total workforce of 44,400, spokeswoman Anne Crowley said. Fidelity employs about 11,500 people in Massachusetts, and Crowley said the layoffs would be "roughly proportional" across it's US and global operations. If so, 3 percent of the Massachusetts workforce would be 345 positions. It also has about 5,400 employees in New Hampshire and about 2,400 employees in Rhode Island. One focus of the cuts will be company managers. Fidelity will follow with a second layoff in the first quarter of next year, Crowley said, with details of it still to be finalized.Approximate Affected Workforce: over 1000 The Boston Globe HSBC North American Holdings Inc.London, England; Depew, NYMore than 200 HSBC Mortgage Corp. employees in Depew will lose their jobs as part of the banking company's decision to close its wholesale and third-party correspondent mortgage business. HSBC will focus on the retail sales channel, which deals directly with consumers who are seeking mortgages as opposed to dealing with brokers. The wholesale and third-party correspondent mortgage channels will cease

immediately. As a result, 225 employees in Depew are being let go and another 100 employees who work remotely at various locations around the country will lose their jobs. Those who will be laid off have been given 60 days' notice, during which time they will receive information about benefits, severance packages, internal job opportunities and outplacement services, Durham said.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Buffalo Business First

The Allstate CorporationHudson, OHAllstate Insurance Co. will layoff 159 people in Hudson on Dec. 31 as the company reorganizes its claims center operations there. The company announced its plans last year, saying it was changing its regional claims offices to "express" centers. The Illinois-based insurance giant said employees can settle customer claims immediately at the new centers instead of turning them over to big claims operations. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Plain Dealer

The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.Hartford, CTHartford Financial Services Group Inc. will cut 500 jobs, or about 2 percent, of its total workforce this month, citing losses in its investment portfolios and declining revenue. The Hartford, Conn.-based insurer employs about 31,000 people. After reporting disappointing third-quarter results, the company said it would slash jobs and other expenses to save $250 million in annual costs by the end of 2009. Spokeswoman Shannon Lapierre said 500 employees around the country – including nearly 125 in the Hartford region – will be laid off.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Connecticut Post Online

HEALTHCAREShasta Regional Medical CenterRedding, CAShasta Regional Medical Center in Redding is laying off 150 nurses and hospital employees, about a fifth of its total staff. Some employees were told they could reapply for their positions. Shasta Regional Chief Executive Phil Dionne said the cuts are simply a reflection of patient volumes that area hospitals have been experiencing. The 246-bed hospital has been struggling to keep up with its bills. A lender has already declared the hospital in default. Dionne says Shasta Regional would have closed if Prime Healthcare Services of Southern California had not stepped in as the hospital's new managers.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Associated Press

The University of Texas Medical BranchGalveston, TXThe University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, still reeling from Hurricane Ike, is laying off some 3,800 people. In a news release, the UT Board of Regents said it was forced to make the job cuts because the teaching hospital was running out of money. Ike caused nearly $710 million in losses when it hit the island in September and only about $100 million of the damage is covered by insurance.Approximate Affected Workforce: over 1000 The Associated Press

Valley View Regional HospitalAda, OKMore than 100 employees will be laid off from Valley View Regional Hospital in Ada, a result of payment problems that reach beyond the southeast Oklahoma site. The non-profit Pontotoc County hospital has run into financial troubles in part because of

delays in receiving reimbursements from Medicare and private insurance companies. The 200-bed hospital is cutting 127 out of about 800 positions. Doctors and nurses who work on patient floors were spared. Most cuts are in administration and support. Those who are affected will receive one week of pay for every year of employment, up to 12 years, and area hospitals have been contacted in an effort to help laid-off workers find new jobs.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Oklahoman

HIGH TECHNOLOGYAdvanced Micro Devices Inc.Austin, TXAdvanced Micro Devices Inc. is eliminating about 500 jobs companywide, including 154 in Austin. All the Austin employees being cut have been notified. The cuts are part of the company's ongoing effort to reduce costs and achieve a $1.5 billion "breakeven" by early next year. "We are examining all of our activities to make certain that each supports our objectives, and stop those activities that don't," says AMD spokesman Michael Silverman. Silverman adds that the company is making progress in its return to profitability.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Austin Business Journal

Cadence Design Systems Inc.San Jose, CACadence Design Systems Inc. plans to cut at least 625 jobs, or 12 percent of its workforce, in a bid to save about $150 million a year. The company expects to complete the layoffs by the second half of fiscal 2009. Cadence expects to record a pre-tax restructuring charge of about $65 million to $70 million.Approximate Affected Workforce: 501-1000 MarketWatch

