OKLAHOMA CITY — “Although there are an increasing number of high-profile layoffs, particularly in the technology sector and also in the mortgage industry, hiring in other sectors of the economy are more than offsetting these on net,” Mike Fratantoni, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, said recently.
Being out of work can be traumatic, but federal Labor Department officials claim there are still nearly 1.8 jobs for every unemployed person.
Technology companies have been laying off workers for months, with some, including Amazon and Meta, saying they had hired too many people during the pandemic.
Amazon announced it would increase its layoffs by 18,000 people.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that his social media company is laying off more than 11,000 employees, or 13% of its workforce.
Cloud software provider Salesforce announced Jan. 4 it will cut its workforce by nearly 8,000 employees, or about 10% of the 79,000 workers on its payroll in February 2022, and will close offices in “certain markets.” To his credit, CEO Marc Benioff said that individuals losing their jobs will receive a “minimum” of almost five months’ worth of salary as well as health insurance and other benefits, “to help with their transition.”
The two founders of Stripe, a financial services and software company, announced last November that they would cut their payroll by 1,000, reducing the head count to 7,000, the number of employees they had in February 2022.
Stitch Fix, the fast fashion provider, said it’s cutting 20% of its salaried workers, and DoorDash, a food delivery service, has said it will eliminate 1,250 jobs.
All Sears Hometown Stores, including two in Oklahoma, will close soon. Hometown Stores, which were spun off from Sears in 2012, filed for bankruptcy and will be liquidated. Elk City and Muskogee have Sears Hometown Stores, noted Bill Hancock, Business Services and Rapid Response Coordinator with the Oklahoma Office of Workforce Development.
Bar K, a destination featuring a fully staffed dog park, modern bar/restaurant, and event space, will open soon in the Riversport area in Oklahoma City. Construction is nearing completion and hiring is underway in preparation for an opening date yet to be announced, Hancock said.
Icon Windsor Theater will open soon at 23rd and Meridian in Oklahoma City. Icon Cinema has taken over and renovated the former Windsor Hills Cinemas in OKC. A complete renovation has been performed, including a new parking lot. All 10 auditoriums have red leather recliners with footrests and herringbone wood floors.
A similar renovation is being performed at the Kickingbird Theater in Edmond, Hancock said.
Theaters usually have a fairly large employee base of young part-time employees, he noted.
Compu-Link Corp., a Michigan-based company, will open a mortgage servicing support operation in Oklahoma. The financial services company is expanding to Tulsa and bringing up to 190 jobs with it. Compu-Link Corp. will occupy 29,000 square feet at Eastgate Metroplex, a former shopping mall that now is an office center. The company, headquartered in Lansing, Michigan, will provide reverse mortgage servicing support.
A new hotel is planned in northeast Oklahoma City, on a 50,000 square-foot lot at NE 23rd Street and N. Rhode Island Avenue. The four-story Hamlin Hotel will be named for A.C. Hamlin, the first Black Oklahoma legislator; he was elected to the state House of Representatives from Logan County and served one term, 1909-1910. The number of jobs that will be created when the hotel opens is unknown, Hancock reported.