Well, well, welcome to layoff szn, a beloved annual tradition when companies look toward the holidays and think, “Fuck if I’m going to pay for someone to take time off.”
Our tech overlords are really leaning into it with gusto, with Facebook’s Meta laying off 11,000 people and Elon’s Twitter laying off … maybe everybody? You can never predict what that guy’s going to do! Other than the wrong thing, every time.
Novartis is closing its Libertyville factory and laying off 275 people in the process, again not surprising to see a pharmaceutical giant behave without remorse. More surprising are the layoffs at Cameo — vendor of celebrity videos — and Provi — a platform for stocking bars and restaurants with booze. Honestly, it’s like Harry & David taking a Christmas vacation.
It’s not all bad news though! Tata Consultancy is basically making up the difference with plans to hire 1,200 people in Chicago to deck the halls of corporate IT departments. The consulting business model continues to thrive, despite all logic!
The headquarters also continue to rotate. Allstate is once again talking about relocating to Chicago from the suburbs (just do it already), manufacturing incubator MHub is sniffing around for TIF money to relocate to Fulton Market (bro you already live here), and Crafty is opening a new Chicago headquarters from which to outsource the office snack cart (despite its business being built around remote workers). Then there’s Tenneco, the auto parts manufacturer that swore it was moving to Michigan two years ago, and is now finally going through with the promise. The move was contingent on a sale to Apollo Global Management, taking the company private. Fun fact about that, though: Now that the sale has gone through, there’s $43 billion in risky debt hanging out on the books of financial services companies.
VillageMD is also in an acquisitive mood, pulling together around $8.9 billion to buy fellow healthcare platform Summit Health-CityMD, allowing VillageMD to match more patients with more doctors in more locations. If you were thinking of a new job in healthcare, here are 90.
Or maybe you’ve listened to us all these years, and set your sights on logistics. If so, you are now in the good company of one Albert Gore, who has contributed to an $80 million investment round in local logistics software company Project44.
Al’s not the only one with an unexpected cameo this week. Prince William has chosen Skokie-based Lanzatech as a finalist for his Earthshot prize, giving the company a 1-in-15 chance at getting a million British pounds — a sum that probably sounded a lot more exciting when the competition was launched. But hey, it comes with a permanent association with the royal family!
And last but never least, our union roundup is looking good. United Airlines pilots have rejected a proposed contract, holding out for a bigger raise, and City Colleges of Chicago employees have canceled a planned strike after reaching a tentative agreement. Field Museum employees, meanwhile, wait for negotiations to begin, as workers push the institution to voluntarily recognize the new union.
Jobs, Glorious Jobs
Startup Incubation Manager at Illinois Institute of Technology
Kind of an unusual role combining marketing, entrepreneurship and education. You’ll promote the university’s Startup Studio events and services through brand awareness and content marketing, and you’ll also have a hand in developing materials for startup-related academic courses. And get this: You'll plan, manage and emcee the annual business pitch competition. Because you have all the skills 🎤
Digital Engagement Editor at The TRiiBE
Use your social media, SEO, analytics and email marketing skills to help the digital media platform reshape the narrative of Black Chicago. The salary range ($48K-$52K) isn’t as amazing as you are, but get that high end and go all in for The TRiiBE’s important mission.
Director of Marketing and Communications at University of Illinois Chicago
This person will be split between the Strategic Marketing and Communications department (not the Nonstrategic one) and the College of Education — which means reporting to two sets of bosses. Sounds annoying to us, but our awkward interpersonal skills are why this is an email.
Inspiration of the Week
“There are thousands of answers — at least. You can be one of them if you choose to be.”
—Octavia E. Butler, in an old Essence magazine article about how to predict the future. It is easy to believe she has the answers to that question, after you’ve experienced the slow rolling horror of watching her books come to life. Like most how-to articles, the headline is a bit of a bait and switch. She didn’t predict the future. Rather, “All I did was look around at the problems we’re neglecting now and give them about 30 years to grow into full-fledged disasters.”
As we approach the 30th anniversary of Parable of the Sower — and increasingly see its reflections in the world around us — it’s worth thinking about what predictions are actually meant to do. Predictions don’t tell us what we can expect tomorrow. The tell us what we need to do today.
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