05/17/2024

News

Growing Sacramento Solar Firm Opens Facility in Sunny . . . Boston

While New England isn’t noted for sunshine, the company chose the Boston market because that city has among the highest per-capita solar use in the country, she said.

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Health Net to Be Sold for $6.8 Billion, Headquarters would Exit Southern California

The company would be based in St. Louis. That would make Health Net the latest of several companies whose corporate headquarters have left Southern California.

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Where Do We Still Make Stuff in America?

The winners grew from 718,000 to 1,102,000 jobs, or up 54%, but this is dwarfed by the colossal loss of 4.1 million out of 6.7 million jobs, a loss of 61% in manufacturing jobs.  The losers are somewhat like set 2, just not quite so extreme. Included are the two counties which lost the most—Cook (Chicago) and Los Angeles-  650,000 and 500,000! 

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Ruiz Prepares to Open New South Carolina Facility

One of the Valley’s largest and most successful businesses is doing its part to boost the economy on the East Coast.

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Manufacturing’s Next Act

Mention “Industry 4.0” to most manufacturing executives and you will raise eyebrows. If they’ve heard of it, they are likely confused about what it is. If they haven’t heard of it, they’re likely to be skeptical of what they see as yet another piece of marketing hype, an empty catchphrase. And yet a closer look at what’s behind Industry 4.0 reveals some powerful emerging currents with strong potential to change the way factories work. It may be too much to say that it is another industrial revolution. But call it whatever you like; the fact is, Industry 4.0 is gathering force, and executives should carefully monitor the coming changes and develop strategies to take advantage of the new opportunities.

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California Attracts 2.4% Of U.S. Reshored Jobs

California should do all it can to attract these new jobs.  But according to the Initiative’s numbers, California attracted only 34 reshores over the last three years, totaling 884 jobs and a mere 2.4 percent of the overall 36,325 reshored jobs. Further, California was not the destination for any of the top 10 reshoring examples noted below.

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Starbucks Will Close All La Boulange Locations

The shops and the two manufacturing facilities that serve them will close by the end of September.

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Heinz Closing Chatsworth, 145 Workers Lose Jobs

The wind-down will occur in “a staged process” over the next two months. Production at the Chatsworth factory will shift to plants in either Mason, Ohio, or Jacksonville, Fla., Mullen said, as those facilities share the same manufacturing process and capabilities.

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With Broadcom Exit, Headquarters Flight from Southern California Continues

Although business advocates and economists argue over the effect of lost headquarters, it’s clear that Southern California has seen a run of major corporate departures in recent years. Whether that reflects poorly on the local business or regulatory climate is a more complicated question.

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Bank of America Closing Rancho Cordova Back Office, Cutting 160 Jobs

Bank of America will close its longtime back-office operation in Rancho Cordova by Oct. 1, costing about 160 jobs.

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Charles Schwab CEO: San Francisco to Remain HQ Despite Jobs Leaving City

Charles Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger says San Francisco still has its appeal as the company’s headquarters city even though thousands of Schwab jobs have moved to lower-cost areas and hundreds more are being loaded into the moving van.

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Kubota Chooses Texas Over Torrance

Japanese equipment manufacturer Kubota Tractor Corp. and its financing arm Kubota Credit Corp. are leaving Torrance. And like a handful of other companies that have left the area lately, Kubota is decamping for the Lone Star State.

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Farmer Bros. Taps Texas for New HG

“Farmer Bros. told the Business Journal earlier this year that it expected its relocation plan to result in annual savings of from $12 million to $15 million, beginning in the latter half of next year. However, moving will cost the company between $35 million to $40 million in new facility costs with an additional $20 million to $25 million in anticipated capital expenditures for furniture, machinery, equipment and other necessities. The company expects the cost of moving to be partially offset by profits from the sale of its Torrance headquarters, which company officials believe to be worth as much as $35 million.”

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Kaiser Permanente to Plant IT Campus, 900 Jobs Outside of Bay Area

Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente will plant a $20 million information technology campus in Midtown Atlanta — a project that will create about 900 jobs.

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Q&A with Florida Gov. Rick Scott on His Bid to Steal California Jobs

California has elected officials who are not concerned about whether businesses succeed. Successful companies hire people.

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