Entegris Inc.Chaska, MNEntegris Inc., a supplier to the semiconductor and electronics industry, will close the larger of its two manufacturing plants in Chaska, cutting 200 jobs, as the company shifts work closer to its Asian customers. The plant primarily makes wafer-handling materials for semiconductor manufacturing. Most of its key customers are in Asia, so the company is moving that work to its Asian operations.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 St Paul Pioneer Press

Intersil CorporationMilpitas, CAIntersil Corp. announced a restructuring that included plans to reduce its workforce by 9 percent. The Milpitas semiconductor company blamed the cuts on economicconditions. Intersil said the reduction works out to about 140 job cuts, and would create annual savings of approximately $12 million and $14 million. It said severance pay and career transition services would be offered to affected employees. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 San Francisco Business Times

Lawson Software Inc. St. Paul, MNLawson Software Inc. will cut 200 workers, including about 45 in Minnesota, to trim costs. The St. Paul firm also plans to limit hiring and take other steps to cut costs. Overall, it expects to reduce its workforce by 8-10 percent buy the end of its 2009 fiscal year.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Minneapolis/St. Pail Business Journal

Tektronix Inc.Beaverton, ORTektronix Inc. laid off another 150 employees at its Washington County headquarters, the latest in a series of job cuts that began a year ago when Danaher Corp. bought Tek for $2.85 billion. The company said it will provide outplacement services along with severance pay and extended medical benefits for employees who are losing their jobs. The layoffs are the latest example of the rapid erosion of Oregon's high-tech employment base, as a series of layoffs reaches across the spectrum of technology companies.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Oregonian

HOTEL AND LEISUREAmeriStar Casinos Inc.St Charles, MOAmeristar Casinos Inc. laid off about 120 people, about 6.5 percent of its workforce in St. Charles, as part of a national reduction caused by tough economic times. The layoffs involve mostly frontline workers with some managers. All workers are being given a severance package. The company employs 2,000 workers in St. Charles. An additional 50 employees are being given a choice to work part time or to leave with a severance package.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 St Louis Post-Dispatch

Borgata Hotel Casino & SpaLas Vegas, NV; Atlantic City, NJBorgata laid off 400 employees, reducing the staff about 5 percent. Rob Stillwell, a spokesman for Boyd Gaming, the co-owner of the Borgata, said the layoffs were the first in the casino's five-year history. The layoffs affected salaried and non-salaried employees in all departments. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Courier-Post

Life Time Fitness Inc.Chanhassen, MNLife Time Fitness Inc. will cut 100 jobs at its Chanhassen headquarters, a move prompted by plans to scale back fitness-center openings in 2009. The layoffs will largely hit divisions such as real estate, construction and architecture. Life Time Fitness has about 800 workers at its headquarters.Approximate Affected Workforce: 51-100 Minneapolis/St. Pail Business Journal

MANUFACTURINGAAI Acquisition Inc.Denver, COAAI Acquisition, formed this year to buy the assets of bankrupt jet maker Adam Aircraft, laid off most of its 200-plus workforce and has suspended development of its lightweight plane. Jan D'Angelo, a company spokesman, said the Russian investors that control AAI decided to scale back because of the global financial turmoil. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Rocky Mountain News

Amphenol CorporationSidney, NYAmphenol Corp., which produces electronic and electrical interconnect devices, has laid off 202 employees. The company applied successfully to the Federal Trade Adjustment Assistance program to help workers retrain and find other employment. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Daily Star

American Steel CordScottsburg, INAnother automotive manufacturer is walking away from the rural Southern Indiana town. American Steel Cord, a division of New York City-based Hyosung (America) Inc., plans to close its Scottsburg tire-cord manufacturing plant on Dec. 31. The work currently being performed at the local facility will be shifted to manufacturing plants in China and South Korea. The move will mean the loss of 154 local jobs.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Business First of Louisville

ArvinMeritor Inc.Troy, MIAuto parts supplier ArvinMeritor Inc. will cut 1,250 jobs in an effort to slash its costs as it faces weak economies and slumping demand both at home and overseas. ArvinMeritor said the cuts, which include 450 salaried and 800 hourly positions, represent about 7 percent of its worldwide staff. Most of reductions have already been completed, while the rest are in process.Approximate Affected Workforce: over 1000 Associated Press Financial Wire

Boise Cascade LLCSt Helens, ORBoise Inc. will lay off 300 workers from its St. Helens operation when it halts its pulp mill and reduces its paper production starting early next year. Alexander Toeldte, Boise's president, said in a statement that the move "was primarily a function of declining product demand coupled with continuing high costs, which made it impossible to meet the company's long-term financial objectives." The employees, represented by the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers Local 1, have limited rights to jobs at other Boise mills. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Oregonian

