AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT MCKINLEY PAPER COMPANY

Dallas, Texas-based McKinley Paper Company, a manufacturer of paper and paper products and owned by Mexico City, Mexico-based Bio Pappel, has announced that it is idling operations at its Port Angeles, Washington paper mill and indefinitely laying off employees.

The closure will impact 193 employees commencing on August 25, 2024.

According to General Manager Kevin Scott, “We hope it will reopen. The plan is to prepare the mill to be idle and then to be able to restart, and we’d like that to happen sooner rather than later. It’s a question of when the market conditions will allow. We’ve been waiting for the sale price of our product to increase, and it has not increased as we’d like. Meanwhile, our input costs have gone up. So, it’s market related. And we’re trying to prepare our people and the facility to get through until the market does allow us to restart.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT LIONBRIDGE TECHNOLOGIES

Waltham, Massachusetts-based Lionbridge Technologies, a provider of translations and localization services to electronics manufacturers, is responding to an April 18, 2024, mass layoff of 160 Boise, Idaho employees assigned to providing quality assurance services to Activision, the Microsoft subsidiary that develops, publishes, and distributes video games.

According to published reports, employees were told that their project had ended, though other teams appeared to be working on the same project in Mexico and Poland.

The layoffs are not without controversy...

Yesterday, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Lionbridge Technologies, Inc., a Microsoft supplier. The charges allege that the company laid off the entirety of a 160-person team in Boise, Idaho, in retaliation for workers engaging in protected organizing activities and protected speech when raising issues regarding their working conditions. This team provided quality assurance services to Microsoft subsidiary Activision.

In addition to the layoff, Lionbridge offered workers a severance package that required them to agree to overly broad confidentiality terms and to waive rights protected under the National Labor Relations Act. The NLRB has ruled this practice unlawful. Workers were told that the reason for their termination was that the project had ended. However, other teams working on the same project in Mexico and Poland continue to work.

Lionbridge has a documented union-busting track record. In 2016, it laid off all the members of a union in Bellevue, Wash., shortly after workers finalized a first collectively bargained contract with the company. That unit also provided subcontracted labor to Microsoft.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT GINKGO BIOWORKS

Boston, Massachusetts-based Ginkgo Bioworks, a biotechnology company specializing in cell programming and biosecurity, has announced a restructuring and cost containment plan, including a major 35% reduction in force.

The personnel realignment will impact 400 employees and is expected to be completed in 2025.

CEO Jason Kelly noted that these layoffs are part of Ginkgo’s near-term focus on reaching breakeven. “These are amazing employees who are being let go as part of changes we are making to our technology platform at Ginkgo and a near-term focus on reaching breakeven. We are sad to see them go.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?