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April 23, 2009
Employers shed 299,388 jobs in March as the result of 2,933 mass layoff actions according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The report defined a mass layoff as involving at least 50 workers from a single employer. The number of employees lost was determined by initial filings for unemployment.
The manufacturing sector led the way in the cuts, accounting for 43 percent of the mass layoffs in and 50 percent of the initial filings.
In Kansas, the report shows 2,259 people made initial claims for unemployment benefits, up from 1,582 in February. These filings were the result of 19 mass layoffs in the state, up from 18 in February, but down from the 21 reported in January.
In March 2008, only eight mass layoffs were reported in the state.
Overall, the Midwest registered 81,957 initial claims due to mass layoffs, more than 20,000 more than the next closest census region.
The Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas has confirmed 8,674 layoffs in the Wichita area since July 2008.
But alliance spokesperson Kimberly Cronsiter says the organization — which works to help displaced workers — is ready regardless of the size of the cuts.
“We get our rapid response teams out there and it doesn’t matter if the have five people laid off or 50 laid off,” she says.
And they’ll need to be ready as some of Wichita’s major manufacturers continue to slow production and cut jobs.
Cessna Aircraft Co., which has already laid off 4,000 workers in Wichita, announced in March it planned further cuts following the first-quarter earnings report from its parent company, Textron Inc., on April 29.
No numbers regarding the new Cessna cuts have been released, but the aviation manufacturer did announce a companywide shutdown from July 6 to July 17.
Hawker Beechcraft Corp. announced more layoffs earlier this month. Numbers regarding the new reductions are expected in the coming weeks. Those cuts will be in addition to the 2,300 layoffs it announced in February and 500 last November.
Bombardier Inc. also made cuts in February, announcing 4,360 layoffs — 700 of which are at its Wichita plant.
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