we had more lay offs this week. it 10 jobs. I never seen it like this there we almost always work ot that is the way they want it there. I have seen it slow for a week or two and they might layoff some deadwood that was not working out . I have been here for 19 years this year we went from ot to 40 then the layoffs I think next it may be down to 32 hours as I know we only have work until April. I at least need a part time job to try to be prepaired for the worst, But I have not seen anything listed in the paper or anything. up here the cost of living is high taxes are some of the worst. the goverment is cutting back on the fishermen too. I am single and I have a daughter in college with 1 more year left. I am a mchinist I do know how to set up and program a number of Okumas and tsgamies right now I am running a multus 300B. nice machine but i would love to have some real jobs on it.
Tim

That sucks, I think 19 years is about the most you can get out of a company anymore. Keep looking and if nothing pops up and they let you go, use the unemployment, you've earned it after 19 years.

I`m 19 years here, this year , also slwing here , but not as much as the rest of the country...the funny thing is that since I do freelance Architectural work, home additions , remodels etc...that part has picked up, as my normal day job, as an Architect for a home builder has slowed some...too bad I cannot move my hours around...LOL.......I`d like to do some of "my work" on the slow day hours , but I better not...LOL

we do parts for GE, Pratt, Lycoming, Textron, Symplex, Kona all slowing down on odering parts. we are a job shop I think it would be a plus if we would do our own products which we did do once for marine supplies.

things are getting alot tougher.hell,even ames performance is selling on ebay now.now i have to compete for a smaller piece of the pie with more sellers.

It's finally hitting here too. My aunt has been a welder for Bobcats for over 20 years. The plant in Bismarck closed for layoffs for 8 weeks. I'm still not sure if they reopened. She has her retirement in at least.

My brother works at a Lowes in Florida. He said they're doing well since home values are down. People are remodeling rather than selling.

my experience too as an Architect....busier after hrs than during...lol

I heard some news item last week that the architecturul field is still doing well despite the downturn.....well, at least it will keep us engineers eating too! Still a lot of projects shelved right now, we are looking at institutional and infrastructure work now...

parts are not selling well.i have actually been buying much more than selling.can't beat the price some parts are selling for now

last week MSN posted the "5 best professions" and the "worst 5 professions " to be graduating into now... the 5 worst were Journalism,Advertising, Film, Real Estate and Architecture ...my wife`s in real estate, my son was thinking of advertising ,my daughter is in film....LOL

the 5 best were
Education ,Economics,Nursing,Engineering , (esp areas of computer and project engineering), Computer /Information svce..technology

Architecture and Engineering for commercial buildings is definfetly in the toilet in the upper Midwest.

A/E are a dime a dozen these days. Even up to a year ago you couldn't pay someone enough to get them to switch jobs.

I see little glimpses of hope, but not much.

I wonder where I heard that news item then....but you are correct, commercial and residential hi rise IS in the toilet. I can attest to that, thats what I usually build...I had about 23M in projects at this time last year, today, I have about 4M left to complete...and struggling to secure new work.

we all need to learn to tighten the belt with spending.that is unless you need firebird parts....lol

They cut all overtime here.
And suspended matching 401K's.
Now's when we need it most!
Last 5 yrs the cost of living has gone up more then i can remember.

GM is back ordering more parts then ever.
Not sure if thier cut'n back, or the suppliers.

I'm in one of those catch 22's.
Need to sell a couple vehicles, but cant afford to fix'm to make'm sellable.
Have 2nd gen rear ends, sheet metal, some new and used trim and suspension parts, but no one is buying.
With 4 unplated vehicles outside, it's only a matter of time before the city hits me with a 30 day notice.

Well after being off since the middle of Nov. Finally got the call today to go back to work. Had 8 weeks left of unenjoyment.

See? Obama makes 1 speech and fixes everything. I hope my house is worth more today.

While the idea of the Democrats running the entire show makes my skin crawl, I am going to give Obama the benefit of the doubt and give him a chance. His speech last night could of been much worse. Generally what I heard was not horrid. We'll see what they have in store today with the banking industry.

his speech had several "mistakes" in it...even the paper today pointed them out...I didnt like the speech because in many aspects it sounded like he was still campaigning....thats over...he now needs to do something and not keep pointing to "the last 8 yrs", which in respect to housing , the problem started longer ago...so why try to keep blaming Bush for it, Bush actually tried to rectify it in 03 ,but was met by B Frank, Waters, Schumer et al, saying it was all good...Obama doesnt need to do campaign speeches anymore...

We had a meeting today at work about the layoffs and slow down. we have 51 people at our shop GE is still looking good for us J-Dam is gearing down, But Small Dia. Bombs are gearing up. Tyco is slowing down , Symatic is slowing down Catapiller had big layoffs and this stuff trickles down to our small shop. we were told no more ot and other cutbacks in the shop hopefully no more layoffs and hopefully no more hours being cut back but that is still a maybe. the navy and airforce would like to have J-Dam but that has to go through Congress you know how that is gunna go now right I am just glad I still have a job and I think we will somehow get back to where we were before
Tim

That name sounds familiar to me for some reason.

they had a scandle a few years ago
fiber optics
a ceo did anyway

It sounds familiar because they own the company I work for, one of the many companies they own.

Catapiller is the plant my aunt works for. I've never known them to close the whole plant for layoffs this long. I doubt things will pick up soon with building construction down. I don't think many building companies will be looking to buy new equipment. If things stay this way, my aunt will probably just take the retirement.

Hi all, I am in Cape Town South Africa.We are starting to feel the pinch here too.Mining is in the pits with massive layoffs.Our main export being gold.

I own a chassis straightening and alignment centre for heavy vehicles and a specialist fitment centre for 4X4s.I know of seven tyre and alignment shops in Cape Town that have closed this year.Cost of living is going up fast.Interest rates on home loans are at 15% already.So don't feel alone.

Rob

Hi Rob, Wow 15% interest rate on home loans. This is definitely a global recession.

Hey RobC, theres aways the pirate business...just kid'n, lol.

Pirate business is down too.Busy laying off some deckhands now.

There's always Nigerian internet sales!

Or throwing them overboard with bags of coins...

A friend of mine still has his job, but apparently his 401k dumped and he lost about $15,000. Now, I've been trying for years to get him to pull the trigger and buy a collectible car, but he just thinks it's a bad investment. In my case, I like getting the cars and motorcycles instead of the 401k, and he's been nagging me for years to invest.

When he told me about losing so much money, I should have been sympathetic, but instead I gloated about how his money went fast, but it could go faster with a 4 barrel carburetor, and it'll be there the next day, too. He didn't think it was very funny.