Laid

Legg Mason Inc. has laid off three analysts and two support-staff employees who follow the restaurant and leisure industries.Robert A. Frank, director of research at the Baltimore-based brokerage and money management firm, said the decision was made as the company is moving to direct more analyst coverage to rapidly growing regional technology companies."

Northrop Grumman Corp., which earlier this year acquired the Linthicum-based defense arm of Westinghouse Electric Corp., said yesterday that it was a "misunderstanding involving a few individuals" that it had a policy against hiring laid-off Westinghouse workers.Jack Martin, a Northrop Grumman spokesman, said the company has corrected the misunderstanding, and he stressed that there is no policy that bars laid-off Westinghouse workers from applying for job openings.Northrop Grumman's action came a day after engineers William Garry and Ali Ahmed, who were laid off in January, complained to The Sun that they were being told by human resources officials that they couldn't apply for externally advertised positions because of an unwritten corporate policy against the hiring of laid-off Westinghouse workers.

LINTHICUM -- Bruce Kautz, laid off from Westinghouse Electric Co. in 1991, walked into the job fair at the Professional Outplacement Assistance Center here yesterday -- only to see many of the same recruiters who've been taking his resumes at dozens of other job fairs.But the cherubic-looking 60-year-old quality engineer smiled and shook hands with the recruiters anyway, hoping this time one would have an opening for him.The Northeast Baltimore resident, who figures he's been to 50 job fairs in three years, doesn't understand why it is so hard for him to find a job. "Some people tell me I am overqualified," he said.

A group of Japanese dignitaries came to Howard County yesterday to learn firsthand how Americans deal with people who are laid off from their jobs."They asked for a meeting with dislocated white-collar workers who have an association with a community college," said Lois S. Golian, their U.S. Department of Labor escort who set up the visit.Mostly, they got their wish.The group of 33 men and three women representing government and industry are here for a two-day labor symposium beginning today in Washington.

Laid to rest

Alexander & Alexander Services Inc. has laid off 39 people at its Owings Mills administrative headquarters, as part of the insurance brokerage's worldwide restructuring program.The New York-based company last week let go 34 employees in various corporate-level divisions, such as treasury, legal and the comptroller's office. Also, five people at Owings Mills who work for Benefacts, a unit of the company's Lyndhurst, N.J.-based Alexander Consulting Group, were laid off, said spokesman Gary Sullivan.

One Baltimore woman was laid off from her job with a building contractor. Two days later, she started her own business helping developers obtain building permits.A Silver Spring woman recognized a chance of a lifetime when the phone company she worked for offered an early-retirement plan. She accepted the pension package and went into business for herself as an interior designer.When one Baltimore couple's income dwindled, putting their mortgage payments in jeopardy, the two took a chance.

The Baltimore man, whom I will call Mark, got laid off thre weeks ago -- a victim of the current corporate mania for downsizing.Mark is 32 years old. He has a wife and two small kids and a fairly big mortgage. Mark had bought a new home just eight months before his company eliminated his entire division in an effort to reduce operating expenses and remain viable.But Mark doesn't seem to see himself as a victim."In a market economy you've got to expect these things to happen," he says with a shrug.

Seven white security officers who were laid off by Westinghouse Electric Corp. last month are charging the defense electronics giant with racial discrimination.The officers said yesterday that they believe Westinghouse dismissed mostly white, mostly male officers as a part of October's layoff of 1,400 Maryland workers to avoid discrimination suits by minority workers and women.The six men and one woman have filed racial discrimination charges with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Maryland Human Rights Commission.

As city and state officials continued to work with Esskay to prevent the closing of the Baltimore meat packing operation, the company said yesterday that it will recall 63 of the 85 workers it laid off Oct. 2."Hopefully, we can keep them working through the holidays," said Esskay spokesman David B. McLaughlin.The recalled workers, who report to work on Monday, are returning because of increased production of "bone-in" hams for the the holiday season, he said.Despite the recalls, Esskay's parent company, Smithfield Foods Inc., still plans to stop production in Baltimore by the end of the year.

