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With unemployment low and economic growth expected to bounce back from a slow first quarter, consumers are not in bad shape. But it has been an especially terrible year so far for retailers. Nine U.S. chains have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Store closures are accelerating, and almost 90,000 retail workers have lost their jobs since October. Experts say the industry's troubles are just beginning. "The disruption is just unfolding," says Mark Cohen, a former CEO of Sears Canada who now directs retail studies at Columbia Business School. "I think the number of store closings will continue at an...

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you most likely know that ESPN just went through massive layoffs. The reason behind the layoffs? Don't miss the politics factor. How many times have you or someone you know said the following, “Why doesn’t ESPN just stick to sports?” or “Since when did ESPN become a political channel?” Well, apparently Linda Cohn, who has been with the network for over 25 years, thinks politics IS partly to blame for the layoffs. In an interview this past Friday with WABC’s “Bernie and Sid Show,” Cohn spoke about the loss of viewership the network...

ESPN will cut more than 100 employees today, Yahoo Finance has learned. That number is much bigger than the 40-50 that was initially reported. ESPN aims to notify all of the people today, if it can do so. It has been widely reported for weeks that big cuts are coming to ESPN—so widely reported, and dissected, and gossiped about, in fact, that ESPN moved up its schedule and is notifying people earlier than it originally planned. The 100 people getting cut are all “on-air talent,” a label ESPN uses for TV personalities, radio hosts, and writers who regularly appear on...

“Mayday, mayday.” That’s the message that Hampton Roads’ ship-repair industry is sending to Congress as it gets back to work this week. A minimum of 1,000 layoffs are projected in the region’s ship-repair yards in the weeks and months ahead, some of which have already begun to unfold. They’re largely the result of a stopgap spending measure the government has been operating under for roughly seven months and the failure to approve a new national budget with adequate funding to maintain Navy ships, said Bill Crow, president of the Virginia Ship Repair Association, a regional trade group. The meter on...

More than 3,000 employees in 36 states will be laid off in the liquidation of one of the world’s largest Christian retailers. More than two years ago, suppliers forgave Family Christian Stores $127 million in debt so that it could remain open. Today, the chain—which bills itself as “the world’s largest retailer of Christian-themed merchandise”—announced it is closing all of its stores after 85 years in business. Family Christian, which employed more than 3,000 people in more than 240 stores across 36 states, blamed “changing consumer behavior and declining sales.” “We had two very difficult years post-bankruptcy,” stated president Chuck...

Boeing Co warned employees on Monday it planned another round of involuntary layoffs that would affect hundreds of engineers at its commercial airplanes unit, according to a source and a memo seen by Reuters. The latest job cuts followed a prior involuntary reduction of 245 workers set for May 19 as the company responded to increasing competition and slowing aircraft sales. The additional layoffs are due to start June 23, according to the memo from John Hamilton, vice president of engineering at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We are moving forward with a second phase of involuntary layoffs for some select skills...

While many of the targeted federal agencies have offices outside Washington, Trump's dream budget would hit the region disproportionately, with tens of thousands of jobs at risk. The cuts would be felt throughout the city, with fewer people riding the already-beleaguered Metro subway or eating at restaurants. It would also hurt Washington's already-shaky market for office space. Economist Stephen Fuller of George Mason University, who has studied the regional economy for decades, estimated 20,000-24,000 federal employees and 10,000 federal contractors would lose their jobs under Trump's proposal. That equates to 5 percent of federal workers in the region. With those...

Caterpillar Inc. has announced the closing of its facility near Aurora, Illinois, and the lay off 800 workers. Earlier this year, the earth-moving equipment maker said it would lay off employees in 2017 because of an anticipated decline in demand for its products. Caterpillar spokeswoman Lisa Miller said Friday the large wheel loaders and compactor production will be moved to the company’s Decatur, Illinois, plant. Its medium wheel loader production line will be moved to the North Little Rock, Arkansas, plant. …

As we noted last summer, the Obama administration’s constant gun control threats did little more than flood American homes with more guns as people looked to stockpile weapons ahead of anticipated new regulations. In fact, both of Obama's elections resulted in massive and unprecedented spikes in gun sales. Meanwhile, Obama's presidency was a boon for the gun manufacturers whose revenue, profitability and stocks all soared during his presidency. But while the constant threat of new regulations under Obama resulted in a massive full forward of gun demand and pushed gun stocks to all-time highs, the election of Trump, and thus...

As hard as it will be to pass health insurance reform, tax reform, and infrastructure legislation, President Trump's toughest challenge will come in trying to cut the numbers of federal workers. Hard numbers are difficult to come by, but budget and government experts are calling the planned reductions in the federal workforce a "historic contraction" not seen since the drawdown after World War II.  Cabinet secretaries will have some leeway in how they reduce their departments' workforces.  Some may rely on the normal attrition that occurs in any workforce with retirements and vacancies created by promotions being responsible for...

