US House Progressive Caucus leader blasts mass unemployment as 'a policy choice'

5/21/2020

House Progressive Caucus Co-Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said mass unemployment in the U.S. caused by the coronavirus crisis is a “policy choice,” and pushed her Paycheck Recover Act as a way to recover during an interview with The Hill.TV’s “Rising.”

https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/498984-house-progressive-caucus-leader-blasts-mass-unemployment-as-a-policy-choice?jwsource=cl

“Mass unemployment is a policy choice. It is a bad policy choice,” Jayapal said.

She added that “most countries around the world” have instituted some form of a Paycheck Recovery Act.

Jayapal said the proposal would help both workers and businesses by allowing people to stay on the payroll.

“The best thing we can do for workers is keep money in their pockets by keeping them on paychecks. The best thing we can do for businesses to not shutter, particularly small and medium sized businesses that have been completely pushed out during this pandemic, is to help those businesses by giving them the money to keep workers on payroll and also to pay some of their operating costs,” she said.

Jayapal's bill would allow businesses facing COVID-19 related revenue losses to apply for an initial three-month lump sum grant payment to cover revenue loss.

Employers would have to keep workers on payroll and benefits, as well as meet other conditions similar to the ones passed in the CARES Act.

The program would automatically renew until the nationwide unemployment rate remains below 7 percent for three consecutive months.

Jayapal said lawmakers could “immediately shrink” unemployment rolls since the legislation dates back to March 1, allowing workers that had been furloughed or laid off to get back on payrolls.

She also said the legislation would streamline the process, with money flowing directly from the IRS to the business rather than needing to go through a bank.

Nina Turner talks about the risks faced by sanitation workers during the pandemic

SANITATION WORKERS WILDCAT OVER MANAGEMENT ATTEMPT TO REPLACE THEM, FIGHTING FOR A WAGE OF $15 PER HOUR, AND PPE

5/21/2020

VIDEO

https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/498981-nina-turner-on-the-risks-faced-by-sanitation-workers-during-the-pandemic?jwsource=cl

Nina Turner, who served as campaign co-chair for Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential run, discussed a wave of labor actions by Louisiana sanitation workers deemed essential amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Turner said during a Thursday Hill.TV interview that the so-called wildcat strikes this month, in which the workers themselves decide to strike rather than union leadership, were spurred because “these essential workers, and the majority of them are African American men, are putting their lives in danger every single day to protect our health and safety.”

“They don’t have [Personal Protective Equipment], they’re not even making $15 an hour, that is not a lot to ask,” Turner added. “And they want hazard pay. So they’ve been out there trying to draw attention to this.”

Turner noted that in some cases contractors had brought in prison labor to replace striking workers, which she called “really unconscionable,” adding “the lives of those prisoners should matter as well.”

She went on to note that at the time of his assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been in Memphis, Tenn., to support a strike by sanitation workers in the city, calling the current situation further evidence that “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

“Their lives back in 1968 were not valued, and the lives of the 21st-century sanitation workers and other essential workers are not being valued either,” she said.

Turner pointed out similar actions from workers in other industries, including McDonald’s workers who had also demanded better protection and better pay.

“We shouldn’t even have to have these kinds of conversations to say to shareholders, to say to the people who own these kinds of corporations, that if you do right by your workers, that is good for the business bottom line,” she added.

Poor People's Campaign pushes for COVID-19 relief

5/20/2020

VIDEO https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/498766-poor-peoples-campaign-pushes-for-covid-19-relief?jwsource=cl

Rev. William Barber II, founder of the Poor People's Campaign, told Hill.TV's "Rising" on Wednesday that the coronavirus crisis will "exponentially" increase the number of Americans under the poverty line in America, and called for more federal support for low-income families.

In an interview, Rev. Barber called it "criminal" that the U.S. was not doing more to support the neediest Americans, including those struggling with homelessness and undocumented immigrants.

"To us, it's criminal that...the first three bills gave more than 2 trillion dollars...to the corporations at the top and did not reach the people at the bottom. 140 million people were basically ignored [in the coronavirus stimulus packages]," Barber said.

