The Obama Economic Recovery continues!
Sprint Layoffs
Sprint, the telecommunications company and the 4th largest wireless network operator in the U. S., is laying off at least 2,500 workers or 8% of its workforce.
Mark Davis reports for The Kansas City Star, Jan. 25, 2016, that the layoffs and cutbacks will mostly affect six customer care centers, but also include 574 other positions at Sprint’s headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas.
The wave of cut-backs is part of a months-long effort to slash $2.5 billion in spending across all parts of Sprint’s operations. It also marks the third round of cutbacks at Sprint in the last two years. In fall of 2014, Sprint had slashed 1,700 jobs and announced plans to cut 2,000 more. The latest layoffs of 2,500 are on top of those totals, bringing the announced job cut total to more than 6,000.
Marci Carris, Sprint’s senior vice president of customer care, said in an email that all of the layoff notices had gone out and that all of those employees would qualify for the current severance benefits, which can amount to two weeks pay for each year employed plus $1,000. However, employees who are laid off after January 30 will have reduced severance benefits of one week of pay for each year worked.
But it is not just Sprint employees who are affected. With fewer call centers operating, Sprint’s customers are urged to handle routine inquiries – such as checking bill balances and making payments, checking on device upgrade status, and checking on phone lease status – online or through the Sprint Zone app.
Wal-Mart Closures
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that the closure of more than 154 Wal-Mart stores in the U.S. (269 worldwide) has left some small towns, like Oriental in North Carolina, with no grocery store and no pharmacy. Those communities tend to have large elderly populations. For the older folks of Oriental — a retirement and summer vacation town along the inter-coastal waterway — the next-nearest grocery and pharmacy is a 50-minute round-trip drive.
Wal-Mart’s sales in the U.S. have failed to keep up with rising labor costs, resulting in a 12% decrease in the company’s profits in October, and a 29% in the value of Wal-Mart’s stock during the past 12 months.
Baltic Dry Index
The Baltic Dry Index, an economic indicator of global trade issued daily by the London-based Baltic Exchange, fell under 400 for the first time last week, highlighting just how weak the global economy really is.
On Jan. 22, 2016, the Index went down to 354. To compare, in 2007 before the Great Recession hit, the Index was over 1200.
See also “5 signs that U.S. and world economy is in trouble“.
~Eowyn
