NO LOVE AT CAPITAL ONE (01/20/23)

Am I Next? No love at Capital One -- Additional Layoffs

JANUARY 20, 2023 — 1,100+ TECH LAYOFFS

“Capital One Financial Corp. eliminated hundreds of technology positions this week, the result of the credit-card giant spending years investing in systems meant to improve its efficiency.”

“More than 1,100 workers were affected, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter.”

According to a company statement…

The company plans to eliminate its ‘Agile’ job family and integrate it into existing engineering and product manager roles. The Agile role in our Tech organization was critical to our earlier transformation phases, but as our organization matured, the natural next step is to integrate agile delivery processes directly into our core engineering practices.

“Their contributions have been critical to maturing our software delivery model and our overall tech transformation,”

“Decisions that affect our associates, especially those that involve role eliminations, are incredibly difficult. This announcement is not a reflection on these individuals or the work they have driven on behalf of our technology organization. Their contributions have been critical to maturing our software-delivery model and our overall tech transformation.”

JULY 21, 2021 — 147 REMOTE WEST CREEK LAYOFFS IN RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

Capital One has announced that 147 remote workers reporting to its West Creek office in Richmond, Virginia, are being laid off. The employees work from their homes throughout Virginia,

According to a company spokesperson, “the positions are being cut as a result of the complete shutdown of its “card customer outbound recoveries” business unit. The layoffs are expected to occur on September 7, 2021.

OCTOBER 14, 2018 — AND IT GETS WORSE

Capital One has announced that it will lay off more than 150 employees in Lincoln, Nebraska, who service the sporting goods and apparel retailer Cabela's credit cards. Cabela’s credit card servicing will be transferred to another Capital One facility.

AUGUST 10, 2018 — Original Post…

McLean, Virginia-based Capital One is laying off an additional 286 employees associated with its mortgage lending operation as it sells off its $17 billion mortgage portfolio to DLJ Mortgage Capital, a subsidiary of the Zurich, Switzerland-based Credit Suisse. 

The current layoffs are in addition to the 950 employees which, according to a previous announcement, will be laid off as the bank exits a mortgage business that is impacted by rising interest rates, a decline in refinancing activity, and increased regulatory scrutiny of the secondary mortgage market.

Are you wondering, Am I Next? 

NO LOVE AT AKER PHILADELPHIA SHIPYARD

Am I Next? Layoffs at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Inc. 

As we have seen in previous blog posts on Jeffboat (Jeffersonville, Indiana) and BAE Systems’ shipyard (Mobile, Alabama), a significant downturn in shipbuilding, repair, and maintenance is now coming to Philly Shipyard (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).

Philadelphia Shipyards, majority owned by Norway-based Aker Capital will be laying off 275 employees and contractors as its backlog of builds dwindles to zero. Although the company does not have a backlog, work on the two remaining 850-foot cargo ships, the largest container ships built in the United States will continue until completion.

The company’s business relies mostly on ships purchased to fulfill the requirements of the protectionist "Jones Act" which requires cargo shipped between U.S. ports to travel on American-made ships. Most of the traffic is restricted to Pacific destinations between the Continental United States and Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Guam. 

Much of the competition for massive container ships come from China and Koreas where labor is cheap and the ships are simply modular units cobbled together. Not only are the ships larger, they are less expensive as it is estimated a U.S.-built ship can cost up to four times its foreign counterpart. 

The company does not anticipate seeking government assistance to stay afloat as it has in the past – but that is always a possibility. Whether the Trump Administration would be open to supporting a foreign-owned U.S. operation to preserve jobs is unknown. More comprehensive details on the company and its future can be found here

Are you asking yourself, Am I Next?