I see this Twitchy post is using the Forward! slogan, but I prefer Unexpectedly! Yes, I know in the blog world this is "old", but I prefer the term perennial.
I am using this series for all of the fabulous surprises coming our way in this new age. And by "surprise", I mean, "totally expected for those paying attention, or at least listening to warnings of others… but will be reported as if this is news".
Today's theme are layoffs: unexpectedly!
We'll start with Boeing, which waited til the day after Election Day to announce layoffs:
Boeing announced a major restructuring of its defense division on Wednesday that will cut 30 percent of management jobs from 2010 levels, close facilities in California and consolidate several business units to cut costs.
….
Boeing said the changes were not a response to the threat of additional, across-the-board U.S. budget cuts due to take effect on Jan. 2, or the outcome of U.S. elections, but represented another step in its continuing drive to "be more competitive while investing in technologies and people."
I'm sure laid-off Boeing employees will find this to be totally unrelated.
Next up is small business. Let's go to the President's most/least favorite city to see what one business owner had to say:
"I had to lay off 22 people today to make sure that my business is gonna thrive and I’m gonna be around for years to come. I have to build up that nest egg now for the taxes and regulations that are coming my way. Elections do have consequences, but so do choices. A choice you make every day has consequences and you know what, I’ve always put my employees first, but unfortunately today I have to put me and my family first, and you watch what’s gonna happen. I’m just one guy with 114 employees — well was 114 employees — watch what happens in the next six months. The Dow alone lost 314 points today. There’s a tsunami coming and if you didn’t think this election had consequences, just wait.”
It's not just about Obamacare, but also energy (or, rather, non-energy) policy:
In January 2008, Barack Obama promised that his energy and regulatory policies would “necessarily bankrupt” coal plants. Consider this the next step towards fulfilling his campaign pledge. Over 100 coal miners in Utah got pink slips late yesterday, and the mine’s operator blamed Obama’s re-election and the bleak future for coal it portends:
Michelle Malkin warned as to layoffs to watch out for ahead of time, and The Blaze has listed a number of announced layoffs since election results came in.
Mind you, it's not all layoffs. There are also those testing out shifting people from full time to part time to avoid some extra costs:
The owner of Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants is putting more workers on part-time status in a test aimed at limiting costs from President Barack Obama's health care law.
Darden Restaurants Inc. declined to give details but said the test is only in four markets across the country. The move entails boosting the number of workers on part-time status, meaning they work less than 30 hours a week.
Under the new health care law, companies with 50 or more workers could be hit with fines if they do not provide basic coverage for full-time workers and their dependents. Starting Jan. 1, 2014, those penalties and requirements could significantly boost labor costs for some companies, particularly in low-wage industries such as retail and hospitality, where most jobs don't come with health benefits
.
Of course, that story was from early October, so it's not a post-election "surprise".
But keep an eye on that magic number 50. I'm sure most small businesses will do what it takes to be below that limit. Unexpectedly.
MORE: From Jon Lovitz
Starless on November 11, 2012 at 4:40 pm said:
But keep an eye on that magic number 50. I'm sure most small businesses will do what it takes to be below that limit. Unexpectedly.
The Left loves to snark about the Right's "job creators" tax argument. Let's see how funny it is when all of those job creators hunker down and stop hiring for the long winter of ObamaCare.
Meep on November 12, 2012 at 4:39 am said:
So I've been seeing a bunch of my lefty fb friends bitching about Papa John's and Applebee's in terms of them doing the "everybody's a part-timer" push to avoid Obamacare impacts… wait until they realize =almost all= restaurants will go this route. It's just that some are getting the publicity now.
I guess I'll put that in the "Unexpectedly!" queue for when it comes out they're all doing it.
Starless on November 12, 2012 at 6:16 am said:
I saw that on Twitchy but what I saw was a single Applebee's franchisee saying that he was going to have to freeze hiring–not lay people off and not reduce people's hours, just a hiring freeze–because of ObamaCare and the Leftoids went crazy with their standard insults, threats of boycotts, and moral outrage.
If I understand them correctly, their theory of business is that it doesn't matter whether a business actually makes enough money to pay for them, every employee has an inviolate right to their positions. In perputuity. If that's case, then there are a few companies out there who owe me my jobs back!
Meep on November 12, 2012 at 9:51 am said:
See, I don't look too closely at my leftist friends' hissy fits. I didn't realize it was a single franchise
. Their Alinsky-ite rampages are getting to be ridiculous. You'd think they'd go for larger targets.
Starless on November 12, 2012 at 4:45 pm said:
I don't think they understood–or maybe cared–that it was a single franchisee. Or that it was a hiring freeze. Obama's re-election has given them a mandate to throw a shit-fit over everything, everywhere, and whenever they want.
Now they're calling for a boycott of Papa John's b/c boycotting Chick-Fil-A worked so well.
The Thomas on November 12, 2012 at 8:37 am said:
The magic about the number 50 is that it is full time equivalents, not full time-full time.
So a company with 27 part-time and 30 full time employees would be counted as having 50.25 full time equivalents.
But it would only pay the penalty on the number of full time employees over 30. So no penalty. What a country!
Individual franchisees may need to subdivide into smaller corporations, so that no one operation is over the 50/30 threshold.
Meep, please correct me if I am wrong on the numbers.
Meep on November 12, 2012 at 9:49 am said:
Wait, really? Heck, I don't know (I will look that up later, though… that is too amusing if true).
The Thomas on November 12, 2012 at 11:41 am said:
I got the information from here: