Job Watch

Tennessee lands another big manufacturer

2009-02-26T10:33:00.001-08:00

A billion-dollar plant to be built near Cleveland, Tenn., will manufacture the basic material used in solar-energy cells. It means 500 to 600 jobs initially.

Gaylord slashes 350 jobs

2009-02-18T08:45:00.000-08:00

180 of the cuts are in Nashville.

Nissan to slash 20,000 jobs

2009-02-09T09:30:00.000-08:00

The automaker is not yet saying if its worldwide job cutting will include employees at plants in Middle Tennessee. Nissan has its North American headquarters in Franklin and an assembly plant in Smyrna, which has been operating on four-day work weeks in response to poor market conditions.

Unions find signs of hope

2009-02-09T09:26:00.000-08:00

Union membership actually rose in 2008 in Tennessee and across the nation, even as the economy shed jobs and moved into a recession.Furloughs, layoffs and buyouts have left workers worried about job security, and union representatives say workers are contacting them frequently to discuss possible organizational drives.

Stimulus may save 75,000 Tennessee jobs

2009-02-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

About 20,000 of the jobs from the federal stimulus package could be in the Nashville area, says MTSU economist David Penn, left. But he says the impact is months away.

Looking for a restaurant job?

2009-02-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

Chipotle Mexican Grill says it's coming to Nashville. The site on West End Avenue will be the quick-service chain's first location here.

No quick fix for Peterbilt

2009-02-05T10:50:00.000-08:00

The Peterbilt truck factory in Madison will remain closed at least until the end of the year because of slow sales, the company says. The plant was already shut down due to a labor dispute with the United Auto Workers.

Nashville gains, Lebanon loses

2009-01-30T13:06:00.000-08:00

Dell says it will close part of its computer manufacturing facility in Lebanon, Tenn., and move 250 to 300 employees to Nashville. It seems those desktop computers just aren't selling so well anymore.

Temp workers losing out, too

2009-01-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

Big employers are jettisoning temporary workers in addition to full-timers.

Nashville may escape this job cut

2009-01-30T12:58:00.000-08:00

Ford Motor Credit will cut 20 percent of its 6,100-employee U.S. work force by the end of July, but most of the 990 workers in Nashville will be spared, the company says.

50,000 are jobless in Nashville area

2009-01-30T12:53:00.000-08:00

Employers have their pick of applicants in the state's worst job market since 1986. In this job fair at LP Field, jobs were scarce and applications were plentiful. The Nashville-Murfreesboro area reported 6.5 percent unemployment, up from 4.2 percent a year ago.

New option for filing jobless claim

2009-01-28T08:27:00.000-08:00

Can't get through on the phone? Officials would prefer that you file your state unemployment claim online, but starting Thursday you can also choose to file in person through a small group session. Here are times and locations.

Bloody Monday

2009-01-27T10:25:00.000-08:00

That's the headline that seems to be taking root from yesterday's depressingly abundant amount of layoff news. CNN has a full rundown of U.S. job cuts announced so far this year.

Unemployment check may not come quickly

2009-01-27T10:12:00.000-08:00

Tennessee's unemployment offices are so swamped that they can't get all the checks issued on time. They're working on it, the state says.

If you need to apply for unemployment, check out these tips to make it easier. You might want to cross your fingers, too.

And if you're in one of those oddball situations -- you're not completely without work, but you've been furloughed for a week or two, or your boss has chopped your hours, or you've been laid off but you managed to pick up a few days of work -- then you may want to take a look at how your unemployment benefits will be affected.

A heavy dose of layoff news

2009-01-27T10:01:00.000-08:00

More companies big and small announced Monday that they are cutting jobs or closing down. Among the news:

Home Depot is closing down its Expo stores, affecting 150 workers in Nashville.
Caterpillar is laying off 20,000 people. No word on the local impact.
General Motors will halt production for several weeks at nine plants, including the one in Spring Hill.
Sprint Nextel will cut 8,000 jobs in the first quarter.
radius10, a restaurant in the Gulch near downtown, is closing its doors.

It's a lot to absorb in a single day.

Gooey jobs coming to Nashville

2009-01-21T12:47:00.000-08:00

The company that makes Goo Goo Clusters is closing its plant in Eastman, Ga., and will relocate 250 jobs to Nashville.

DuPont Old Hickory plant to lay off up to 240 workers

2009-01-21T12:45:00.001-08:00

DuPont will close part of its Old Hickory plant by the end of March, laying off about 140 regular employees and from 80-100 contract workers, the company announced.

Accountants, doctors come out ahead in recession

2009-01-20T10:07:00.000-08:00

Bucking a national recession, some businesses did quite well in 2008, including doctor offices, highway construction contractors and limited-service restaurants, according to Stageworks Inc., a Raleigh, N.C.-based financial analysis company.

Stageworks analyzed financial information for more than 34,000 companies in the South, gathered from CPA clients. The company found – not surprisingly – the top growth industry in the South in terms of sales was petroleum wholesaling, which saw sales climb 15 percent in 2008.
That’s because total sales figures for oil distributors are based on the price of oil.