Brunswick CorporationCumberland, MDApparently even the recreational fishing industry is sweating the economy's turn for the worse. Brunswick Corp., which makes products as diverse as fitness equipment and billiard balls, is moving production of Trophy offshore fishing boats from a Cumberland, Md., facility to Ashland City, Tenn., and eliminating 115 jobs. The Cumberland plant is set to close by the end of the year. The company says workers will receive severance and outplacement assistance.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Associated Press

Cirrus Design CorporationDuluth, MN; Grand Forks, NDMore layoffs are coming for Duluth-based plane manufacturer Cirrus Design Corp. The company laid off 105 people; 75 at its Duluth plant and 30 at its plant in Grand Forks, ND. The latest cuts amount to about 9 percent of Cirrus' workforce. Company president Brent Wouter says the cuts are part of a long-term effort to increase efficiencies in the face of lowering demand worldwide for Cirrus' aircraft. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Associated Press

Herman Miller Inc.Zeeland, MIOffice furniture maker Herman Miller Inc. says it's eliminating 400-650 hourly and salaried jobs because of slower ordering trends and reduced global demand. Most of the affected jobs are in Michigan, where the company has about 4,500 employees.

Between 200 and 400 production workers face losing their jobs. The final number will depend on order conditions and the number of people who accept buyouts. About 250 jobs will be eliminated in the white-collar ranks.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Associated Press

HNI CorporationMuscatine, IAHNI Corp. is cutting up to 200 jobs as the sluggish economy continues to affect its office furniture operations and home fireplace business. Company spokesman Gary Carlson says the positions are being eliminated as the company continues to make adjustments. He says the reductions are roughly half salaried and half production positions. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Associated Press

International Game TechnologyReno, NVInternational Game Technology began breaking the bad news to some of the individual workers who will be among the approximately 300 who will face buyouts or be laid off at the Reno headquarters of the world's largest maker of slot machines and casino systems. IGT expects to lose about 500 workers from its total of 5,400. About 3,000 employees currently work at the Reno facility. IGT Chairman and Chief Executive Officer TJ Matthews said in an e-mail to employees in mid-September that the amount of layoffs would be determined by how many workers take the voluntary buyouts offered to staffers 55 year of age or older.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Associated Press

JCB Inc.Pooler, GAJCB Inc., manufacturer of construction equipment, will lay off 120 employees at its Pooler plant near Savannah. The layoffs represent about a quarter of its Pooler workforce. Karen Guinn said the company has no plans to close the Pooler plant. The company said affected workers have been given severance packages.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Associated Press Mako Marine International Inc.Forest City, NCA boat builder that received state incentives to relocate a manufacturing plant to the mountains is shuttering the facility the day after Christmas, laying off around 125 people. "The boating business throughout North Carolina has made our production schedule an unattainable objective," Chuck Yarbrough, human resources head for Mako Marine parent Tracker Marine Group, said in a letter to state officials.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Triangle Business Journal

Marietta CorporationCortland, NYMarietta Corp., best known for making small bottles of shampoo and other items for hotels, is laying off 130 workers at its upstate New York headquarters. Plant manager Matt Dugat says the employees losing their jobs range from senior management to front line workers. All the employees will receive severance payments.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Associated Press

Mattel Inc.El Segundo, CAToy maker Mattel Inc. is cutting about 1,000 jobs worldwide in response to the economic downturn. The El Segundo, Calif.-based company, which makes Barbie,

American Girl and Fisher Price products, among others, said the cuts amount to 3 percent of its worldwide workforce.Approximate Affected Workforce: 501-1000 Tulsa World

Shaw Industries Inc.Dalton, GAShaw Industries will lay off 450-480 people – or about 3 percent in its Northwest Georgia workforce – in response to a weak residential housing market. The company employs 5,000-6,000 in Northwest Georgia. Shaw officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment, but some of the layoffs already have begun.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Chattanooga Times Free Press

Tenneco Inc.Lake Forest, IL; Evansville, IN; Milan, OHTenneco Inc., citing the worsening industry downturn afflicting its automaker customers, disclosed restructuring plans that will eliminate about 1,100 jobs and generate up to $60 million in charges. The new round of cuts, which calls for the closing of five U.S. production-related facilities and certain other cost-cutting actions, is expected to reduce annual costs by $64 million once it is completed,. The plants slated for closing include sites in Milan, Ohio, and Evansville, Ind. About 500 salaried jobs and 600 hourly positions are being eliminated.Approximate Affected Workforce: over 1000 Chicago Tribune

