November 10, 2012

Fear of State

From William A. Jacobson, Associate Clinical Professor, Cornell Law School writing at Legal Insurrection:
This is what fear of the State looks like
When companies self-censor to wait until the days after the election to announce major layoffs.

Via commenter conservativegram in the Tip Line:
As Drudge would say-�Own it!�

Nextel to cut 20% of jobs at Virginia headquarters

In Past 48 hrs, following companies announced layoffs:
Caterpillar, CVPH Medical Center, Lightyear Haqwker Beechcraft, Westinghouse, Research in Motion, US Cellular, Commerzbank, Iberia, ING, Ericsson, Bristol-Myers, Corning, Boston Scientific, Abbott Labs and St. Jude.

Pepsi looking to layoff 4,000 workers

Energizer Holdings Inc. will reduce its global workforce by more than 10 percent � or about 1,500 employees � as the company closes three manufacturing plants and streamlines other operations.�

�As Twitchy reported in September, the Obama administration made moves to encourage defense contractors to delay layoff announcements until after the election, offering to reimburse contractors for any legal costs incurred in not informing their affected employees. Lockheed Martin seemingly took the offer, and today, Boeing announced it would be cutting 30 percent of management positions.�

And, of course���Unexpectedly: Stocks Suffer Heavy Losses Second Straight Day After Election;Analysts Baffled�
The Blaze has a list of post-election announcements for companies large and small. This is just PART of the list, it is much longer:

Caterpillar Inc. will close its plant in Owatonna Minn.
Mount Pleasant�s Albrecht Sentry Foods
The Target store at Manassas Mall Va.
Millennium Academy in Wake Forest NC
Target Closing Kissimmee FL Location
The Andover Gift Shop in Andover MA
Grand Union Family Markets Closing Storrs Location CT
Movie Scene Milford Location NH
Update: TE Connectivity Closing Greensboro Plant � 620 Layoffs Expected
Gomer�s Fried Chicken in South Kansas City
Kmart in Homer Glen
Fresh Market on Pine Street in Burlington
AGC Glass North America to permanently close its Blue Ridge Plant in Kingsport Tenn.
The Target store at Platte and Academy in Colorado Springs
The Roses store on Reynold Road in Winston-Salem NC
Meanders Kitchen losing its West Seattle location at 6032 California Ave
Bost Harley-Davidson at 46th Avenue North and Delaware Ave. in West Nashville TN
Townsend Booksellers in Oakland
The Kmart store in Parkway Plaza off University Drive in Durham NC � 79 Jobs Lost

Is there any doubt that many of these announcements, at least for the larger companies, were delayed out of fear of retribution from the Obama administration?

The same administration which has bullied defense contractors into not complying with the WARN Act prior to the election. Message sent and received.

Self-censorship is the end result of fear of the State.
I might add in our own little corner of paradise, sleepy little Bellingham, our Sears store is closing in January - 92 employees and our Mt. Baker Harley-Davidson is closing (although this was announced ahead of the election on October 28th) - ten employees. Posted by DaveH at November 10, 2012 4:33 PM
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