JobCuts

Princess Yachts Cuts Jobs

Yacht makers continue to feel the economic pinch. Today it was announced that luxury yacht firm, Princess Yachts will be cutting up to 450 jobs. The cuts represent almost a fifth of the workforce. The reason for the job loss is the economic climate and the company has said it is working with union and staff representatives to minimize the damage through reduced working hours and other adjustments. The company, which is based in Plymouth, England, was acquired last summer by an investment arm of LVMH, the luxury goods conglomerate. It was bought for an estimated sum of £200 million. A quote from an article by Robert Frank on LVMH's purchase of Royal van Lent shipyard last fall seems particularly prescient. Frank quoted Steve Schwarzman of the private-equity firm, Blackstone Group on the yacht business. Schwarzman said: "The trouble with yachts, is that when business is good, it's really good. But when it falls, it really crashes."

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J. Crew's Job Cuts

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

The First Lady may outfit herself and her children in J. Crew (both Sasha and Malia Obama wore J. Crew coats to the inauguration), but all that free publicity hasn't spared the purveyor of preppy casual wear from being hit by the economy. The retailer has announced that it is eliminating 95 jobs in its New York offices and in distribution centers. The cuts represent around a 10% staff reduction. The company has also suspended matching 401k contributions and any merit-based pay raises.

The LA Times reports that J. Crew hoping to reduce its annual budget by $40 million. The cuts are inline with what has been seen at a variety of other retailers including the major department stores like Macy's, Saks and Neiman Marcus which are all wrestling with a decrease in consumer spending. Companies don't know when the economy will improve and shoppers will be back out in the streets so much of this is a preemptive measure to make sure that they are running as lean as is possible.

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Tags: economy, j crew, JCrew, job cuts, JobCuts, retailers