Buffett Moving From Planes To Trains.....
November 05, 2009
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NetJets Inc. said today it will lay off nearly 500 pilots, as its new management deals with a prolonged economic downturn that has hit the company hard.
The company employs more than 3,000 pilots worldwide, with most of them located in the U.S. About 50 of the pilots to be laid off live in the central Ohio area, the company said.
Sokol, who replaced Richard Santulli as leader of the Columbus-based Berkshire Hathaway unit in August, said it was a "difficult decision" in recognition that demand for private-jet service isn't expected to recover soon.
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2009/11/05/netjets_layoffs.html?sid=101
For those that don't know......Berkshire owns Netjets. Having been on one of the planes...it is the only way to fly.
If we continue to lose over 500,000 per week for much longer.....pretty soon not many will be working.
Commercial and multifamily mortgage lending in the U.S. fell 12 percent from the second quarter to the third quarter and is down 54 percent from year ago levels, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The drop includes a year over year decrease in lending for all types of commercial properties. Loans for retail properties are down 62 percent. Loans for office properties are down 56 percent, MBA says.
“Tight credit conditions coupled with scant demand for new loans meant that commercial and multifamily mortgage originations remained low for the third quarter,” said MBA vice president of commercial real estate research Jamie Woodwell.
http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/11/02/daily85.html?surround=lfn
50% less loans....50% less people needed selling commerical and servicing mortgages for real estate ....
50% too much retail and office space......50% less people needed managing commercial real estate.
We already have over 50% of the architects unemployed........and over 50% of the residential construction workers.......and over 50% of the residential construction supply workers........
50% fewer auto manufacturing workers......50% fewer auto supply workers......soon to be 50% fewer auto sales people as more dealers shut down and others let go due to 50% fewer sales........
As many of you can probably tell, my blogs have been focusing more on employment and government's role in our economy. We now have many industries that have reduced employment and/or wages by 50%. In a large service economy like ours, in order to maintain GDP....we need lots of people servicing.
When government is responsible for OVER 50% of GDP.....and government is the largest consumer by over a 50% margin.........when government's tax receipts drop 50%........we have a serious issue going forward regarding contraction in our economy.
It is not the end of the world.....simply the end of 50% of our GDP as we know it..........
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