Others in the top 12 for sales increases include businesses involved in computer systems design, building equipment contracting (think heating and air conditioning), bookkeeping and accountanting and doctors’ offices. Worst performing industries in the South during 2008 were lumber sales, retail businesses, construction and manufacturing.

Circuit City to liquidate its remaining stores

2009-01-16T14:09:00.000-08:00

The closures could send another 30,000 people into the ranks of the unemployed.

Vought workers end strike

2009-01-16T07:51:00.000-08:00

After 16 weeks on the picket lines, union members agreed to a deal worse than the one they rejected in September. Vought has up to 14 days to bring everyone back to work.

Strikers feel pressure at Vought Aircraft Industries

2009-01-08T06:26:00.000-08:00

More than 840 union workers have been on strike for 14 weeks because of proposed changes to pension and health-care benefits, but the company announced this week that it will hire permanent replacements for them.

Macy's to close Bellevue store

2009-01-08T06:21:00.000-08:00

A company press release indicates that 76 employees there could be affected.

Clarksville's biggest manufacturing employer gets smaller

2009-01-08T06:03:00.000-08:00

Another 111 hourly production workers are being laid off this week at Trane, which makes heating and air conditioning equipment. That's in addition to 91 job reductions announced in mid-November.

Job losses hit 'recession-proof' hospitals

2009-01-02T07:56:00.000-08:00

Tennessee hospitals are cutting staff and increasing charity care as the economy slumps.

"The old adage used to be health care is recession-proof, and it's not," said Joel Lee, associate vice chancellor for communications at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

110 jobs cut at GM-Spring Hill supplier

2008-12-22T16:09:00.000-08:00

Chambers Williams reports on Spring Hill supplier job cuts on Tennessean.com:

Johnson Controls, Inc., said it will layoff 110 of the 410 workers today at its plant in Columbia, Tenn., that makes seats and interior consoles for the new Chevrolet Traverse, according to the United Auto Workers, which represents the facility’s hourly employees.

Centerstone cuts 34 jobs

2008-12-18T13:53:00.000-08:00

From staff writer Getahn Ward:

Centerstone, the state’s largest provider of community-based mental health and substance abuse treatment services, has laid off 34 employees in its statewide operations as part of a restructuring.

“The economy, changing dynamics in the healthcare market and new contracts all played a part,” Bob Vero, CEO of Centerstone of Tennessee, said about reasons for the restructuring.

The cutbacks were across all divisions of the company, said Ramona Rhodes, a spokeswoman.
Nashville-based Centerstone has 1,058 employees statewide plus another 558 in Indiana.

State has lost 20,000 jobs

2008-12-18T13:28:00.000-08:00

Tennessee got some new jobs in education, health care and government over the past year, but the gains were more than wiped out by losses in other sectors, the state reports.

Pros and cons of employee buyouts

2008-12-17T06:07:00.000-08:00

Why would an employee take a buyout? Why would an employer offer one? This Q & A explains the risks and the rewards.

Nissan to reduce production, cut temps

2008-12-17T05:29:00.000-08:00

As car sales continue to slump, Nissan Motor Co. says it will reduce production and cut 500 temporary workers. Nissan has a manufacturing plant in Smyrna and its North American headquarters in Franklin.

Clarksville factory heralds green future

2008-12-16T13:56:00.000-08:00

About 1,000 workers will be employed to build Hemlock Semiconductor's polysilicon plant in Clarksville over the next three years. Better yet, it appears Tennessee has a foothold in a developing "green energy" economy because the company's product is used in producing solar energy. The company's CEO says the green push will help "retrain idle workers" for new careers.

AT&T to cut 22 workers

2008-12-16T06:13:00.000-08:00

AT&T is expected to lay off at least 22 union employees in Middle Tennessee by this spring as part of plans to cut 12,000 jobs nationwide, a union official said Monday.

Job training programs face cuts

2008-12-15T12:35:00.000-08:00

In case you missed Chas Sisk's story in the Sunday Tennessean business section, he reports on federal job programs being cut at a time when they appear to be most needed:

Labor experts and political leaders are stressing the need for workers to earn high-tech certifications like Bloom’s to compete in the modern economy.
But as the nation deals with a recession and as unemployment rises, the state and local officials in charge of the federally funded programs that teach these skills are adjusting to cuts that have taken more than $10 million out of their budgets over the last three years.

A turning point in job growth in Clarksville

2008-12-15T07:09:00.001-08:00

Clarksville leaders have agreed to buy 1,200 acres for Hemlock Semiconductor. Here's how they got the jobs.

Austin Peay to start new curriculum in polycrystalline silicon production

2008-12-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

The college in Clarksville will receive $6.4 million to train workers for a new manufacturing plant that is expected to hire 500 to 800 people.

GM adds a month to Spring Hill downtime

2008-12-15T05:59:00.000-08:00

More than 2,000 workers will be idled until Feb. 9, but they will still get partial pay.

