Chrysler Update - Driving Off Into The Sunset?

There is an update to my earlier update on Chrysler's plant shutdowns and layoffs.  Seems Chrysler is more than doubling the number of full-time workers getting laid off - the number is 5,000, or a quarter of Chrysler's full-time workforce.

This doesn't even tell the full story;  the company has a very large number of contract employees.  Chrysler has mentioned a quarter of them will also be let go.... but it doesn't need to specify the number of contractors let go, so there's probably a lot of blood-letting there.

What does all this point to?  Chrysler putting itself up for sale, or something else equally drastic.  Or, only selling a much smaller sub-set of their current auto lines (eg: selling off Jeep).  Wow.  I wonder if this will be another car company from a developing market (think Tata buying Land Rover and Jaguar),  or time for the Private Equity firms to get back into action.

Check out the page on Chrysler in RightAutos, a Kosmix site.  (Ankur Jain is the product manager).

Gold Man Sacks Crew

That absolutely has to be my worst headline yet.  But these are punny times.

Anyway, Goldman Sachs is laying off over 3.2K people, or about 10% of their workforce.  But I believe these folks will be sent off with nice severance packages - GS is still very generous with their people.

Print This - Xerox Laying off 5%

Xerox is cutting 3K jobs in the US, about 5% of their workforce. 

My roommate works for Xerox, I'm hoping he and his team are ok.

Signs of a Downturn - Chrysler Layoffs, Plant Shutdown

Chrysler is laying off close to 2,000 people, by shutting down a Delaware factory (despite the favorable tax rules there?), and slowing down work at their Ohio plant. 

That's bad for both places, and should also put some influence on the upcoming elections.

Mahalo, all 13 of you

Smart boy Jason Calacanis has laid off 13 people from his team.  Mahalo, of course, is the Organized Wisdom for everything (or is Organized Wizdom the Mahalo for Health?). 

Put more flowers on the site.  Perhaps that will make your inadequately paid wiki-editors feel better.

Here is a Mahalo page for Kosmix, which demonstrates their major flaw - the page hasn't been updated since 2007, and for a topic page on a fast moving startup like Kosmix, that means it is quite out of date.

Signs of a Downturn - Imeem Lays off 25%

San Francisco based music startup Imeem, which has raised about $19 Million in funding, is the latest to lay off staff, asking a quarter of their 80 employees to leave.

LinkedIn's Cash Windfall

The current startup climate is very mixed indeed - a lot of layoffs, and quite a few companies announcing funding rounds.  Good news is always nice to hear at this time;  so even though its a little puzzling, its quite nice to hear Dan Nye's LinkedIn has just raised another $22.7 Million. 

The main investors are SAP Ventures, Goldman Sachs, and Business Week's parent McGraw-Hill Companies.  Of all the social networks, I use Mountain View-based LinkedIn the most heavily (most of it for work, and yeah, I have a few connections).

LinkedIn is valued at a whopping $1 Billion - ok, that might be a little too much happy sauce going around.  But even if it doesn't capture that full value, it should have a good run towards it.