Executives Layoffs

These days in the ad business if the boss asks you out to lunch, you may be wise to say you're not hungry. Odds are, before the waiter hands over the check, your boss may hand over your pink slip. This luncheon is doubly dangerous for ad pros who are 40 years old and up--a good chunk of whom are earning six-figure salaries. Indeed, things have seldom been tougher for agency veterans who, at a time when the industry is in the pits, are among the first to get walking papers.

Citing what he perceives as an Obama administration “war on coal,” an Ohio coal mining executive and prominent Republican donor responded to the results of the presidential election by laying off more than 150 workers. Robert Murray, chief executive of Murray Energy Co., the largest privately held coal company in America, blamed the layoffs on President Obama --  and, by extension, the voters who elected him -- in a memo to employees. “The American people have made their choice,” Murray said in what he called a prayer that he delivered at a staff meeting at which he discussed the layoffs.

UPS to Cut Some Management Jobs: United Parcel Service confirmed that it will eliminate some of its 35,000 management positions in an effort to reduce expenses. The Atlanta-based package shipper said it has not decided how many jobs will be cut. The Wall Street Journal, quoting unidentified senior executives, reported that UPS plans to slash more than 2,000 positions over 18 months. "No specific plan has been adopted," UPS spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg said.

The long-anticipated day of reckoning officially dawned at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Thursday, when the troubled agency's normally fractious board listened silently as their new chief executive officer announced that 85 employees will be immediately laid off and an equal number of vacant positions eliminated to "conserve" the agency's financial assets.

Wherehouse Shakes Up Corporate Staff: The Torrance-based music and video retailer laid off five senior executives and named two others to top posts in a revamping prompted by a management study. Jerry Goldress, who has been a consultant, was named president and chief operating officer, while Wherehouse executive Cathy Wood was named chief financial officer.

When the downturn in office leasing forced Grubb & Ellis to pare its staff in 1990, Jim Breen was making "somewhat under" six figures doing public relations for the commercial real estate firm in Orange County. After more than six jobless months, Breen last July took the only position he could find, as news editor of the tiny San Clemente Sun-Post newspaper, where he often works 12-hour days starting as early as 4 a.m.--for 40% of his former salary.

William K. Ellermeyer worked for years as a personnel officer at large corporations. Then in early middle-age he found himself out on the street after a change of management at AirCal. Ellermeyer started an outplacement company in 1979 and, about 10 years later, sold it to Lee Hecht Harrison Inc., a New York-based outplacement firm. What is outplacement?

Dismissal notices have been sent to some top- and middle-level Columbia Pictures executives as the studio trims its staff in preparation for a merger with Tri-Star Pictures at the first of the year. There was no official word Thursday on how many of the Burbank studio's executives were dismissed. However, one report indicated that at least 50 people were let go. Among those leaving Columbia are Fred Bernstein, president of worldwide production; Stanley G.

Citing what he perceives as an Obama administration “war on coal,” an Ohio coal mining executive and prominent Republican donor responded to the results of the presidential election by laying off more than 150 workers. Robert Murray, chief executive of Murray Energy Co., the largest privately held coal company in America, blamed the layoffs on President Obama --  and, by extension, the voters who elected him -- in a memo to employees. “The American people have made their choice,” Murray said in what he called a prayer that he delivered at a staff meeting at which he discussed the layoffs.

The long-anticipated day of reckoning officially dawned at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Thursday, when the troubled agency's normally fractious board listened silently as their new chief executive officer announced that 85 employees will be immediately laid off and an equal number of vacant positions eliminated to "conserve" the agency's financial assets.

UPS to Cut Some Management Jobs: United Parcel Service confirmed that it will eliminate some of its 35,000 management positions in an effort to reduce expenses. The Atlanta-based package shipper said it has not decided how many jobs will be cut. The Wall Street Journal, quoting unidentified senior executives, reported that UPS plans to slash more than 2,000 positions over 18 months. "No specific plan has been adopted," UPS spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg said.

Wherehouse Shakes Up Corporate Staff: The Torrance-based music and video retailer laid off five senior executives and named two others to top posts in a revamping prompted by a management study. Jerry Goldress, who has been a consultant, was named president and chief operating officer, while Wherehouse executive Cathy Wood was named chief financial officer.

When the downturn in office leasing forced Grubb & Ellis to pare its staff in 1990, Jim Breen was making "somewhat under" six figures doing public relations for the commercial real estate firm in Orange County. After more than six jobless months, Breen last July took the only position he could find, as news editor of the tiny San Clemente Sun-Post newspaper, where he often works 12-hour days starting as early as 4 a.m.--for 40% of his former salary.

William K. Ellermeyer worked for years as a personnel officer at large corporations. Then in early middle-age he found himself out on the street after a change of management at AirCal. Ellermeyer started an outplacement company in 1979 and, about 10 years later, sold it to Lee Hecht Harrison Inc., a New York-based outplacement firm. What is outplacement?

These days in the ad business if the boss asks you out to lunch, you may be wise to say you're not hungry. Odds are, before the waiter hands over the check, your boss may hand over your pink slip. This luncheon is doubly dangerous for ad pros who are 40 years old and up--a good chunk of whom are earning six-figure salaries. Indeed, things have seldom been tougher for agency veterans who, at a time when the industry is in the pits, are among the first to get walking papers.

Dismissal notices have been sent to some top- and middle-level Columbia Pictures executives as the studio trims its staff in preparation for a merger with Tri-Star Pictures at the first of the year. There was no official word Thursday on how many of the Burbank studio's executives were dismissed. However, one report indicated that at least 50 people were let go. Among those leaving Columbia are Fred Bernstein, president of worldwide production; Stanley G.

Walt Disney Co.'s ABC television division, pressured by a downturn in the economy that is depressing advertiser spending, said Thursday that it was trimming its workforce by 5%, becoming the latest media company to make cutbacks. The Burbank-based television group said it would eliminate 400 jobs by letting go 200 employees and leaving another 200 positions unfilled.

CBS Inc., hit by an industrywide recession plus the costs of covering the Persian Gulf War, is expected to lay off more than 400 employees over the next several months, executives said Friday. The layoffs come at a time when the television networks are facing one of their worst years in history due to a sharp drop in advertising revenues and the costs of war coverage.