AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT USAA (04/10/24)

APRIL 10, 2024 — ANOTHER 220

Another round of layoffs saw 220 employees separated from the organization. USAA declined more specific information in what may be the sixth round of layoffs in the past two years.

According to a company spokesperson, “USAA continues to make necessary adjustments to run a healthy business and provide members with exceptional service and competitive prices. After careful consideration, we made the difficult decision to eliminate approximately 220 roles. USAA continues to hire, including approximately 2,900 jobs filled so far this year, but this reprioritization is necessary due to changing business needs. Employees are treated with care and compassion and provided with assistance to find new roles inside and outside of the organization.”

MAY 18, 2023 — ANOTHER 300 EMPLOYEES

In a third round of layoffs, the company is laying off another 300 employees.

According to a company spokesperson, “USAA continues to make necessary adjustments to run a healthy business and provide members with exceptional service and competitive prices. After careful consideration, we made the difficult decision to eliminate approximately 300 roles across most of our offices and different functions. USAA continues to hire but this reprioritization is necessary due to changing business needs.”

The running total is 900, including 475 in April 2023 and 130 in February 2023, from the bank’s mortgage service department.

APRIL 1, 2023 — 475 EMPLOYEES

The company has announced a cost-cutting initiative that will reduce expenses, office space, and layers of management.

The latest cuts will impact 475 employees.

According to a company spokesperson, "To continue providing members with exceptional service and competitive prices through this challenging economy, USAA has made a number of changes. Including realigning staff to meet USAA's "most important priorities. Unfortunately, reprioritizing work means we need fewer teammates in certain areas. These difficult decisions are a normal part of running a healthy business during an economic downturn,"

OCTOBER 3, 2018 — Original post.

San Antonio, Texas-based USAA (United Services Automobile Association), a Fortune-500 diversified financial services group, has announced that it will be reducing the headcount in its real estate lending operations and laying off 265 employees. 110 employees are located in San Antonio, and the rest in Phoenix, Arizona, and Tampa, Florida. USAA Bank President Chad Borton noted, “This decision was difficult, as we value our employees, and we appreciate that they go above and beyond for our members every day. However, it was necessary as we focus on continuing to provide members competitive mortgage products today and in the future.”

It is becoming increasingly difficult to remain competitive in mortgage lending due to weakening home sales and more stringent controls on re-financing existing loans. To be noted, the company has a stellar record of integrity and is trying to place employees in open positions.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

NO LOVE AT NOVO NORDISK? (UPDATED)

UPDATE: NOVEMBER 1, 2018 — COMPANY ADMITS TO CUTTING 1,300 POSITIONS BY THE END OF 2018

First the company eliminated 400 R&D jobs, followed by 250 positions in the United States, and now the company company admits to cutting about 1,300 employees by the end of 2018.

UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 28, 2018 —ADDITIONAL LAYOFFS IN UNITED STATES 

The company has announced that it will proceed with the second round of employee reductions in force. This time with 250 U.S. employees in business functions. 100 positions at the U.S. headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey and another 150 employees associated with diabetes treatment support.

Original Post… 

Employees of Danish multinational pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk are waiting for another layoff shoe to drop in August 2018 when the company plans to reveal restructuring and cost-cutting plans along with its Second Quarter financial results.

It appears that Novo, the world’s largest supplier of diabetes pharmaceuticals is planning to shed another 3,000 positions and abandon their long-term growth prospects in light of increasing legislative pressure to lower drug prices in the United States.

No detailed comment from Novo, other than “the company regularly adjusts its business according to market conditions” was forthcoming. This would be the second mass layoff, the first coming in 2016 which saw 1,000 positions eliminated to cope with competitive pressures from pharmacy benefit managers who represent major insurers and company health plans.

While employees cite Novo as a great place to work, many have little respect for management which appears to be under constant change. The company is currently engaged in a share repurchase program to increase their share price. For some, probably in middle management and sales, the handwriting is on the wall.

Are you asking yourself, Am I Next? 
 

NO LOVE AT SIKORSKY HELICOPTERS (04/26/24)

APRIL 26, 2024 — 1,500 LAYOFFS

The company has announced it is continuing its restructuring plan, which includes about 1,500 layoffs after the U.S. Army program ended the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft scout helicopter and Shadow unmanned aircraft programs.

OCTOBER 5, 2023 — 179 IN CONNECTICUT

The company has announced that 179 employees in the company's business segment face layoff because “several major programs are progressing into production and they no longer need the same level of development support.”

According to a company spokesperson, "This was a difficult decision to make, and we intend to retain as many people as possible to fill our open business-critical positions that are required to support urgent national security missions.”

