UT Health Sci. layoffs

The Commercial Appeal reports the University of Tennessee Health Science Center will layoff up to 30 percent of staff, due to massive stage budget cuts. Earlier this week, the UTHSC announced its chancellor is stepping down.

Chattanooga attracts another power player

Power-generating Burns & Roe, which has an office at Oak Ridge, announced it'll hire up to 200 for its new outpost in Chattanooga. With other energy-related investments in the region -- Wacker Chemie, Alstom and let's toss in VW -- there's little doubt Chattanooga and Hamilton County are riding the Energy Bubble. And, all this adds further weight to the rationale for Gov. Bredesen's team trip to Germany, Poland and Switzerland, which begins Sunday. The B&R news comes, unfortunately, just as Chattanooga's DJO Chattanooga, a medical-devices maker, announced laying-off 300.

Relocations, consolidations

Two separate Nashville operations are consolidating in Chattanooga offices: Platinum Financial Funding, a mortgage-loan packager, is moving its HQ into existing Noog offices, to better reach markets in Tennessee, Georgia and Florida, according to reported comments by Founder-President Chris Payne, who had been based here. Elsewhere, at least 11 have been laid off in Nashville and Loudon, as nationwide metals distributor Ryerson Inc. consolidates in Chattanooga, citing cost-cutting and efficiency. No word on whether the Volkswagen-Wacker Bubble may be tilting consolidation decisions in favor of Chattanooga, but there is mounting evidence that companies plan to get by with fewer outposts. A third company, multilevel marketer Ecoquest International, based in Greeneville, Tenn., has been bought by Dallas-based Aerus Holdings, and layoffs are apparently in prospect following integration of operations. Ecoquest apparently had FTC legal problems, earlier this decade.

Tennessee layoffs proceed apace

With another closure earlier this week, the tally has already begun to build for 2009, with nearly 18,000 workers having been affected in 2008 by closings and layoffs of varying durations. This morning's story is here. Meanwhile, statewide unemployment is hovering at about 6.8 percent, within the state's 3 million-plus workforce. Nationwide, there are about 4.5 millions folks drawing unemployment benefits, reportedly the highest level since 1982. A year ago, 2.7 million were drawing benefits. Some economists believe unemployment could approach 10 percent before 2009 ends.

Nashville business whistlin' in the dark?

It's great to report that business-sorta-as-usual continues: As reported on VNC today, Frank Pazera of TechCFO is bullish on entering the Nashville market to provide CFOs to tech and life-sciences firms. At the same time, responses to our recent very-informal survey of 104 IT executives suggests, at best, a little tension out there. See the story here. Though there is certainly concern about layoffs, it's interesting to see that CEOs are less concerned on that dimension. At the same time, we continue to hear reports, formally and via the grapevine, of a steady stream of layoffs, realignments and reductions in force. LP, Eastman, Cybera, JewelryTV and others are among the TN firms right-sizing. We'll stick the gauge in, again, this spring and see what folks think then.