"Essential workers were basically ignored. [And] in the midst of a pandemic, we're not providing health care for everyone. That's criminal, it's ridiculous," he added.

Barber went on to predict that economic pressure felt by the lowest-income Americans would have a ripple effect for the rest of the economy.

His comments come as more than 36 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits in recent weeks, and many nonessential businesses in states around the country remain closed.

The House last week passed another major stimulus package, though the bill has little GOP support and is not likely to be taken up in the Senate.

Court orders zoo to free 'Pakistan's loneliest elephant'

WILL LUCY IN THE EDMONTON VALLEY ZOO BE NEXT?!
Clyde Hughes
WORLD NEWS
MAY 22, 2020

May 22 (UPI) -- A Pakistani elephant named Kaavan will soon be set free into the wild after a long campaign by iconic entertainer Cher and a court ruling that said it should be released from a zoo in Islamabad.

The Oscar-winning actress and Grammy-winning singer advocated for the elephant's release for four years after seeing a photo of the animal appearing lonesome at the Murghazar Zoo. Thursday, the Islamabad High Court ordered Pakistani officials to work with Sri Lanka, the elephant's native country, to locate a sanctuary within 30 days.

"The pain and suffering of Kaavan must come to an end by relocating him to an appropriate elephant sanctuary, in or outside the country," the court wrote in its ruling.

The 33-year-old Asian elephant was sent to Pakistan more than three decades ago as a gift from former Sri Lanka dictator Gen. Zia-ul-Haq. Kaavan has been restrained with chains at the zoo on occasion since 2002 because zookeepers were concerned about his increasingly aggressive behavior.

RELATED Elephant rescued from agricultural well in India

Also, Kaavan began to show more stress after his mate for 22 years, Saheli, died in 2012. Despite research that has shown elephants are social animals, no other made was provided for him after Saheli's death -- leading to Kaavan becoming known as "Pakistan's loneliest elephant."

Last year, zookeepers were suspended for stealing Kaavan's food and this year wild boards broke into his habitat and also stole his food.

After the court's ruling, Cher thanked the Pakistani government and said the news of the elephant's freedom moved her to tears.

RELATED Meghan Markle: 'Elephant' nature film shows 'remarkable' side of elephants

"This is one of the greatest moments of my life," the legendary musician wrote. "[Tears] down my cheeks.

"I wish to thank the Pakistani government!"

Mark Cowne, chief executive of the charity Free The Wild, said he's excited Kaavan will soon be freed.

"We were concerned about his mental health, he was in a very bad condition," Cowne said. "We really wanted to help him. He had been through a terrible time, locked up for 26 years, chained up for all that time."

"We've been trying so long," Cher added. "Mark is a giant of a man. He never gave up."

Coronavirus searches shift from health to economic fallout

Stef W. KightMay 22, 2020 - Health

Reproduced Schema analysis of Google Trends; Chart: Axios Visuals

Questions about the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic are beginning to overtake questions about the virus itself, according to a new analysis of Google search data from around the world.

Why it matters: Even with the global death toll rising, search data indicates that the coronavirus has become a fact of life for much of the world. Now, people have more questions about jobs, unemployment, furloughs and government aid.

How it works: Axios, Google Trends and research firm Schema analyzed more than 8,000 searches in six countries — the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia, India and Singapore.
These are all top English-language searches, related to coronavirus, that begin with "what is/are" or "how to."

What we found: General knowledge searches, such as "what is the coronavirus." surged in each country in January and February as the virus began to spread.

But over the past several weeks, those queries have slowed.

In the U.S., Canada, Australia and Singapore, searches about topics like furloughs and unemployment — repercussions of necessary coronavirus shutdowns — are more likely to be top searches than questions about the virus or its spread.

More people in the U.S. are now searching "Facebook" than "coronavirus."

Great Britain's Google trends largely mirror trends in the U.S., except that searches about jobs and the economy have not yet surpassed the number of top searches for general knowledge about the virus.

British people may simply have fewer questions about how to stay afloat, because of the government's massive spending to cover large chunks of workers' salaries, Axios world editor Dave Lawler notes.

Britain was also the only nation that had a surge in Google queries related to volunteering and donating back to community.