Hemlock Semiconductor to bring 500-plus jobs to Clarksville

2008-12-12T07:11:00.000-08:00

Gov. Phil Bredesen will be in Clarksville Monday to announce a multibillion dollar expansion project by Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. The company is the largest maker in the world of polycrystalline silicon, which goes into solar panels and semiconductors.

Out of work? At least you can ditch the shaving kit

2008-12-11T07:53:00.000-08:00

Whether as a sign of mourning, or simply because it's a pain to shave everyday, beards are popping up on laid-off executives all around the country, the Wall Street Journal reports. Perhaps Al Gore invented the trend:

Facial hair is showing up on more former corporate types. It’s one of those tiny luxuries unleashed by unemployment, a time when people are briefly released from workaday habits and may wish to take stock of their lives before setting out anew. Al Gore grew a beard after losing the tumultuous presidential election of 2000. Neatly trimmed, it looked cozy and anti-establishment as he pursued creative projects on his way to the Nobel Peace Prize.

Nashville's still getting new jobs

2008-12-10T07:08:00.000-08:00

The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce has 31 deals pending with companies looking to locate in Nashville, economic development manager Janet Miller said Tuesday. If the city landed them all, it would mean 8,400 new jobs.

In the past three months, 36 companies have either expanded in Nashville or moved here, Miller said, bringing 1,775 new jobs.

"Activity is not as robust as it was, but it's there," she said.

The jobs are there - if you have the right skills

2008-12-10T06:15:00.000-08:00

Didn't your parents always tell you to forget philosophy, study science, and get that teaching certificate while you were at it? It looks like they were right -- health care and education are the two industries that generally don't shrink when times are bad.

These Q&A's tell more about today's employment outlook.

FedEx's Fred Smith talks leadership

2008-12-09T08:50:00.000-08:00

Fred Smith, the legendary founder of Memphis-based FedEx discusses leadership -- and the lack of it that helped spark the current economic crisis -- in a conversation with The Washington Post's Steven Pearlstein.

3M, Anheuser-Busch announce layoffs

2008-12-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

Stocks may be going strong today, but more layoff news coming from companies around the country:

Anheuser-Busch InBev announced it would cut about 1,400 U.S. jobs, 6 percent of its domestic workforce, in another round of layoffs following a merger with Belgian company InBev.
Dow Chemical Co. will slash 5,000 jobs, about 11 percent of its workforce.
3M (of Post-In Notes and Scotch tape fame) said it will cut about 1,800 jobs in the fourth quarter in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
And while no job cuts were announced, Tribune Company, parent of Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Chicago Cubs, filed for bankruptcy.

Happy Monday!

How to get unemployment benefits

2008-12-08T05:49:00.000-08:00

Don't call on your cell phone, and watch out for scams. Here's advice on getting your claim filed.

MTSU and other college faculty jobs would change under proposal

2008-12-08T05:01:00.000-08:00

Chancellor Charles Manning of the Tennessee Board of Regents has suggested radical changes that call for more productivity from faculty and staff at colleges including Middle Tennessee State University.

Colleges in Tennessee are under pressure to trim at least 15% of expenses. (Search a database of faculty and staff salaries here.)

Unemployment office overwhelmed with requests

2008-12-07T17:13:00.001-08:00

Officials plan to offer a new web program to make it easier and faster to get benefits. Here are a few eye-opening stats about why the unemployment office is having a hard time keeping up:

The state had 15,000 applicants in the first week of November, compared with 2,000 that week in 2007. In all of November, there were 46,000 applicants, compared with 25,000 in 2007.

HCA cuts 109 IT jobs

2008-12-05T16:26:00.000-08:00

The hospital company is eliminating more than 100 corporate jobs at its headquarters in Nashville, including 109 information technology positions.

Sewing company to move jobs to Nashville area

2008-12-05T15:57:00.000-08:00

New jobs for Nashville. Click here to read about it.

Government jobs on the rise

2008-12-05T10:57:00.000-08:00

Despite buyouts and budget cuts, government is one of the few sectors that actually gained jobs last month, the AP reports.

Think you might be interested in joining the public payroll? Take a look at what some of the jobs are paying.

Lost a job? Try a startup

2008-12-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

Don't think you can succeed by starting a business during a recession? Think again -- Microsoft did it.

Seth Murray works at a startup focused on used bikes.

Yes, Virginia, there is hiring going on

2008-12-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

Steve Hayes recruits executives. Here's some of his advice on getting a six-figure job in this economy.

Job cuts round up

2008-12-05T09:07:00.000-08:00

National job numbers released today show just how brutal the job market has become: 533,000 jobs cut in November, the most in 34 years. In Nashville, the cuts have been dramatic as well. Scanning the week's worth of The Tennessean's business page covers shows the following companies cutting jobs:

AT&T
HCA
Gannett
Thomas Nelson
Bridgestone

What companies have you heard about?

(Photo: Associated Press)

Tips from the Tennessee Career Center

2008-12-05T08:55:00.001-08:00

Tennessean reporter Naomi Snyder interviews Terry Hiers, manager of the Tennessee Career Center.