Since we started the Share Your Pink Slip Campaign a few weeks back, a grand total of one person shared their horror story—and the Dear John letter that sent them on their way to unemployment heaven. That is, until now! Someone who we shall call A just sent in her story. Read on! I was [...]
January 15, 2009
2.3 Million Homes Faced Foreclosure in 2008
So, 2.6 million people lost their jobs in 2008. And now this statistic reported by the Associated Press, via Yahoo : 2.3 million homes faced foreclosure proceedings in 2008. That is an 81% increase from 2007. The state hit the worst? California.
January 15, 2009
Hipsters on Alert II!! Indie 103.1 Off the Air!
Plagued with financial difficulties, this local hipster favorite—whose logo is designed by L.A.’s hometown hero Shepard Fairey—was squeezed off the air without notice today at 10 a.m. They will live on through the Internet, presumably through their website (www.indie1031.fm). It is not clear if any layoffs took place. PSATNB made calls to their contact number, [...]
January 15, 2009
Hipsters on Alert! Guess Who’s Hiring?
Vice magazine! Somehow, even as the Tribune Co. goes bankrupts, the New York Times re-mortgages their Manhattan headquarters, and millions of hard working Americans lose their jobs, the magazine that made fart and poop jokes cool and brought white, male, self-possessed irony to new and slimier heights, is expanding. Maybe this is comparable to the [...]
January 15, 2009
Chinese Media Expanding Globally, Hiring Foreign Journalists
The media industry in the U.S. may be crumbling to the ground. But China is preparing to expand their media presence globally. The New York Times is reporting that all the major media groups—China Central Television, Xinhua, People’s Daily and Shanghai Media Group—are working on creating English-speaking 24 hour news networks, to be broadcast around [...]
January 15, 2009
SAT Word of the Day: Furlough
fur·lough: a leave of absence from duty granted especially to a soldier ; also : a document authorizing such a leave of absence Earlier this week, The Gannett Company, the nation’s largest newspaper publisher, announced that it will be forcing most of its 31,000 employees to take a one-week unpaid “vacation” in order to prevent [...]
January 15, 2009
Laid Off Guy Dies of Starvation
Now that is bad. A 48-year-old contract worker in Japan lost his job about a year ago and died of hunger. I hope I don’t end up that way—or anybody else for that matter!
January 15, 2009
Today in Layoff Land
Featherlite lays off 200 in Iowa Roche adds 780 to planned layoffs Xerox to lay off 275 in Rochester, NY Continental AG to lay off 30 in Ala. GE Aviation to cut 1,000 jobs this year Reebok is laying off 300 Ecolab cuts 1,000 in Minn. Motorola to lay off 4,000 nationwide
January 15, 2009
The New Hotspot: The Public Library
Where do unemployed people go that’s free and fun? The local public library! There’s free Wi-Fi, books galore, videos, DVDs, music, all this stuff to entertain us with while we’re unemployed. And unlike a local coffee shop, you don’t have to buy something to use the space! Unfortunately, staffs are getting overwhelmed with the new [...]
January 15, 2009
Laid Off and Looking
Laid Off and Looking—that’s the name of The Wall Street Journal’s new blog (PSATNB is older by a few days) that chronicles eight victims of this recession/depression as they search for jobs. From the horse’s mouth: Laid Off and Looking follows eight out-of-work professionals as they look for new jobs in a post-meltdown world. Each [...]