"With so much of this dataset reflecting the negative impact of the outbreak, it was heartwarming to see these acts of kindness reflected in the data," Schema founder Christian Schmidt told Axios.

Between the lines: India's English-language searches don't reveal an uptick in economic questions, but they may have simply been lost in translation.

It could also be that the elderly and poor populations, who were eligible for the initial relief benefits offered in late March, are less likely to use Google — especially in English, said Jeff MacInnes, Schema's director of technology. And some common searches aren't framed as "how to" or "what is" questions.

What to watch: Changes in Google searches reflect local outbreak cycles, the types of governmental programs available to ease financial hardship as well as media coverage, experts say.

Singapore has suffered a second wave of coronavirus cases, and you can see two spikes in general-knowledge Google searches — each followed by upticks in economic questions.
There were also two surges in searches about masks for Singapore, one peaking in early February and the other in April.

What's next: Search trends tend to follow events on the ground, and aren't necessarily helpful for predicting outbreaks or other events, said Cuihua (Cindy) Shen an associate professor at UC Davis who studies social media and big data.

But social media might be. Shen has been working on a new study researching whether posts about coronavirus symptoms on the Chinese social media platform Weibo can predict new cases.

Millions of Americans Skip Credit-Card and Car Payments

About 15 million credit-card accounts and 3 million auto loans didn’t get paid in April as the coronavirus ravaged the economy, data show

WSJ MAY 20/2020 BEHIND PAYWALL MARKETS

THIS WAS BEFORE THE MASS UNEMPLOYMENT OF MAY!!!
THE CAR LOAN INDUSTRY ALONE COULD CAUSE CAPITALISM TO CONTINUE INTO CRISIS WITH A CRASH IN REPAYMENTS




LOOK OUT BELOW
The US economy is caving in, but overdue debts are dropping
May 20, 2020

By John Detrixhe

Americans are steeling themselves for the biggest economic hit since the Great Depression. But even as unemployment skyrockets, overdue consumer debt is, for the moment at least, in decline.

The economy went into freefall this year, because of restrictions aimed at containing the coronavirus pandemic. Even so, the percentage of borrowers who were past due on auto loans, credit cards, personal loans, and mortgages fell last month compared with March, according to TransUnion data. Delinquencies for mortgages and personal loans were also 

lower in April than a year ago.

The divergence between a crumbling economy and overdue debts probably comes down to forbearance from lenders, according to Matt Komos, vice president of research and consulting at TransUnion. Financial companies were in pretty good shape going into this recession, and they’re fortified with enough capital to absorb losses for a while. Consumers have also gotten respite from the $2 trillion Cares Act, which includes a $1,200 check for Americans and beefed up unemployment benefits.

The loan forbearance is providing a temporary shock absorber for consumers. Leniency on mortgages, for example, might give borrowers some extra short-term cashflow, which in turn helps them stay on top of other debts like credit cards and auto loans, Komos says.

That said, financial stress is unquestionably on the rise. Financial hardship—defined as deferred payments, frozen accounts, and frozen past-due payments—is increasing rapidly.

Accounts in financial hardship

Date	Automobile	Credit card	Mortgages	Personal loans
Apr, 2020	3.54%	3.22%	5.00%	3.58%
Mar, 2020	0.64%	0.01%	0.48%	1.56%
Apr, 2019	0.51%	0.03%	0.48%	0.30%

Quartz | qz.com  Data: TransUnion  Note: May 20, 2020

The data show that a severe financial implosion has been delayed but not eliminated. Massive government aid programs and leniency from financial institutions have helped keep consumers afloat, for now. But everything depends on how quickly officials are able to restart the economy, whether emergency support for workers and business lasts long enough, and whether banks and financial institutions can afford to continue freezing accounts and deferring payments on debt.

“It’s temporary shock absorption,” Komos said. “The question becomes, how long and to what extent will it last?”

