OIL INDUSTRY CUTS 107,000 WORKERS. The jobs, which disappeared from March through August, are unlikely to return, even if oil prices remain at $45 a barrel through 2021, according to an analysis by accounting firm Deloitte.
The jobs were lost when the overleveraged U.S. shale oil industry crashed, shot down by a combination of plunging oil demand and a global oil glut during the economic shutdown that sent oil prices into a nosedive.
A $1 change in U.S. oil prices can add or erase 3,000 jobs, the Deloitte study found.
More job cuts are under way.
BP will turf out 10,000 workers as it cuts oil production by 40 percent. ExxonMobil will cut 1,600 jobs in Europe and may cut 10 percent of U.S. office jobs. Shell will dump 9,000 workers worldwide. Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services firm, is firing 21,000 people.
If oil prices rise to $55 a barrel through 2021, 76 percent of the industry’s lost jobs could return; at $35 a barrel through next year, only 3 percent will come back, Deloitte said.
40 PERCENT OF CANADA’S ATLANTIC COAST EATERIES MAY FAIL. With cold weather closing in, 40 percent of restaurants in Canada’s Atlantic provinces could be out of business by next March, warned Restaurants Canada, a trade group.
Only 20 percent are breaking even, the association said, noting that 10 percent already have failed and 68 percent are operating at a loss due to social distance mandates that force restaurants to operate at only partial capacity.
The Canadian government has offered rent assistance, paying half of eateries’ rent if the tenant pays 25 percent and the landlord forgives the other 25 percent. However, to participate, landlords must first reduce rents by 75 percent. Few have chosen to take part.
Restaurants Canada continues its call for federal aid and has suggested loosening social distancing restrictions on Atlantic coast restaurants because the region has seen relatively few COVID cases.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: It will take far more than politicians pouring money on it to end the “Greatest Depression,” which is now under way.
RUBY TUESDAY’S GOES BUST. The chain, with more than 500 outlets nationwide and about 28,000 workers, has reached an agreement with secured lenders, including Goldman Sachs, over a plan to restructure its debt, which includes a $230-million unsecured bond held by NRD Capital that will mature in 2037.
Most of the company’s other unsecured creditors are landlords seeking payment for overdue rent.
The chain will close 185 of its company-owned restaurants that shuttered during the economic shutdown, laying off more than 7,300 workers.
The remaining 236 company-owned restaurants will continue to operate during the restructuring, the company said.
WELLS FARGO CUTS 700 COMMERCIAL BANKING JOBS. The U.S. banking industry’s largest employer made the cuts in the division serving businesses with more than $5 million in annual revenue. The firings are part of the troubled bank’s plan to cut jobs that could number into the tens of thousands.
“We are at the beginning of a multi-year effort to build a stronger, more efficient company,” the bank said in a statement. “We will have impacts, including job reductions, in nearly all of our functions and business lines.”
Wells Fargo cut its dividend amid operating losses and CEO Charles Scharf has promised at least $10 billion in cuts to annual costs. The company’s shares have lost more than 50 percent of their value this year.
Other banks, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase also have cut staff this year. Bank of America has kept a pledge to not lay off any workers this year.
EDINBURGH WOOLEN MILLS FIGHTING TO STAVE OFF COLLAPSE. The maker of iconic Harris Tweed suits and cashmere sweaters will appoint administrators to restructure the company, which faces imminent collapse.
The company has warned of “inevitable significant cuts” to its 24,000-person workforce. It also may sell its Peacocks and Jaeger clothing brands.
Most of the company’s stores are in the north of England, where the population is older and lockdown orders have been more stringent than in most other parts of the country.
Edinburgh Woolen Mills joins Arcadia, Harrods, Marks & Spencer, Selfridge’s, TM Lewin, and the Walgreen’s-owned pharmacy chain Boots, which previously have announced more than 13,000 layoffs among them as the lockdown redirected shoppers online.
CARNIVAL CANCELS CRUISES. Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise line, has canceled its cruises planned for November and all remaining 2020 sailings except those leaving from Port Miami and Port Canaveral in Florida.
The company made the decision after the CDC moved to extend its ban on passenger cruises through January. The mandate was vetoed by vice-president Mike Pence.
“Carnival continues to work on protocols and procedures that would allow for the resumption of cruise operations, with a gradual, phased-in approach,” the company said in a statement.
H&M WILL CLOSE 250 STORES. The fashion chain will close about 5 percent of its 5,000 outlets next year as online sales continue to grow, stealing business from brick-and-mortar sites.
After temporarily closing 80 percent of its stores in September, sales dropped only 5 percent. Online shoppers made up most of the difference.
