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US Airways closing JWA maintenance station

October 28th, 2009, 3:11 pm by Mary Ann Milbourn

US Airways will close its maintenance station at John Wayne Airport next year as part of an overall restructuring of the Phoenix-based airline, the company announced today.

us_airways_a320-medThe airline, which was created in September 2005 when US Airways Group merged with America West Airways, said it was not cutting back on its total maintenance crew but rather will be redistributing the mechanics across its system.  The closure won’t happen before the first quarter of 2010 and it was “too early to know” how many mechanics will be moved, the company said.

Today’s announcement was part of an overall restructuring under which US Airways will concentrate on its three hubs in Charlotte, Philadelphia and Phoenix and its service at Washington’s National Airport. It designed to stem the financial bleeding that saw the airline lose $800 million in 2008 with another large loss is expected this year.

Altogether the airline said the changes will mean the furlough of up to 1,000 employees including 600 airport passenger and ramp service employees, 200 pilots (165 from US Airways prior to the merger and 35 former America West pilots) and 150 flight attendants (120 US Airways and 20 from America West.)

“By concentrating on our strengths we will be better positioned to return US Airways to profitability, which will result in a more consistent experience for our customers, better returns for our shareholders and greater job stability and career opportunities for our employees,” said Chief Executive Doug Parker in announcing the changes.

Parker detailed these other changes in a letter to employees:

  • Reducing Las Vegas (LAS) flights from 64 to 36 daily departures by February 2010 as a result of high fuel prices and continued weak demand associated with Las Vegas.
  • Closing Colorado Springs (COS) and Wichita (ICT) and moving that flying to more profitable routes across our four focus cities.
  • Redeploying our 15 E-190 aircraft on routes between Boston and Philadelphia and on the Boston -LaGuardia (LGA) leg of the US Airways Shuttle.
  • Reducing non-stop flights from Boston (BOS) to the Caribbean at the end of the peak spring travel season in May.
  • Suspending five European destinations from Philadelphia: Birmingham, U.K.(BHX); London Gatwick, U.K. (LGW); Milan, Italy (MXP); Shannon, Ireland (SNN); and Stockholm, Sweden (ARN), which have not shown economic resiliency or profitability in the current environment. At the same time we announced. US Airways will transition seasonal service to Brussels, Belgium (BRU) and Zurich, Switzerland (ZRH) to year-round service effective in late 2010.
  • Returning our Philadelphia-Beijing (PEK) flight authority to the Department of Transportation (DOT) until economic conditions improve, while retaining the option to reapply for this authority in the future.
  • Rightsizing and repositioning our crew bases in Philadelphia, Charlotte, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. by closing our crew bases in Boston, LaGuardia and Las Vegas. The Las Vegas and LaGuardia bases will close Jan. 31, 2010, and Boston will close May 2, 2010.

Read the US Airways press release HERE.

Did you miss these recent airport and airline stories …

Posted in: Airlines • Economy • JWA • Meltdown • Top tale • Tourism • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

O.C. manufacturers see 3rd quarter turnaround

July 8th, 2009, 12:41 pm by Mary Ann Milbourn

Orange County manufacturers are expecting business to begin to stabilize in the third quarter, according to the new Chapman University survey of local purchasing managers.

If the purchasing managers are right, it will be the first time since the fourth quarter of 2007 that local manufacturing expands.

The school’s Orange County Composite Index is expected to increase from 40.3 in the second quarter to 50.1 over the next three months. (Anything above 50 means expansion, below 50 indicates contraction.)

chapmn-oc-composite-3q-09

“At least we are now at the bottom — at least we’re not going down any more,” said Raymond Sfeir, the Chapman economist who oversees the survey.

He said the purchasing managers he spoke with showed a major change in outlook.

“They were optimistic about the third and fourth quarters, which is a plus,” Sfeir said.

Unfortunately, he said, that optimism doesn’t extend to additional hiring, with employment  continuing to contract this quarter, although not as much.

The most encouraging news was on new orders, which jumped in the index from 40.4 in the second quarter to 57.2 for the next three months. Production also is looking good, rising from 43.4 in the second quarter to 55.8 in the next three months.

Manufacturing employment will rise from 34.3 in the second quarter to 41.0 for the next three months, but still be under 50, which would indicate hiring.

“We expected that because employment is always the last to adjust (to an upturn),” Sfeir said. “Employers will wait to hire until perfectly certain things will be rosy.”

In terms of sectors, non-durable goods shows the greatest strength, jumping from 37.1 in the second quarter to 52.1 during the next three months while high tech moved from 42.2 to 51.5. Durable goods other than high tech — machinery and other long-term purchases — will continue to contract, but slightly less, going from 40.9 to 48.9.

California, with more diversity in manufacturing, will do slightly better than Orange County. The California Composite Index is expected to increase from 45.1 in the second quarter to 53.8 in the next three months.

The Chapman survey is similar to the one done by the Institute for Supply Management at the national level. Chapman’s survey tracks changes in production,employment, new orders, inventories of purchased materials, commodity prices and supplier deliveries both for Orange County and the state.

Orange County’s survey, conducted in mid-June, reflects the responses of purchasing managers at 137 local companies.

See the full survey HERE.

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Posted in: Economy • Meltdown • O.C. business news • Top tale • • • • | Comments Off

General Motors files for bankruptcy

June 1st, 2009, 6:02 am by Mary Ann Milbourn

General Motors, as widely expected, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization today.

gm-showroomThe bankruptcy process is expected to take 60 to 90 days and the federal government will give the company another $30 billion in taxpayer funds in addition to the $20 billion in low-interest loans it received earlier.

In return, the government will get a 60 percent share of the reorganized company. Read the full AP story HERE.