 
John Detrix The Future of finance reporter

Future of finance reporter QUARTZ
https://qz.com/1858990/the-us-economy-is-cratering-because-of-coronavirus-but-overdue-debts-are-dropping/

May 21, 2020 - Economy & Business

Millions took advantage of financial hardship programs in April for credit cards and auto loans

Dion Rabouin

Reproduced from TransUnion; Table: Axios Visuals


The number of borrowers not making payments on their credit cards and auto loans rose by thousands of percentage points in April as nearly 15 million credit cards and 3 million auto loans were placed in financial hardship programs.

The state of play: The numbers have surged from March, when less than 0.01% of credit cards and about 0.6% of auto loans were in the programs, according to data from credit reporting agency TransUnion.

Yes, but: The programs allow borrowers to temporarily stop making payments, suggesting voluntary elections rather than missed payments.

The big picture: TransUnion notes that its measure of consumer liquidity has increased as forbearance programs reduce monthly minimum payment obligations and free up capital for Americans.
The company also notes that credit card balances are decreasing as consumers reduce spending and make larger payments.
Credit scores generally have been stable with overall credit ratings actually increasing with fewer consumers in the subprime risk tier.

Between the lines: Mortgage delinquency rates declined slightly, with 94.4% of loan holders current in April, up from 93.7% in March, and the foreclosure rate has ticked down from March by 9.7 percentage points.

Go deeper: "Astronomical" U.S. debt from coronavirus measures will reshape the Treasury market

Financial Hardship Study | TransUnion Canada

https://www.transunion.ca › financial-hardship-study

Learn more about how households are being impacted financially by the ... Learn how credit cards affect your credit score. ... The impact due to COVID-19 in Canada. We're conducting weekly global Consumer Financial Hardship studies to ... how consumers are being impacted financially by the COVID-19 health crisis.

Consumer Financial Hardship Study - TransUnion USA

https://www.transunion.com › financial-hardship-study

The impact due to COVID-19. We're conducting global Consumer Financial Hardship studies to better ... how consumers are being impacted financially by the COVID-19 health crisis. ... Our next report will be available here Friday evening, June 5. ... TransUnion has studied the financial impact of COVID-19 across five ...

COVID-19 Impacting Consumer Finances Similarly Around the ...

https://www.globenewswire.com › news-release › 2020/04/30 › COVID-19...

Apr 30, 2020 - A just-released TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) global report including ... impacted by COVID-19, Canadian Gen Z (ages 18-25) consumers face ... suggests the combination of financial relief measures and more time ... greater hardships than Millennials in Canada, it may be that we see ... 52 Week High: $101.16 ...

As COVID-19 Impacts the Consumer Wallet, Federal ...

https://www.globenewswire.com › news-release › 2020/05/20 › As-COVID...

3 days ago - TransUnion's quarterly Industry Insights Report and monthly industry ... Financial hardship status is defined by factors such as a deferred ... though this is likely due to their use of federal stimulus packages, tax ... to learn more about the impacts of COVID-19 on consumer finances. ... 52 Week Low: $52.50.

Hydroxychloroquine shows no virus benefit, raises death risk: study

by Patrick Galey

Both drugs are associated with several potentially serious side effects

A study of nearly 100,000 coronavirus patients has shown no benefit in treating them with anti-viral drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine and even increased the likelihood of them dying in hospital.

Hydroxychloroquine is normally used to treat arthritis but pronouncement from public figures including US President Donald Trump—who announced this week he is taking the drug—has prompted governments to bulk buy the medicine.

Chloroquine is an anti-malarial. Both drugs can produce potentially serious side effects, particularly heart arrhythmia.

And neither drug benefitted patients hospitalised with COVID-19, according to a study published on Friday in The Lancet.

Looking at the records of 96,000 patients across hundreds of hospitals, they found that administering the drugs actually increased the risk of dying.

They compared outcomes from four groups: those treated with hydroxychloroquine alone, with chloroquine alone, and then two groups given the respective drugs in combination with antibiotics.

There was also a control group of patients not giv

en these treatments.

At the end of the study period around nine percent of those in the control group had died.

Of those treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine alone, 18 percent and 16.4 percent respectively had died.

And those given each drug in combination with antibiotics were even more likely to die: 22.8 percent with chloroquine and 23.8 percent with hydroxychloroquine.

The authors estimated that the drugs put patients at up to 45 percent higher risk of dying from COVID-19 compared with underlying health issues.