ESPN will lay off some of the personalities who appear on TV, radio and online. The cuts will only affect "talent" -- not rank-and-file employees, according to sources familiar with the matter. The details are still being finalized, but layoffs are expected to take place through June.

President Trump.... wants to significantly cut the tax agency’s funding at a time when it has already been bleeding staff and struggling to keep up with a flood of returns ahead of Tax Day.... ...“This is an agency that has had every last drop squeezed out of it,” said Dennis J. Ventry Jr., a member of the I.R.S. advisory council and a law professor at the University of California, Davis. “I don’t know how it’s going to sustain itself.”.... ....The White House budget office has proposed a 14.1 percent cut to the I.R.S. for the fiscal year that begins in...

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics union membership hit an all-time low in 2016 of just 10.7 percent. That decline has consequences for unions like the AFL-CIO, which Bloomberg reports is dismissing dozens of staff members: The AFL-CIO is dismissing dozens of staff members as part of a restructuring amid continuing declines in union membership and fresh political threats to labor rights. “We will have to end support for some programs that don’t go to our core priorities,” said AFL-CIO spokesman Josh Goldstein, who declined to discuss the number of staff affected. “This is about reimagining and realigning our...

NEW YORK — J.C. Penney said Friday that it will be closing anywhere from 130 to 140 stores as well as two distribution centers over the next several months as it aims to improve profitability in the era of online shopping. The closures represent about 13 percent to 14 percent of the department store operator's current store count, and less than 5 percent of total annual sales. The company said that it would also initiate a voluntary early retirement program for about 6,000 eligible employees.

When Philadelphia became the first US city to pass a soda tax last summer, city officials were eagerly looking forward to the surplus-tax funded windfall to plug gaping budget deficits (and, since this is Philadelphia, the occasional embezzlement scheme). Then, one month ago, after the tax went into effect on January 1st we showed the tax applied in practice: a receipt for a 10 pack of flavored water carried a 51% beverage tax. And since  PA has a sales tax of 6% and Philly already charges another 2%, the total sales tax was 8%. In other words, a purchase...

The Washington region’s prospects aren’t all bad under the Trump administration. A top local economist joked at a recent business conference that demonstrators flocking to rallies in the District will drop bundles of cash, spurring growth from “protest tourism.” But the area is bracing for shock at the hands of a reinvent-the-rules president who routinely insults the city and a Republican-led Congress that for years has sought to shrink the federal government that is the area’s principal employer. Officials and analysts expect sharp cuts in federal nondefense spending, which would strain local budgets nationwide and pose a particular threat to...

USA TODAY reports that downsizing at various Kellogg’s facilities across the country could put 1,110 Americans out of work. Kellogg’s spokesperson Kris Charles said the cereal giant will shift away from direct delivery of its foods to stores, and will instead utilize grocers’ distribution centers. The move will shutter 39 Kellogg’s distribution centers from Maryland to Ohio to New York. “While this is the right move for the company to achieve our long-term objectives, it was a difficult decision because of its impact on employees,” company spokesperson Kris Charles said, according to CNYCentral. Charles says each site outfits roughly 30...

Robert Sheridan is a 40-year-old GM worker who voted for Donald Trump. He can barely contain his excitement about Inauguration Day, even though it will be a rough day for him on a personal level. He's one of 2,000 GM factory workers losing their jobs on Friday, the same day that Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president. Sheridan -- and thousands like him -- are desperately hoping Trump will save their jobs. "Please help us in Lordstown," says Sheridan, a soft-spoken Midwesterner with three kids. "This is a great middle class job. You can't find one better...

Almost two-thirds of federal employees voted for Hillary Clinton during the presidential election, according to a new survey.The poll also found that six of 10 felt that the election itself gave Americans a negative impression of federal service.So it may come as no surprise that some federal employees are considering leaving their employment when President-elect Donald Trump assumes office. “More than one in four federal workers, or 28 percent, will definitely or possibly consider leaving their jobs after Jan. 20 when Trump is sworn into office and becomes leader of the executive branch,” according to the survey conducted by the...

The New York Times is warning its staff that budget cuts and staff reductions loom as the paper looks ahead to the future, according to a study by the outlet about how the newsroom will operate in the future. Dean Baquet, New York Times’ executive editor, and Joe Kahn, managing editor, said that the outlet’s transformation would require budget cuts and lead to a “smaller and more focused newsroom,” a move that will prompt buyouts and layoffs, which are expected this year. "We view this moment as a necessary re-positioning of The Times newsroom, not as a diminishment,” they said....