February 2009 - Posts

Thursday, February 12, 2009 12:58 AM

GM cuts 10,000 salaried jobs, trims employees' pay

General Motors Corp. is planning to slash another 10,000 salaried jobs this year, saying the cuts are unavoidable with a government restructuring deadline looming and industrywide sales in one of the worst downturns in history.

The Detroit-based automaker said Tuesday it will reduce its total number of white-collar workers by 14 percent to 63,000. About 3,400, or 12 percent, of GM's 29,500 salaried U.S. jobs will be eliminated.

Most of the company's remaining salaried employees will have their wages cut. [AP]

posted by isnaini (Comments Off)
Friday, February 06, 2009 1:30 PM

New jobless claims jump more than expected to 626K

New jobless claims jumped far more than expected last week in an already dismal labor market, and there's no relief in sight for workers as mass layoffs persist.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of newly jobless workers seeking benefits rose last week to a seasonally adjusted 626,000, from the previous week's upwardly revised figure of 591,000. The latest total is far more than analysts' expectations of 583,000.

That's also the highest since October 1982, when the economy was in a steep recession, though the work force has grown by about half since then. (AP)

posted by isnaini (Comments Off)
Wednesday, February 04, 2009 2:54 AM

Sustainable Electric Energy Delivery Systems

Renewable energy technologies are seen as the only sustainable energy source for the future. But, since many forms of renewable energy are intermittent in nature, an energy storage medium or energy carrier will be needed to effectively use this energy. Many renewable technologies, such as solar, wind, etc. are available over large areas, so installations of equipment to harvest this energy will likely be distributed at various locations on the power system. Also, efficient operation of the power system will require that power and energy to supply the power system peak demand must be available when needed. In order to address these issues, Progress Energy Florida (PEF) and the Power Center for Utility Explorations (PCUE) at University of South Florida are conducting this demonstration project to combine renewable distributed generation and an advanced battery system to supply renewable energy during the power system peak. ...more
posted by isnaini (Comments Off)