"Treatment with chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine does not benefit patients with COVID-19," said Mandeep Mehra, lead author of the study and executive director of the Brigham and Women's Hospital Center for Advanced Heart Disease in Boston.

"Instead, our findings suggest it may be associated with an increased risk of serious heart problems and increased risk of death."

'Landmark for treatment'

Despite Trump's enthusiasm for using hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 treatment, his own government's Food and Drug Administration warns against it.

Brazil's health minister on Wednesday recommended using chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat even mild COVID-19 cases.

Britain has ordered £35 million ($42 million) worth of hydroxychloroquine, despite numerous studies showing it is ineffective in treating COVID-19 and may even be more dangerous than doing nothing.

"Several countries have advocated use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, either alone or in combination, as potential treatments for COVID-19," said Frank Ruschitzka, director of the Heart Center at University Hospital Zurich and co-author of the study.

"We now know from our study that the chance that these medications improve outcomes in COVID-19 is quite low."

Stephen Griffin, associate professor at the University of Leeds' School of Medicine said the Lancet research was "potentially a landmark study for COVID-19 therapy".

"The indications are that these drugs certainly ought not to be used outside of a trial setting where patients can be monitored for complications," said Griffin, who was not involved in the study.

"It is clear that high profile endorsements of taking these drugs without clinical oversight is both misguided and irresponsible."

Side effects seen with use of chloroquine against COVID-19

---

More information: Mehra MR Desai SS Ruschitzka F Patel AN, Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis.
Lancet. 2020; (published online May 22.) doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31180-6

Journal information: The Lancet 

New study records dual hand use in early human relative

UNIVERSITY OF KENT

 

Research by anthropologists at the University of Kent has identified hand use behaviour in fossil human relatives that is consistent with modern humans.

The human lineage can be defined by a transition in hand use. Early human ancestors used their hands to move around in the trees, like living primates do today, whereas modern human hands have evolved to primarily perform precision grips.

However, new research led by Dr Christopher Dunmore, Dr Matthew Skinner and Professor Tracy Kivell from Kent's School of Anthropology and Conservation has revealed that the hand of an ancient human relative was used for both human-like manipulation as well as climbing.

Their discovery came from analysing and comparing the internal bony structures of fossil knuckle and thumb joints from the hands of several fossil species from South Africa, eastern Africa and Europe. These included: Australopithecus sediba, Australopithecus africanus, Australopithecus afarensis, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens dated between 12 thousand and three million years old.

The knuckles at the base of Australopithecus sediba's fingers were found to have an internal trabecular structure consistent with branch grasping, but that of their thumb joints is consistent with human-like manipulation. This unique combination is different to that found in the other Australopithecus species studied and provides direct evidence that ape-like features of this species were actually used, probably during in climbing. Furthermore, it supports the idea that the transition to walking on two legs was gradual in this late surviving member of the Australopithecus genus.

Dr Dunmore said: 'Internal bone structures are shaped by frequent behaviours during life. Therefore, our findings can support further research into the internal structure of hands in relation to stone tool use and production. This approach may also be used to investigate how other fossil hominin species moved around and to what degree climbing might have remained an important part of their lifestyle.'

Professor Kivell said: 'The internal bone structure can reveal hidden evidence that gives us insight into how our fossil human relatives behaved. We were really excited to see this particular hand-use pattern in Australopithecus sediba as it was so different from other australopiths. The fossil record is revealing more and more diversity in the ways our ancestors moved around, and interacted with, their environments - the human evolutionary story is even more complex and interesting than we previously thought.'

###

Their paper 'The position of Australopithecus sediba within fossil hominin hand use diversity' is published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1207-5

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not r

No media publisher is immune in the coronavirus era

Sara Fischer

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
COVID-19 has accelerated the shrinkage of journalism.

Why it matters: If it could happen to The Atlantic, where 68 staffers were laid off today, it could happen to any media company.

Hundreds of local, national and even international newsroom jobs have been axed, and student internships and fellowships have mostly been canceled.The big picture: 2.4 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, reports Axios' Courtenay Brown.

The pre-COVID record number of filings was set in 1982 at 695,000.

