Michel Cournoyer

Avon | Planning Layoffs

Avon Products Inc. (AVP) is planning some layoffs and other cost savings to stabilize results in the near term, but investors will have to wait until a new chief executive is named before hearing how the latest round of restructuring will set up the direct-selling beauty company for the long haul. via Avon Swings To … Continue reading →

AOL | Lay Off Hundreds

Omnicare Inc | Layoffs hit 250 people in Stockton

Two health industry giants recently announced layoffs affecting about 250 Stockton employees. Omnicare Inc., a Fortune 400 company, listed 95 layoffs from closing its recently acquired dispensing pharmacy at 4217 Coronado Ave. in a federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice filed with state employment officials. via Layoffs hit 250 people in Stockton | … Continue reading →

India | 25% of the world’s new workers in the next decade | Literacy rate rise to 74.04 % | More women satisfied with their current jobs than men

Demographics |  India : 25% of the world’s new workers in the next decade will be Indian “A demographic advantage does not mean more people; it means more prosperous and productive people. What is happening in India demographically is not once a decade or once in a millennium but once in the lifetime of a … Continue reading →

Smart Social Media Helps Jobs Find You | More Than 15% of Workers Get Hired Through Social Networks

Smart Social Media Helps Jobs Find You – George Anders – Harvard Business Review How does a customer-service expert in Seattle catch the attention of a hot San Francisco startup in San Francisco, 700 miles away? The answer these days is likely to involve networking and brand-building on social media’s “fun” sites — even the … Continue reading →

Greece | Unemployment and the State

Is Greece a Failed State? asks Nick Malkoutzis in Foreign Policy Two years ago, Greece’s Prime Minister George Papandreou compared his country’s travails to “a new Odyssey.” Since then, about half a million Greeks have lost their jobs, tens of thousands of businesses have closed, the economy has shrunk by more than a tenth, Athens … Continue reading →

Germany | The roots of the German miracle – apprenticeship – is not the only factor

In a provocative paper, Hermann Gartner[i] and Christian Merkl[ii] attribute the so-called German miracle to its “wage moderation” that was the result of labour-market policies in the years preceding the global crisis – a point that is often ignored in the public debate. It could well be that apprenticeship is not the only factor. “While the US … Continue reading →

UK | The Trouble With Apprenticeship – Do You Remember The Wolf Report ?

Apprenticeships face ‘identity crisis’, according to Forum of Private Business writes HR Magazine  The Forum of Private Business yesterday warned a group of MPs that apprenticeships are facing an ‘identity crisis’, with business owners in certain sectors concerned that shorter schemes do not provide the same value as longer courses. The Forum’s senior policy adviser Alex … Continue reading →

European Social Partners Agree To Focus On Growth, Jobs, Strong Investments

The European social partners (ETUC, BUSINESSEUROPE, CEEP and UEAPME) agreed on the need for an urgent focus on growth and jobs and strong investments to support recovery. During their meeting preceding European Union summit in Brussels on Thursday, the European social partners presented their joint work program for 2012-2014, which includes, among others, a joint … Continue reading →

Strong Canadian dollar has pushed goods sector wages making Canada a non-costeffective location says a CIBC Report

“Remember 62 cents? Canada’s currency posted its all-time weakest monthly close against its American cousin exactly a decade ago, making a dramatic U-turn thereafter. Despite leveling off in recent years, the US¢/C$ exchange rate remains 60% stronger than it was a decade ago and is also more than 20% firmer than a trade-weighted basket of other major currencies” write Avery Shenfeld and … Continue reading →

UK | BAE axing around 2,000 jobs, ending nearly 100 years of aircraft manufacturing in Brough

BAE Systems, Britain’s biggest defence contractor, has brushed aside a plea by David Cameron to save high-level manufacturing jobs and is proceeding to axe around 2,000 posts. The worst-hit plant will be Brough in East Yorkshire, where BAE is to make 750 compulsory redundancies and end manufacturing – a move described by trade unions as … Continue reading →

Billy Graham Association | 10 % of its workers laid off

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has laid off about 10 percent of its workers, which it says is part of a strategic move to emphasize its online ministry and other priorities. The agency said fewer than 50 employees lost their jobs. The association, which evangelist Billy Graham started in 1950, spreads the Gospel to a … Continue reading →

New Brunswick | Industrial Rail Services facing major layoffs – – CBC News

The issue means 200 employees at Industrial Rail Services could be affected, depending on how long it takes to fix the problem, according to Dick Carpenter, the company’s president… via Via Rail car restorer facing major layoffs – New Brunswick – CBC News.

Kodak | Layoffs Start Today while Seeking to Cut Benefits for 16,000 Retirees

Ninety-one Kodak employees will be laid off as part of the company’s decision to no longer make digital cameras for consumers. via Layoffs at Kodak start today – Henrietta, NY – Henrietta Post. ______________________________________________________ Eastman Kodak, the troubled camera maker that recently filed for bankruptcy, is considering a move that will cut health benefits for … Continue reading →

Job Gap | Spain | Cost of hiring has risen 24% in recent years

Spain’s high unemployment rate of around 23% means many Spaniards, young people in particular, are leaving the country to find work elsewhere. One popular destination is Germany, where the jobless rate is under 7%. But starting afresh in a new country is challenging. Munich’s airport shuttle bus is dropping off newly arrived passengers in the … Continue reading →