Despite expectations of GM’s bankruptcy filing, Orange County buyers this weekend were still interested. GM’s Chevrolet brand has been the favorite among Orange County car buyers in the past.

gmsales-in-oc

See a map of GM’s Orange County dealerships HERE.

Worried about your warranty? To learn more, CLICK HERE.

Would you buy a GM car now?  Vote on the Register poll.

More on GM …

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Posted in: Autos • Fed • Meltdown • O.C. business news • Retail • • • • • | 22 Comments »

Petronella Roofing said to be shuttered, 100 laborers fired

May 12th, 2009, 5:08 pm by Matt Degen

(Corrected to identify Nativo Lopez’s title)

A roofing company run by a Laguna Hills couple accused in a $38 million workers’ compensation insurance-fraud scheme was closed down today and its 100 workers immediately fired, according to Nativo V. Lopez, national director of  Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamerica, which is representing workers at Petronella Roofing.

No one at the roofer’s Costa Mesa office answered the phone when called at 4:20 p.m. today.

When reached at an after-hours number provided in a recording at the office, a man who identified himself as one of the workers confirmed that he and his colleagues had been fired. He said they had not received compensation for two payroll periods. The man declined to be identified.

Lopez said his clients did not receive severance or any other monetary compensation when the company’s receiver, Robert Mosier, closed down the firm. Earlier today, Mosier’s assistant said the receiver would not comment on the company because of pending litigation and that all communication must be made through his attorney, Kirk Rense. Rense did not return a call seeking comment.

Company owners Michael Vincent Petronella, 50, and wife Devon Lynn Kile, 44, were arrested at their Laguna Hills mansion in late April and charged with 106 felony counts including insurance fraud, grand theft and filing false tax returns in what prosecutors allege was a $38 million insurance-fraud scheme.

The couple, which are being held on $3 million bail each, are scheduled for arraignment Wednesday.

Petronella’s attorney, Joe Angelo, previously said the husband and wife both intend to enter pleas of not guilty at the arraignment, adding that his clients are simple people who ran three roofing companies – Petronella Corp., Western Cleanoff Inc. and The Reroofing Specialists also known as Petronella Roofing – according to the norms of California small business operators.

“If there’s an insurance fraud claim here, it’s small and it’s not atypical,” Angelo said last week. “This case will pare down when everything comes out.”

Calls to Angelo seeking further comment were not returned.

Lopez said he and more than 100 former employees of the company will protest Wednesday around 9 a.m. in front of the District Attorney’s Office in Santa Ana, then will file claims with the state Department of Labor Standards.

Below is video of the raid that took place at the Petronella property in April:

Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Brightcove video.

Also see:

Posted in: Legal problems • O.C. business news • Retail • Top tale • • • | 30 Comments »

2 O.C. cities make Forbes top towns list

May 10th, 2009, 1:34 pm by Mary Ann Milbourn

Two Orange County cities — Aliso Viejo and Tustin — made this year’s 25 Forbes best America  places to live well list.

aliso-viejo1

Aliso Viejo

Aliso Viejo ranked highest locally at No. 16 on Forbes top 25 list based on its “easy access to some of California’s nicest beaches as well as the city’s  “dynamic, start-up business environment that attracts $1,246 venture capital dollars per capital.”

Forbes’ Aliso Viejo drawbacks: “There aren’t many museums, music halls or dining options.”

Tustin ranked No. 21 based on the number of sole-proprietor and start-up businesses which were in the top 10% of towns measured. Those businesses allowed  many residents to work at local companies, reducing their average commute to 22 minute, one of the lowest in the L.A. area, said Forbes.

Forbes’  Tustin drawback: “Only 38% of residents possess a bachelor’s degree, ranking it toward the bottom of towns measured.”

Boulder, Colo. topped the Forbes “America’s Top 25 Towns to Live Well”  list.

Here’s how Forbes ranked the cities:

“We looked at median income; average commute; distance to highways and airports; per capita venture capital funding; per capita number of small businesses, sole-proprietorships and start-ups; the percentage of the population with bachelor’s degrees or higher; the share of professional-level workers as defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS); the percentage of young and educated people, or those 25-34 with a bachelor’s degree or higher; and the percentage of foreign-born residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher. We also measured the per capita number of restaurants, bars, museums and cultural institutions.”

Read the full story HERE.

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Posted in: Economy • Small business • Top tale • • • • • | 39 Comments »

POLL: Should employers be able to ban Spanish at work?

April 17th, 2009, 5:46 pm by Jeff Collins

The case in which a Foothill Ranch health care firm paid $450,000 to settle claims it had an English-only rule has sparked a debate over whether employers should be allowed to ban employees from speaking Spanish at work.

cg1f9Many readers argued that since English is the dominant language in this country, only that language should be spoken in the workplace.

Others argued that having bilingual employees could be an asset to a company and that employees’ rights to speak their native tongue should be respected at work. At least one argued that freedom of speech includes the freedom to speak another language.

Background: Skilled Healthcare Group Inc., which owns nursing homes, assisted living centers, a rehabilitation business and hospice care business in six Western states, settled a discrimination claim out of court rather than fight what its lawyer called false accusations of discrimination.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a class-action suit against Skilled Healthcare after about 53 employees complained that they were banned from speaking Spanish at work, even though Filipino employees were not disciplined for speaking Tagalog.

The suit alleged that Hispanic employees also received less-desirable assignments and fewer promotions.

An attorney for the firm denied that any form of discrimination existed, adding that the incidents were alleged to have occurred under previous management.

Either way, the EEOC maintains that it’s illegal to discriminate against employees based on their national origin.

What do you think?

Should employers be allowed to require that English only be spoken at work?
View Results

In other business news …

Posted in: Health care • Jobs • Legal problems • Top tale • • • • • | 90 Comments »

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