New York state's Labor Department told reporters this week it has paid out 4.5 years' worth of unemployment benefits in just over two months.

Between the lines: The coronavirus hit diversified publishers on multiple fronts.

Advertising: Publishers who enjoyed record COVID-19 web traffic weren't able to monetize it, as ad rates collapsed.

Events: In-person events, where The Atlantic focused considerable attention and where publishers can command a premium, are currently out of the picture. Virtual events are on the rise, but they don't command the same price point.

E-commerce: Amazon and big mass retailers have cut affiliate fees, cutting commerce revenue from many publishers.

Subscriptions: Many publishers have pivoted toward subscriber models, but with a few exceptions, those gains aren't even close to enough to compensate for the lost ad revenue.

What's next: Layoffs like this in crisis usually happen in waves, so a fall coronavirus resurgence could bring another round of job losses.

In the future — as more companies integrate remote work into their culture — other jobs will begin to get eliminated too, like in-person sales teams or teams that help produce print products that will not come back.

The bottom line: The Atlantic's troubles, combined with the struggles at other billionaire-backed publications like the Los Angeles Times, serve as an important reminder that the industry has few sustainable paths forward without viable business models.

The Atlantic lays off almost 20% of staff
Sara Fischer AXIOS

Photo: Robert Alexander/Getty Images

The Atlantic is layingoff nearly 20% of staff, according to an internal note from David Bradley, the publication's chairman, that was obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: It's the latest media company that's been been forced to take drastic measures to survive the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The state of play: The 68 staff cuts are mostly attributable to the collapse of the company's events business, which was one of its strongest pillars for many years.

In the memo, Bradley says that sales, editorial and events staff are all impacted.

"There is no fault on the part of people leaving the firm. What makes this so particularly difficult is that these are exceptional and beloved Atlantic colleagues. They are exactly the same good people who were selected to join us at the outset. Measure for measure, they have contributed to The Atlantic as have those who are remaining. It is only that the ground has shifted," Bradley wrote in his note to staff

"I had thought that I would spend some substantial part of this memo explaining the reasoning behind our decision. But, I think it may speak for itself. The particular timing is clear — a global pandemic that has shuttered the economy generally, advertising acutely, and in-person events altogether," he added.

Between the lines: The Atlantic's new majority ownership stake from Emerson Collective, the impact investment vehicle owned by Laurene Powell Jobs, has allowed the company to accelerate its growth in recent years, including a major staff increase and expansion that began in 2018.

The big picture: The pandemic is forcing dozens of major media companies, including newer, digitally-native media companies and older magazine companies, to carry out layoffs and pay cuts.
The Atlantic joins The Hollywood Reporter, Fortune, Billboard, The Economist Group, Group Nine Media, BuzzFeed News, Vox Media, Bustle Digital Group, Cheddar, Maven Media, G/O Media, Protocol and others who have resorted to layoffs and furloughs.

IBM is the latest in tech to lay off workers

Scott Rosenberg, Courtenay Brown

IBM's logo appears on the side of a building in Poland. Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

IBM announced layoffs Friday to its global force of approximately 350,000 workers, as a massive pandemic-inspired worldwide recession continues to take a toll on employment.

By the numbers: IBM won't say how many employees are being given notice in the cut, which was first reported by Bloomberg, but according to the Wall Street Journal the layoffs will hit several thousand workers.

The big picture: Layoffs in tech have already hit hard in digital media, startups and the gig economy. IBM's move is a sign that the downturn won't spare the large enterprise sector, either.

Hewlett-Packard Enterprise also foreshadowed job cuts in giving guidance as part of its earnings report on Thursday.

Our thought bubble: IBM's global consulting business is particularly vulnerable to the business downturn. Many companies in times of austerity will try to avoid laying off their own workers by instead cutting back on the kind of big upgrades and reorganizations that IBM specializes in managing.

What they're saying: "IBM’s work in a highly competitive marketplace requires flexibility to constantly remix to high-value skills, and our workforce decisions are made in the long-term interests of our business," said Edward Barbini, IBM VP of corporate communications, adding that the company would subsidize medical coverage for laid-off workers through June 2021.