Stalin
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- Apr 4, 2008
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US unemployment rose to 4.6 percent last month, the highest level in five years, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The economy added only 64,000 jobs in November and lost 105,000 jobs in October. These figures provide the latest indication of an accelerating jobs bloodbath by US corporations, which are seeking to use artificial intelligence and other new technologies to eliminate sections of the workforce and drive up profits.
The impact has been particularly severe in the automotive and transportation industries. Transportation employment has declined by 51,600 jobs between September and November, including a loss of 17,800 jobs in November. By comparison, the industry added 27,700 jobs last November. The auto industry cut 11,000 jobs over the same three-month span, accounting for more than two-thirds of all losses in durable goods manufacturing. Last month, leisure and hospitality employment also fell by 12,000 jobs.
Layoffs have continued without interruption in the days before Christmas. On Monday, Ford announced that it would lay off all 1,800 workers at its Kentucky battery plant, converting the facility to energy storage production for AI data centers. The company also announced the end of production of the electric F-150 Lightning, a model the company had previously compared in importance to the Model T, the world’s first mass-produced car.
In Detroit, the last day of work for more than 1,100 workers at General Motors’ Factory Zero is scheduled for Friday. These moves are the latest in a wave of layoffs across the auto industry driven by trade war measures and slower-than-expected electric vehicle adoption.
Cost-cutting has also produced a wave of workplace deaths. Two postal workers died last month at the US Postal Service, while in the auto industry the death of Ronald Adams Sr. in April has outraged workers. These incidents are being investigated by rank-and-file committees, while union officials have done nothing to prevent such disasters.
A huge 162,000 decline in federal jobs was reported for October. This figure does not include furloughed employees during the shutdown but rather those who had been forced out or taken buyout packages as part of the Trump administration’s attack on federal programs. So far this year, federal employment has declined by a staggering 271,000 jobs.
comrade stalin
moscow
The impact has been particularly severe in the automotive and transportation industries. Transportation employment has declined by 51,600 jobs between September and November, including a loss of 17,800 jobs in November. By comparison, the industry added 27,700 jobs last November. The auto industry cut 11,000 jobs over the same three-month span, accounting for more than two-thirds of all losses in durable goods manufacturing. Last month, leisure and hospitality employment also fell by 12,000 jobs.
Layoffs have continued without interruption in the days before Christmas. On Monday, Ford announced that it would lay off all 1,800 workers at its Kentucky battery plant, converting the facility to energy storage production for AI data centers. The company also announced the end of production of the electric F-150 Lightning, a model the company had previously compared in importance to the Model T, the world’s first mass-produced car.
In Detroit, the last day of work for more than 1,100 workers at General Motors’ Factory Zero is scheduled for Friday. These moves are the latest in a wave of layoffs across the auto industry driven by trade war measures and slower-than-expected electric vehicle adoption.
Cost-cutting has also produced a wave of workplace deaths. Two postal workers died last month at the US Postal Service, while in the auto industry the death of Ronald Adams Sr. in April has outraged workers. These incidents are being investigated by rank-and-file committees, while union officials have done nothing to prevent such disasters.
A huge 162,000 decline in federal jobs was reported for October. This figure does not include furloughed employees during the shutdown but rather those who had been forced out or taken buyout packages as part of the Trump administration’s attack on federal programs. So far this year, federal employment has declined by a staggering 271,000 jobs.
US unemployment highest in 5 years, as Ford, other companies announce layoffs before Christmas
The situation underscores the need for action by the working class to defend the right to a job.
www.wsws.org
comrade stalin
moscow
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