A company that once employed over 7500 people has closed down after it went into administration. 115 workers will lose their jobs after Blackburn Microtech Solutions, formerly part of the LG Philips group, shutdown.

Blackburn Microtech Solutions manufacture television components, audio amplification valves, 3D X-ray scanning technology for airport scanners and energy efficient light bulbs.

Total job loss = 115

Paul is currently looking for participants to be involved with a documentary pilot that is offering New York citizens one month of free life coaching to boost positivity and improve their lives. They have 4 individuals taking part in the pilot and they are keen to find someone who is currently seeking employment to be their 5th participant.

Participation would involve attending 3 sessions with one of America’s top life coaches and sharing your thoughts with them on camera. This will not be broadcast and there is no obligation to take part in the full length show to be filmed later this year.

If you think you would benefit from being involved in this project or who be interested in finding out more about this documentary, then please contact Paula Wright to discuss this further.

Paula can be contacted via email on positiveproductions.paula@gmail.com or by the good old fashioned telephone on +1 347 465 0357

Source: Times Online (Dan Sabbagh and Patrick Foster)

At a time when the internet was nothing but a distant dream and pressing the red button just turned the television off, Teletext was the king of instant information. But yesterday, 35 years after the service first flickered into life, it was announced that the news and information provider, one of the last technological bastions of the pre-internet age, will be closed prematurely.

Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail and a division of Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), had planned to close Teletext to coincide with the switchover to digital television in 2012. But the company said that the growth of the internet, as well as recent poor financial performance, had pulled the service into the red. Associated said that it would close Teletext two years ahead of schedule, in January, citing the poor economic climate and dismissal by Ofcom, the communications regulator, of the prospect of future state support for the venture.

Originally known as Oracle, the service was first transmitted on ITV in 1974, with the BBC launching its own Ceefax in the same year. In 1993 Oracle closed and the franchise was awarded to Teletext Ltd.  News, music reviews and puzzles were some of the most popular offerings, leading to the business posting profits of £30 million, on revenues of £80 million, in its 1990s heyday.

The company started talks with its 70 staff at its West London headquarters yesterday. The brand will live on through its profitable travel websites as well as the broadcast of Teletext Holidays on the Freeview platform.

The BBC, whose Ceefax attracts a weekly average of 5.5 million users, said that it will continue to provide analogue Ceefax until the digital switchover is completed.

• Vanmaker LDV has been placed into administration with 850 jobs possibly being lost. Attempts to sell Birmingham-based LDV as a going concern have failed.
• CragRats theatre and training company goes into adminstration. More than 70 people are believed to have lost their jobs after an award-winning theatre and training company hit financial trouble.
• Sufolk Marine survey company goes bust with a major operation in Lowestoft has gone into administration resulting in 27 local redundancies – and the propsect of more to come.
• Venture Packaging Innovations goes into administration. The company supplies packaging for cosmetics, healthcare, lifestyle and entertainment industries and has been going for 20 years. It specializes in multi-colour printed cartons, bespoke packaging in card, specialist packaging or ‘unusual folding items’. The reasons for the company’s decline into administration are still unknown.
• The Portland Spa Hotel and Conference Centre has been seriously hit by the recession and has called in the administrators.
• Harvey World Travel has gone into administration and sold almost half its branches to newly-created company Vacation World.
• The Staincliffe Hotel in Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, is looking for a new owner after chef Mark Jones was forced to place the business into administration.
  
• Deloitte has been lined up to potentially provide administrators to satellite sports business Setanta. The broadcaster is believed to be struggling to pay off it bills for the rights to Premiership games and for the Scottish Premier League.
• Rock board places the company in administration as the slump in the property market claims another high-profile victim. Rock, the property company founded by Paul Kemsley is one of Sir Alan Sugar’s closest advisers.
• Challenge Finance collapses after suspected client fraud.
• Paterson Printing in administration with 40 staff axed.

Had a chuckle when I saw this poster recently. Apparently it was posted on a pole outside of Holburn Station. Sir Fred is really getting the rough end of the stick (and rightly so, the big crook).

• Google let go 200 of their workers in a surprise “Second Round Of Layoffs”.
• Nelson Pine Industries confirmed they were making 57 workers redundant. Based in New Zealand, NPI manufacturers laminated veneer lumber and medium density fiber board. They blamed new technology on the lay offs.
• The New York Times are laying off 100 people.
• Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG who produce printing presses will be laying off 2500 workers in Germany this year it was announced on Thursday.
• The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) are to make 800 staff redundant.
• Bank of America cut 150 employees from its Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management.
• Old Second National Bank laid off 62 employees.
• Insurance firm Legal and General is set to make 650 redundancies
• Churchill Financial cut one-third of its employees.
• Freeport Financial laid off (19 unconfirmed) most of its 23 employees.
• Madison Capital laid off 7 employees.
• Dymas Capital laid off 10 employees.
• Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge are laying off 60 employees.

Total losses = 4615

Here is a list by the New York Times. They are tracking job losses in the New York and surrounding areas.

Here is ITV’s Executive Chairman Michael Grade talking about the recession and the job losses that are to follow at ITV.

Listen to how many times he um’s or uh’s when he has to mention the bad news.

We will manage our way through this recession with minimal affect on our viewers uh’ um’, it’s prudent housekeeping… It’s just horrible, not what any of us come to work to do uh’, the fact is uh’, it’s made necessary by forces absolutely outside of our control.. uh’ and it’s absolutely horrible uh’ that the global recession means that we are going to have to lose valuable colleages. It’s just horrible.

Hardly sincere Mr Executive Chairman.

It comes after ITV reported pre-tax losses of £2.73 billion after it wrote down the value of assets on its balance sheet. This is 41% down on their 2007 forecast.

Pre-Tax Losses = badly run business Mr Executive Chairman, and now 600 people are paying the price for these losses.

Job losses = 600

Related Links:

• Youtube.com
• ITN.co.uk