Sikorsky’s spokesperson also noted, that “they've been impacted by ongoing material shortages, which have affected their cost competitiveness.”

MARCH 3, 2023 — 176 EMPLOYEE LAYOFFS IN MARYLAND

The company, responding to the end of a contracted program, has announced plans for layoffs of 176 employees supporting the heavy lift helicopter program at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland.

According to a spokesperson, “We made staffing adjustments to the team supporting the heavy lift helicopter program at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, to reflect the planned progression and conclusion of the CH-53K system development and demonstration test and evaluation program.”

JANUARY 25, 2023 — 800 POSITIONS IN ROTARY WING BUSINESS

Lockheed Martin announced that is cutting 800 jobs in its rotary and mission systems division, including Stratford, Connecticut-based.

According to a spokesperson, the company would cut the jobs through a mix of transfers to other Lockheed Martin subsidiaries, attrition through people leaving of their own accord, and a limited number of job cuts.”

DECEMBER 11, 2022 — BLACKHAWK DOWN?

Since the Army selected the Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft to replace the Sikorsky Black Hawk, what happens to the 13,000 employees, with 8,500 located in Stratford, Bridgeport, Shelton, and Trumbull, Connecticut?

The loss of business also impacts approximately 250 subcontractors and other vendors of Sikorsky sub-components.

Since the company produces a number of other aircraft, could the slack be reduced by sales to foreign governments — possibly with dollars designated for Ukraine? Will there be a contract challenge? Sub-component work?

Time for employees to maintain situational awareness and possibly seek retraining or a side-hustle.

AUGUST 23, 2021 — CLOSURE OF THE COATESVILLE PLANT WITH 360 LAYOFFS

Lockheed Martin has announced the closure of its Sikorsky Coatesville, Pennsylvania helicopter plant scheduled for March 2022.

Approximately 360 employees will be affected by the closure.

According to a company spokesperson, “the company has made a final decision to exit its Coatesville facility and consolidate the work in other Lockheed Martin locations due to a downturn in the commercial helicopter sector.”

AUGUST 3, 2018

Sikorsky spokesperson Paul Jackson noted, “Sikorsky will not renew the lease for the Florida Assembly and Flight Operations property ... and will vacate the building by year-end.

Closing the helicopter assembly operation at the campus it shares with Pratt & Whitney will result in a lay off of about 500 — nearly half of the employees at the Palm Beach County site.

JULY 31, 2018

Sikorsky spokesperson Paul Jackson noted, “Sikorsky informed employees today of a decision to consolidate operations to adjust to lower US Government aircraft demand, eliminate the resulting excess capacity, and protect our ability to compete by reducing cost.

As a result, we will not renew the lease for the Florida Assembly and Flight Operations (FAFO) property in West Palm Beach and will vacate the building by year-end. We will continue to operate the Development Flight Center on the same campus.  Additionally, approximately 150 salaried employee layoffs will occur throughout the company by year-end as a voluntary separation package offered to salaried employees in June did not yield the expected number of applicants. These two actions combined will impact 5% of the Sikorsky workforce. These decisions are always very difficult but necessary to ensure we can deliver affordable products for our customers to complete their missions.”

APRIL 30, 2018 — Original post ...  

It appears that a confluence of events are likely to produce up to 200 permanent layoffs in the Sikorsky/Lockheed’s facility in Jupiter, Florida.

The layoffs appear to be targeted at workers involved with the Blackhawk military helicopter program. 

Lockheed Martin Chairman, President and CEO, Marillyn Hewson, commenting on first quarter 2018 net sales of $11.6 billion said, “Strong operational and program execution in the first quarter allowed us to increase our financial guidance for sales, profit and earnings per share. Our team remains dedicated to performing with excellence, offering affordable and innovative solutions for our customers, and delivering exceptional value to our shareholders.” While also noting that  sales in the Rotary and Missions Systems Group (which includes Sikorsky) increased by $96 million, but “These increases were partially offset by a decrease of $190 million for Sikorsky helicopter programs due to lower volume for government helicopter programs.”

Nothing is set in stone, but the handwriting for some employees is clearly on the wall as company spokesperson said, “We have not made any announcements but continually review all our business operations to ensure we are properly sized for current and longer-term business requirements and economic conditions within our marketplaces.”

Look for an upcoming shootout for the next generation of helicopters. Sikorsky/Boeing’s SB>1 Defiant against Textron/Bell’s V-280 Valor. We can only hope that critical workers can be retained to avoid what happened to the skilled staff at NASA – who appears unable to send astronauts to the International Space Station without Russian launch vehicles. 

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?