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, This hot list is based on various social signals of what people are writing about, reading, bookmarking, searching, etc. You can go to the

manufacturer, announced late Tuesday that the firm is closing both its Los Angeles and Hayward, California facilities, resulting in the layoff of 347 employees. TTM said that it had employed 263 full-time employees in Los Angeles, and 84 full-time employees in Hayward. 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.

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 . Quoting a "source close to the company" VentureBeat said that the layoffs would be "drastic." Tags: veoh layoff jobs video conten An email to Dmitry Shapiro, CEO of Veoh, this morning, asking for comments on the rumor was not returned. Veoh laid off 20 percent of its employees in November.

Computer game maker Activision Blizzard is apparently cutting jobs in El Segundo and Los Angeles, according to a filing with the California Employment Development Department. According to layoff filings, required in California of certain companies, Activision Blizzard is looking to lay off 4 employees in El Segudno, and 23 employees in Los Angeles on December 19th. California A spokesperson for Activision Blizzard did not respond to requests for comment on the public filings.

Electronics Arts is shutting down Los Angeles-based Pandemic Studios , according to an internal note leaked to gaming news site Kotaku. According to the note, Electronic Arts has laid off around 200 employees, and transitioned the rest to Electronic Arts' Los Angeles office. Tags: electronic arts games content pandemic shutdown layof EA bought Pandemic in 2007, in a deal worth $775M. ...Tags:

Los Angeles-based MySpace has chopped 30 percent of the firm's staff, saying Tuesday that the company is laying of 30 percent of its employees, or 400 people. Tags: myspace employee jobs layoff employmen According to a widely released memo from CEO Owen Van Natta, the moves were made "for the long-term health" of the company, and will cut the number of employees at the firm to 1,000. Van Natta said that MySpace's size had become "unsustainable," and instead, the firm needs to operate "as a nimble and entrepreneurial company with the adaptive mentality of a start-up." READ

Los Angeles-based MySpace reported this morning that the firm intends to restructure the firm's international operations, and will cut 300 employees from the division. Tags: international layoff jobs employment myspac According to MySpace, it is in consultation with international employees to reduce its staff from 450 employees to approximately 150 employees, and close at least 4 of its offices outside the United States. MySpace said that its offices in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, and Spain are all under review.

For our Insights & Opinions section today, John McKee, a Los Angeles resident and former executive at DirecTV, and currently an author and business coach, gives seven tips to the currently unemployed on how to persevere through - and even make the most of - this difficult time. The Tags: jobs employment layoff opinions insight The numbers are staggering: The Labor Department recently reported 598,000 Jobs losses in January 2009, the worst one-month decline in 35 years, with the overall unemployment rate now at a whopping 7.6 percent - the highest since 1992.

Los Angeles- and San Diego-based Veoh (www.veoh.com), an online video sharing site, has laid off 20 people, or roughly 18-20 percent of the firm's employees. The layoffs occurred yesterday, when employees were notified of the move. The firm continues to have operations in Los Angeles and San Diego. A spokesperson for Veoh told socalTECH that the changes affected every group in the firm, and was because the firm wanted to make smart choices early on in the game given a possible internet advertising slowdown.

Los Angeles-based 60Frames , an online entertainment studio developing professionally produced, online content, has reportedly shut down , according to The Hollywood Reporter . Tags: 60frames online entertainment content hollywood studio layoff shutdow 60Frames had raised $3.5M in funding in 2007, from Tudor Investment Corporation and the Pilot Group, and was apparently unable to raise a second round of financing.