Over the past six to nine months, I've interviewed many out-of-work Maryland residents who have shared their stories of being laid off during this grim economy as well as how they are coping with unemployment. Economic conditions and unemployment have only gotten worse as jobs become harder to find. The monthly hiring rate is at its lowest level since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the data in December 2000. Some of these people have appeared in the pages of The Baltimore Sun, while others did not. I will occasionally follow up with them to find out where they are now: Are they still looking for a job?

glennmcnatt: writing about the new unemployment stats. anyone have a friend or relative who's lost a job or fears losing one? mrscarpediem: Dad called me wanting the "scoop" on situ w/ spouse not working, etc & is now upset I didn't open up on call. At work. At my desk. mrscarpedium: Very sad - passing little bridge today there was a new tent set up underneath. $2-5M homes all around it. Wiznutz: it's NEVER too early to fire someone. chrisrk: Sick of this recession, lost job at Nissan in Jan just got another for half of the salary i was on and everything is still going up in price.

A reader asked for help in telling her kids she'd been laid off. I asked Brad Sachs to respond. He's a psychologist in Columbia who has written books on parenting, including The Good Enough Child, The Good Enough Teen and When No One Understands. Here are his tips: * Be straightforward. "Children need to be able to trust their parents, and trust is rooted in knowing that they will be dealt with honestly." Sachs suggests you say something like: "I have some not-so-great news to share with you, but I think you're old enough that I can be truthful.

WBAL Radio's sports talk host, Steve Davis, was laid off yesterday, vice president and station manager Jeff Beauchamp said. "We've done some realigning because of the economy," Beauchamp said. "... This was an economic move" unrelated to Davis' performance. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/mediumwell)

Baltimore school officials handed pink slips to 710 full-time and temporary employees yesterday, cutting deeply into the ranks of highly paid and longtime central office staff, to avoid financial disaster. In announcing the layoffs, Chief Executive Officer Bonnie S. Copeland warned that another, smaller round of staff reductions is likely to come by late January or early February after the system calculates what it owes in unpaid bills. Carrying a $52 million deficit amassed over several years of overspending, the system faced bankruptcy if it did not cut its payroll $24 million by year's end. By May or June, officials said, the system would no longer be able to pay its employees.

Ciena Corp. laid off 650 workers yesterday - about 22 percent off its work force - in a move that the company and analysts said was symptomatic of a troubled telecommunications sector. It is the third round of layoffs for the Linthicum maker of fiber-optic equipment, which thrived during the tech boom but is now fighting its way back toward profitability. The company has laid off 1,430 workers since November, bringing its employee base down to about 2,300. Ciena also said it would take more than $300 million in charges during the second quarter for the restructuring costs and excess inventory.

Legg Mason Inc. has laid off three analysts and two support-staff employees who follow the restaurant and leisure industries.Robert A. Frank, director of research at the Baltimore-based brokerage and money management firm, said the decision was made as the company is moving to direct more analyst coverage to rapidly growing regional technology companies."

Northrop Grumman Corp., which earlier this year acquired the Linthicum-based defense arm of Westinghouse Electric Corp., said yesterday that it was a "misunderstanding involving a few individuals" that it had a policy against hiring laid-off Westinghouse workers.Jack Martin, a Northrop Grumman spokesman, said the company has corrected the misunderstanding, and he stressed that there is no policy that bars laid-off Westinghouse workers from applying for job openings.Northrop Grumman's action came a day after engineers William Garry and Ali Ahmed, who were laid off in January, complained to The Sun that they were being told by human resources officials that they couldn't apply for externally advertised positions because of an unwritten corporate policy against the hiring of laid-off Westinghouse workers.

Alexander & Alexander Services Inc. has laid off 39 people at its Owings Mills administrative headquarters, as part of the insurance brokerage's worldwide restructuring program.The New York-based company last week let go 34 employees in various corporate-level divisions, such as treasury, legal and the comptroller's office. Also, five people at Owings Mills who work for Benefacts, a unit of the company's Lyndhurst, N.J.-based Alexander Consulting Group, were laid off, said spokesman Gary Sullivan.

LINTHICUM -- Bruce Kautz, laid off from Westinghouse Electric Co. in 1991, walked into the job fair at the Professional Outplacement Assistance Center here yesterday -- only to see many of the same recruiters who've been taking his resumes at dozens of other job fairs.But the cherubic-looking 60-year-old quality engineer smiled and shook hands with the recruiters anyway, hoping this time one would have an opening for him.The Northeast Baltimore resident, who figures he's been to 50 job fairs in three years, doesn't understand why it is so hard for him to find a job. "Some people tell me I am overqualified," he said.