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 Diego Office Citrix Cuts 10 Percent; Santa Barbara Hit And it's also interesting to see what geographies are being associated with "Layoffs" more often than others: Layoffs Woodland Hills Layoffs San Diego Layoffs Santa Monica Layoffs Los Angeles I guess

Midway Games, a Chicago-based video games developer, announced Tuesday afternoon that it has cut 25 percent of its staff, in a move that also affects the firm's San Diego locations. Number of San Diego employees affected by the move was not disclosed. The cuts in San Diego came in conjunction with closure of the firm's Austin operations and similar cuts in Chicag Midway made the announcement saying that the moves were necessary in response to both challenges the firm is facing, as well as the current economy.

Calabasas-based THQ , which develops computer game titles, is closing its San Diego, UK, and Germany offices, and has laid off 100 employees, according to an email to employees from CEO Brian Farrell. Tags: jobs employment layoff content games wireles The move is part of a restructuring of the firm's THQ Wireless operations. According to the note, the firm is streamlining its THQ Wireless operations to only focus on high-end handheld devices. ...Tags:

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.

Layoffs at personal finance software maker Intuit are set to hit a number of the firm's Southern California locations. 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. According to the notices, 29 of the The firm had earlier said that the cuts came in its Small Business Division, but had not detailed the location of the cuts. The

San Diego-based DivX has cut 21 employees in a layoff Thursday, a spokesperson for the firm told socalTECH Friday, confirming widespread reports of the move Thursday. Details or reasons for the layoff were not given. The layoffs follow the loss of the company's CTO late last wee

San Diego-based Cymer, which develops lasers used in the manufacturing of semiconductors, said Friday that it has laid off 8 percent, or 85 employees, from the firm. The company said the move will save it around $8.4M in annual savings. The company blamed the moves on the severity of the slowdown in the economy and semiconductor industry.

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.

San Diego-based Verari Systems , a developer of blade server technology, has shut down, according to publication InsideHPC. Tags: verari systems blade server shutdown employment jobs layof According to InsideHPC, Verari Systems shut down due to lack of access to capital. Verari had raised over $59M in funding from such investors as Carlyle Group, Celerity Partners, Sierra Ventures, and Voyager Capital. READ MORE>> ...Tags:

San Diego-based Sequenom , a developer of genetic analysis equipment, announced late Thursday that the firm has cut approximately 30 employees as part of a cost cutting measure. Tags: sequenom genetic analysis employment layoff job According to the firm, the cuts were a result of a "continuing weak outlook in 2009" for sales of its equipment, particularly in the U.S. The firm said the cuts were made in its Genetic Analysis business.