Layoffs

[SXSW]

Man this week has been rough for layoffs in Tulsa.  Just a particularly bad week or sign of things to come??  Tulsa for the most part was spared of any major layoffs until now.

- Arena Resources energy company - 30 (merger with OKC company)
- HSBC Finance call center - 600+
- Hilti - 64

Arena was the biggest loss, IMO, even if it was just 30 people.  That was a growing company with a bright future.  Hopefully the CEO stays in Tulsa and starts a new venture.

[Mike 01Hawk]

You must be young.

Uh, Verizon anyone?
AA
That trucking firm that went belly up
BA city/school district.

Just to name a few.

[custosnox]

That trucking firm that went belly up

Arrow going under was more from mismanagment of the company then the economy.  While the bad economy might have hastened it, it was inevitable

[heironymouspasparagus]

Arrow was more from what should be criminal activity...if it isn't already.  Big double dose of fraud there.
Daddy's gotta be proud of sonny boy.  THAT is the rationale for inheritance tax.  Just like Paris Hilton.
People getting something for nothing, on the backs of the people who are doing the work.  This is the billionaire side of the them heard so much around here.

[waterboy]

In my experience, Tulsa has always been counter cyclical to the rest of the country in most every arena. That includes fashion, music, business and politics. Not too surprised that we are just now feeling the pinch when the rest of the country is showing some improvement. The closings get lots of press but the new startups and the pressure for new loans to start new business aren't as public.

[dbacks fan]

One of the things about HSBC is they got out of the auto loan servicing and it was aquired by Santander, so they are closing all of those call centers. I don't know if the Tulsa center was specific to the auto side but they are consolidating several of there operations.

[GG]

Add National Steak and Poultry to the list they laid off 59 today.

http://www.owassoreporter.com/articles/2010/04/09/news/doc4bbf7ae0be4c5974654875.txt

National Steak & Poultry of Owasso on Friday, April 9 acknowledged a reduction in its work force, confirming that 59 employees had been laid off.

Jack Carter of the company's human resources office read a prepared statement issued by CEO David Albright that made note of economic pressures caused by the national recession. The statement offered the view that National Steak & Poultry will be better-positioned in the wake of the layoff to keep its remaining 375 employees and be economically competitive. Carter declined to expand on the statement, explaining that he had no authority to engage in a broader discussion of the company's action.


National Steak & Poultry is a three-decade-old company that specializes in the preparation and distribution of marinated, pre-portioned beef and poultry dishes. The firm in December 2009 conducted a voluntary recall of 124 tons of beef products from six states after concerns arose over possible E. coli bacteria contamination. Oklahoma was not one of the states affected by the recall, which the company noted was the first such action in the company's history.

[Cubs]

the good thing about National Steak and Poultry is they're not packing up and leaving .... they just reduce their employees when times aren't so good, but they'll probably hire more people in three to six months (as long as the economy is picking up like it is supposed to)

[Hoss]

the good thing about National Steak and Poultry is they're not packing up and leaving .... they just reduce their employees when times aren't so good, but they'll probably hire more people in three to six months (as long as the economy is picking up like it is supposed to)

Not a huge consolation for those 59 getting "reduced".  I've been in that situation.  It sucks, for a lack of a better term.  Plus, there's no guarantee you'll get hired back when times are better.

[sauerkraut]

Things are still grim. The economy has been getting worse this past year and what the democrats are doing and planning will make things even more worse such as "cap & trade"- Should fuel hit $4.00-$5.00 a gallon we'll be looking at a second dip recession. A republican take over in congress in the 2010 election should help the economy recover quickly.

[Rico]

Man this week has been rough for layoffs in Tulsa.  Just a particularly bad week or sign of things to come??  Tulsa for the most part was spared of any major layoffs until now.

- Arena Resources energy company - 30 (merger with OKC company)
- HSBC Finance call center - 600+
- Hilti - 64

Arena was the biggest loss, IMO, even if it was just 30 people.  That was a growing company with a bright future.  Hopefully the CEO stays in Tulsa and starts a new venture.

Careful... The Chamber has a $handle$ on job creation and economic development.. That's why long time Tulsa companies like Hilti are so quickly approached and encouraged to stay in Tulsa.

Kind of a poor example... but for a group that does so little for sooo much tax money... any example will do.

Economic development and job retention could be much better handled by the likes of Sean Griffen, and many others that have been appointed to the "Economic Development Board" under the umbrella of the City of Tulsa.

Has never made sense that we have to pay the business groups that share a great deal of the benefit of new companies and jobs moving to Tulsa.

All that being said... with Dewey around, things don't look poised to change.

[Hoss]

Things are still grim. The economy has been getting worse this past year and what the democrats are doing and planning will make things even more worse such as "cap & trade"- Should fuel hit $4.00-$5.00 a gallon we'll be looking at a second dip recession. A republican take over in congress in the 2010 election should help the economy recover quickly.

Wait a minute, wasn't it the republicans that helped get us in this mess?  You think they've learned their lesson?  I doubt it.

You need to maximize your time at the library.

[Gaspar]

Wait a minute, wasn't it the republicans that helped get us in this mess?  You think they've learned their lesson?  I doubt it.

You need to maximize your time at the library.

No, it was Barney Frank, Doug Dodd, the House Financial Services Committee, and a congress that refused to listen to 17 pleas from the White House, McCain, and other republican leaders that warned that exactly this was going to happen.  20 plus warnings if you count Greenspan and others.

Taking action to provide better oversight, or put tougher restrictions on loans and the mechanisms where they could be bundled and securitized, would have meant fewer (and smaller) loans for minorities and the poor. 

Congress was in a Catch 22 situation and they chose to do nothing rather than lose seats.  It was smart on their part, because it won them the White House at the cost of recession. 

Thanks for playing.

[Hoss]

No, it was Barney Frank, Doug Dodd, the House Financial Services Committee, and a congress that refused to listen to 17 pleas from the White House, McCain, and other republican leaders that warned that exactly this was going to happen.  20 plus warnings if you count Greenspan and others.

Taking action to provide better oversight, or put tougher restrictions on loans and the mechanisms where they could be bundled and securitized, would have meant fewer (and smaller) loans for minorities and the poor. 

Congress was in a Catch 22 situation and they chose to do nothing rather than lose seats.  It was smart on their part, because it won them the White House at the cost of recession. 

Thanks for playing.

Did I not say 'helped'?  Didn't say they did all the work, but they're sure not blameless.

Keep that in mind.

[Gaspar]

Did I not say 'helped'?  Didn't say they did all the work, but they're sure not blameless.

Keep that in mind.

Agreed!