NON PROFITFocus on the FamilyColorado Springs, COFocus on the Family, a Christian advocacy group based in Colorado Springs, is cutting 202 jobs due to the economic slump and sagging donations. The organization is laying off 149 employees and eliminating 53 vacant positions in the biggest job cuts since Focus on the Family was established 32 years ago. Twenty percent of the jobs involved are in management.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 UPI

PHARMACEUTICALS/BIOTECHNOLOGYAmylin Pharmaceuticals Inc.San Diego, CAAmylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced a corporate restructuring that will reduce its San Diego workforce by approximately 25 percent, or 340 employees, and reduce anticipated 2009 cash expenditures by more than $80 million. The restructuring and workforce reduction are part of the company's business plan to be cash flow positive by the end of 2010. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 PR Newswire

GlaxoSmithKline plcPhiladelphia, PABritish drug maker GlaxoSmithKline plc is restructuring its U.S. operations, starting with reducing its U.S. sales force by 1,000, following many of its top competitors in eliminating sales jobs. The world's No. 2 drug maker by revenue also will switch from having dual U.S. headquarters, in Philadelphia and in Research Triangle Park, N.C., to operating just the North Carolina headquarters. Approximate Affected Workforce: over 1000 Associated Press Financial Wire

WyethRouses Point, NY; Sanford, NC

Wyeth will lay off 118 employees in Rouses Point during the second half of January. The layoffs will take effect in the latter half of January 2009. The company currently has 725 employees at Rouses Point. They are also cutting 124 jobs from the Sanford plant as part of a global initiative to streamline its operations. The company has about 1,100 workers in North Carolina, many in the Lee County area. The Sanford plant makes components for a pediatric vaccine called Prevnar. Wyeth's 50,000 workers worldwide were told in January that the company aimed to reduce its workforce by 6 percent by the end of the year with a long-range goal of a 10 percent cut by 2010.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Associated Press

PRINT AND PUBLISHINGRodaleEmmaus, PAJoining the parade of publishing companies that have laid off staff in the face of disappearing ad pages, Rodale announced it would slash 10 percent of its headcount, or 111 employees. The company said it would eliminate positions in several divisions, including operations, information technology, customer service and publishing. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Mediaweek.com

Transcontinental Inc.Warminster, PACanadian printer Transcontinental Inc. will close one of its direct mail facilities in Pennsylvania and cut 460 jobs because the financial crisis has damaged marketing programs. The company said Transcontinental Direct USA Inc., its direct mail subsidiary in the U.S., will shift production from its Warminster, Penn., facility to its plant in Hamburg, Penn. The transfer is expected to be complete by January. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 National Post's Financial Post & FP Investing

Yellow Book USA Inc.Uniondale, NYYellowbook, which publishes print and online telephone directories, has eliminated 220 jobs from its 7,600-member workforce. The cuts were made nationally and affect "a variety of jobs across the organization, but none of the jobs are in sales," said Louise Thach, a spokeswoman for Yellowbook, which is based in Uniondale, N.Y., and has its Mid-Atlantic regional office in King of Prussia. Sixty jobs were lost at the Montgomery County site from Yellowbook and Yell Adworks. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Philadelphia Inquirer

RETAILCircuit City Stores Inc.Richmond, VAAs the lights go out at about 20 percent of Circuit City's stores, the company is hoping that by closing hundreds of stores and cutting thousands of jobs, it can handle consumers who are reluctant to spend and vendors who are less eager to give it credit. Circuit City Stores Inc. is closing 155 of its more than 700 U.S. stores by Dec. 31. The stores are spread throughout 28 states, including multiple locations in areas like Phoenix and Atlanta. Based on a workforce of nearly 43,000 employees as of Feb. 29, the layoffs could affect up to 7,300 workers.Approximate Affected Workforce: over 1000 Ft Wayne Journal Gazette

Longs Drug StoresWalnut Creek, CA; Antioch, CA

About 800 Longs Drug Stores corporate employees who work in the East Bay will lose their jobs, starting this year, as a result of the company's purchase by fellow drug retailer CVS Caremark. The positions affected are in the headquarters and other offices in Walnut Creek, as well as a secondary corporate office in Antioch. The affected employees have been notified. All will be eligible for a transition package to cover financial and health benefits, outplacement support and counseling.Approximate Affected Workforce: 501-1000 Contra Costa Times

