Last month we Launched Los Angeles Tech and in the announcement we provide the Hot List for the first half of January 2009. But, in running it now for the second half of January, the keyword that popped to the top was: Layoffs And this is definitely a sign of the times. When I drill down on that term, you can see why with posts like: Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals Lops A Third Of Company THQ Lays Off 100 Employees, Closes San This hot list is based on various social signals of what people are writing about, reading, bookmarking, searching, etc. You can go to

Our sources reveal that the anticipated 700 layoffs have already started at Yahoo. After  posting falling results for Q1  a week ago, shiny new CEO Carol Bartz indicated this round of layoffs was on the way. We are also hearing that some of the layoffs can only be described as “shocking”. Expected to be around 700 employees, we are told the actual number is around 600.  Most of the affected are being notified during the day, Wednesday April 29th, while some traveling employees have already recieved notice while still on the road. 

Quoting a "source close to the company" VentureBeat said that the layoffs would be "drastic." Tags: veoh layoff jobs video conten San Diego- and Los Angeles-based online video site Veoh is reportedly in the midst of a "major restructuring," according to a report from VentureBeat . An email to Dmitry Shapiro, CEO of Veoh, this morning, asking for comments on the rumor was not returned.

Layoffs at personal finance software maker Intuit are set to hit a number of the firm's Southern California locations. The layoffs date are split between August 3rd and August 17th, according to the WARN filings. WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) is a California law which requires certain companies to report when they are planning mass layoffs at least 60 days in advance. ...Tags: Mountain View-based Intuit, which said in June that it would be laying off about 4 percent of its staff, disclosed through California WARN notices recently that it is laying off employees in Calabasas, Woodland Hills, San Diego, and Westlake Village as part of an overall, company-wide reduction.

For our Insights & Opinions section today, Cathy Ashbaugh, President of Pacific Shore Resources, a local recruiting firm, gives some well timed advice on how to handle a layoff: As we enter into the second quarter of 2009 we are beginning to see small signs of hope and improvement in the economy. Chances are that someone you know--friend, relative, coworker�sadly, even you may experience As The stock market is showing progress these past few weeks, local start-ups are beginning to see an increase in VC funding and SoCal technology firms are hiring.

It’s your job to layoff people if you need to or fire people if you need to The Harvard Business School Case Study on Heidi Roizen talks about the dinner parties she hosts for tech leaders like her personal friend, Bill Gates, and how people skills helped her build one of the most admired careers in Silicon Valley. I

manufacturer, announced late Tuesday that the firm is closing both its Los Angeles and Hayward, California facilities, resulting in the layoff of 347 employees. Tags: layoff employment electronics technologie Santa Ana-based TTM Technologies , a printed circuit board manufacturer, The firm said the move comes due to "continued weak demand" in North America for commercial printed circuit boards and backplane products.

The results for the year were actually up 23.3%, to $4.658 billion, however the firm said that the it expects a slowdown in the economy will negatively impact the firm's business in the first quarter of 2009. Tags: jobs employment layoff broadco Irvine-based Broadcom will lay off 200 workers, or about 3 percent of the firm's employees, the firm said yesterday on its earnings call. According to Broadcom, the company is looking to manage its costs and focus on operating cash flow, and is implementing cost saving measures including delaying salary increases, a reduction in workforce,

ChannelWeb quoted an executive at Ingram, who said that the layoff occurred Tuesday, with as many as 150 cuts in the firm's Orange County offices. Tags: ingram employment jobs layoff micr Santa Ana-based Ingram Micro , an electronics distributor, has reportedly laid off about 8 percent of the firm's North American workforce, or 300 employees, according to a report from ChannelWeb. Ingram Micro distributes technology products, including electronics, computer accessories, and other products. ...Tags:

Tags: layoff jobs employment online unite Woodland Hills-based United Online disclosed on its quarterly earnings call late Wednesday that it is cutting 96 employees, as part of a move to increase efficiency and streamline operations at the firm. According to the firm, 71 of the employees are being cut from Classmates Media Segment, which includes Classmates.com, with the remaining 25 from its Communications Segment, which includes its dialup service.