Cuba to eliminate 500,000 state jobs, spur private sector

MSNBC ^ | msnbc.com news services

[Ancient Drive]

HAVANA — Cuba will let more than 500,000 state employees go by next March and try to move most to non-state jobs in the biggest shift to the private sector since the 1960s, the official Cuban labor federation said Monday. The layoffs will start immediately and run through the first half of next year, according to an announcement Monday by the nearly 3 million-strong Cuban Workers Confederation — the only labor union the government tolerates. The statement said eventually more than a million jobs would be cut and, due to efforts to increase efficiency in the state sector, there would be few new state sector openings. More than 85 percent of the Cuban labor force, or over 5 million people, worked for the state at the close of 2009, according to the government. "Our state cannot and should not continue maintaining companies, productive entities, services and budgeted sectors with bloated payrolls (and) losses that hurt the economy," the statement said. "Job options will be increased and broadened with new forms of non-state employment, among them leasing land, cooperatives and self-employment, absorbing hundreds of thousands of workers in the coming years," it said.

[Ancient Drive]

booyah!

[Minus_The_Bear]

Wow, so Cuba gets it but we don’t?

[Dan Nunn]

Obama gets credit in 5... 4... 3...

[library user]

But, but, but I thought Fidel meant the exact opposite of what they reported? The media is soooo full of it.

[wac3rd]

Shazam!

Obama is thinking of adding 500,000 public sector workers.

We are trending against Cuba, who would have thunk the US would be more Communistic than they are?

[married21]

When the 500k Cubans cannot all find private sector jobs in Cuba, perhaps they will try to boat on over and find a public sector job here.

[Red Badger]

I didn’t know they had 500,000 jobs in the whole country..........

[GonzoGOP]

Cuba will let more than 500,000 state employees go by next March

What is Cuba's population these days. That has to be a big honking chunk of their working age adults that are going to be looking for jobs in March. Finances must be getting very thin for the Castro boys for them to make a move this big this fast.

[wac3rd]

Yes, Affirmative Action candidates will supplant any Crackers from those lifetime faux-middle class jobs provided by Government.

[manc]

OK This is nuts

Castro has said communism does not work, tough the media again kept that quiet for the most part.
They are now looking at he private sector while we move into socialism and if this man in the white house had his way communism.

They and Europe are going right and we’re the only ones going left, frigging wake up you dope media and left wing nuts.

[PORD]

This has to be very displeasing to the commucrats. What a hoot!

[smoothsailing]

Cuba to eliminate 500,000 state jobs, spur private sector

NOT AMUSED

[LibFreeUSA]

[Art in Idaho]

Stat IM and Twitter to Obama. .

[ZULU]

Maybe we should trade Obama for Castro.

[GonzoGOP]

OK I goggled it myself out of curiosity. They have 11.2 million people in the entire country. So firing 500,000 government employees would be like the US sending home almost 14 million government employees. As bloated as the US Federal government is it only has 2.15 million parasites federal employees.

[smoothsailing]

TOTAL population 11.4 million according to Wiki...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Cuba#Demographic_statistics_from_the_Official_2002_Cuba_Census

[ocr1]

A must email to my liberal friends. Cuba is downsizing their government. Cuba!

[Spok]

So Obama’s left of Castro? Wow.

[FormerACLUmember]

Riots in the streets and rebellion in Cuba in a year.