Mervyns LLCHayward, CA; Bakersfield, CA; Ridgecrest, CAKern County layoffs from the bankrupt Mervyns department store chain will total 286, state employment filings show. Two stores in Bakersfield and one in Ridgecrest are among the regional retailer's 149 remaining sites winding down operations. Layoffs are slated to take effect around Dec. 23. Each Bakersfield store is laying off 100 people. In Ridgecrest, 86 employees will be affected. The majority are customer service employees.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Bakersfield Californian

OfficeMax Inc.Naperville, ILOfficeMax Inc. is eliminating 245 jobs from its corporate staff and field managementteam, a move the Naperville office-supply company called part of a "proactive costreduction initiative." The retailer expects the cuts to generate severance costs of about $8.5 million and will reduce annual costs by about $20 million.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Chicago Tribune

QVC Inc.West Chester, PATelevision retailer QVC began a series of layoffs that will result in the elimination of about 900 jobs – most of them in West Chester – over the next 14 months. About 110 were at the company's corporate headquarters and studio in West Chester and its operations center about two miles away.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Philadelphia Inquirer

SHIPPINGABX Air Inc.Wilmington, OHABX Air will lay off 158 employees by mid-January. In a filing with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, ABX said the layoffs will include hourly and salaried personnel. Among those losing their jobs will be 33 pilots, two of them with the rank of captain. The layoffs began Nov. 14 and will continue through Jan. 14.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Traffic World

Allied Automotive GroupJanesville, WIA company that trucks new sport utility vehicles out of Janesville has fallen in line with General Motors and other local suppliers and will lay off employees in December. Allied Automotive Group, a division of the Atlanta-based Allied Systems, notified the state it will lay off 117 employees Dec. 23, the date GM and three other local suppliers have said they will lay off a total of 1,903 workers when SUV production at the Janesville GM plant ends. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 The Janesville Gazette

DHL Express

Breinigsville, PA; Wilmington, OHDeutsche Post AG's DHL Express overnight-delivery unit announced it would abandon U.S. overnight delivery, laying off 9,500 workers and closing most of its outlets. DHL Express's remaining U.S. business will focus on international deliveries, and will have 4,000 employees and 103 outlets.Approximate Affected Workforce: over 1000 Morning Call

TELECOMMUNICATIONSQwest Communications International Inc.Denver, COQwest will lay off 1,200 workers by the end of the year, on the heels of reporting a 93 percent drop in third-quarter net income. The Denver-based telecom provider said the job cuts will be spread among employees across the nation and throughout all job functions, from management to field technicians. Qwest would not disclose how many of the layoffs will occur in Colorado. The 1,200 layoffs represent about 3 percent of the company's national workforce of 34,656. Colorado is home to 8,800 Qwest employees.Approximate Affected Workforce: over 1000 The Denver Post

TellabsDallas, TXTellabs, a provider of telecommunications equipment for service providers, plans to cut 141 job cuts at the company's location in Dallas. In a letter filed with the Texas Workforce Commission, Dallas-based Tellabs says it's restructuring the company with the intent of realigning its financial plan with consumer needs and demands. The jobs impacted include engineers, buyers, management-level professionals, project managers and technical support positions. Tellabs told TWC the official layoffs will begin Dec. 22. About 136 employees will be laid off within the 14-day period beginning Dec. 22. Remaining employees will be terminated within the three-month period stretching to March 31.Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Dallas Business Journal

TRAVEL/TOURISMAvis Budget Group Inc.Parsippany, NJAvis Budget Group, the Parsippany-based car rental company, said it has eliminated 700 jobs in a restructuring spurred by a slowing economy and a slump in travel that forced it to post more than a $1 billion loss in the third quarter. Approximate Affected Workforce: 501-1000 The Times of Trenton

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc.Tulsa, OKDollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc., the Tulsa-based rental car company has hit several financial potholes in recent weeks and is laying off 400 employees, or 6 percent of its workforce. The job cuts are effective immediately. The layoffs, which company officials said were necessary to cope with a slowing economy and unfavorable credit markets, include 107 Tulsa-based employees, or 12.6 percent of the corporate staff. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 Tulsa World

Enterprise Rent-A-Car CompanySt. Louis, MO; Clayton, MO; Weldon Spring, MOTough economic times forced St. Louis-based Enterprise Rent-a-Car to lay off about 200 local employees, setting off what will be the auto-rental company's biggest job

reduction in its 51-year history. Within the next few weeks, the company plans to reduce its workforce outside the area by about 700 workers through layoffs and attrition. Locally, most of Enterprise's laid-off workers were in information technology operations at Enterprise's Clayton and Weldon Spring locations. The rest held administrative positions. Approximate Affected Workforce: 101-500 St. Louis Post-Dispatch