World economy
UK: Johnson government to unveil second multi-billion bailout of big business
By Robert Stevens, 28 May 2020
Project Birch follows on from the handing over of nearly a trillion pounds in the form of quantitative easing of £645 billion and £330 billion in business loans.
With US states facing a $230 billion loss in education funding, Betsy DeVos channels public assets to private schools
By Evan Blake, 28 May 2020
Facing an unprecedented budget crisis in every state, the ruling class is working to impose the full burden of the pandemic on the working class through massive austerity, including an evisceration of K-12 public education.
Unemployment skyrockets among youth
By Genevieve Leigh, 27 May 2020
A large body of research shows that young people, especially those without a college degree, are particularly vulnerable during economic downturns.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans face homelessness during pandemic as states begin lifting restrictions on evictions
By Trévon Austin, 26 May 2020
Across the US, moratoriums on eviction proceedings and home foreclosures, set in place during the onset of the pandemic, have either been lifted or are set to expire early next month.
After French bailout, Renault-Nissan announces global jobs massacre
By Alex Lantier, 26 May 2020
Four plants in France, three in Spain and tens of thousands of jobs worldwide are targeted amid a savage restructuring of the global auto industry.
Thyssenkrupp in Germany to be broken up
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 26 May 2020
With the approval of hedge funds and the IG Metall trade union, the supervisory board of Germany’s Thyssenkrupp company has decided to break up the industrial group.
Maryland Democratic Party officials cite coronavirus crisis to impose sweeping budget cuts on workers
By Ray Coleman, 26 May 2020
Democratic Party officials in Montgomery County seized upon the COVID-19 crisis to impose austerity upon county employees, many of whom are working on the front lines of the pandemic.
Sri Lankan Everbest garment workers protest job and wage cuts
By our reporters, 26 May 2020
The trade unions, like the counterparts around the world, are assisting the government and the employers.
Chinese leadership drops economic growth target
By Nick Beams, 25 May 2020
Premier Li Keqiang said the government had refrained from setting a GDP target because foreign markets were so uncertain.
Global rental car giant Hertz added to growing list of US corporations filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
By Jessica Goldstein, 25 May 2020
The restructuring has already begun with Hertz laying off or furloughing about one fourth of its workforce, or 16,000 workers, since March.
As hundreds across Europe die daily from coronavirus
European Union pushes reopening of beach resorts and hotels for summer holiday season
By Jordan Shilton, 23 May 2020
Piling one lie on another, the EU Commission claimed its guidelines would restore “transport services across the EU while protecting the health of transport workers and passengers.”
Uber lays off 6,700 white-collar workers as it continues restructuring
By Shuvu Batta, 23 May 2020
Uber has slashed jobs for its white-collar workers while it restructures its business in response to its fall in share values and drop in ride requests.
US Agriculture Department outlines program to aid farmers hit by pandemic
By Alex Findijs, 23 May 2020
The design of the program will inevitably lead to a disproportionate share of funding flowing to large firms.
Wealth of US billionaires soars as pandemic expands, nearly 40 million unemployed
By Niles Niemuth, 23 May 2020
The class logic at play in the homicidal push to reopen the US economy before the spread of the coronavirus has been controlled is becoming increasingly clear.
US unemployment claims approach 40 million since March
By Niles Niemuth, 22 May 2020
According to some estimates, the real unemployment rate has already hit 22.5 percent, which is nearing levels reached during the depths of the Great Depression in 1933.
Further details emerge on the extent of the mid-March financial crisis
By Nick Beams, 22 May 2020
While the Fed has taken limited measures to try to curb some of the riskier activities of the banks that sparked the 2008 crash, the dangers have simply been shifted to other areas of the financial system.
Merkel and Macron’s European bailout: €500 billion for trade war and austerity
By Peter Schwarz, 22 May 2020
Merkel and Macron see the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to strengthen their countries’ position in the world market and reorganise the European economy in the interests of the major corporations.
Nearly 1.5 million health care workers laid off in pandemic-fueled jobs massacre
By Gary Joad, 22 May 2020
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 43,000 health care workers lost their jobs in March, while 1.4 million more lost their jobs in April.
The economic impact of the pandemic on young workers in Wayne County, Michigan
By Helen Halyard and Kevin Reed, 22 May 2020
The WSWS spoke with Karissa, 27, about her experiences over the past eight weeks since she and her fiancé lost their jobs when the coronavirus pandemic hit the Detroit area.
US government to file antitrust lawsuit against Google this summer
By Kevin Reed, 21 May 2020
The DOJ case will reportedly raise “concerns that Google uses its dominant search business to stifle competition.”
Mass sackings as German department store group closes up to 80 stores
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 19 May 2020
Germany’s largest department store group, the merged Galeria Kaufhof Karstadt, is to close almost half of its stores.
US retailer JCPenney to close nearly one-third of department stores, announces bankruptcy
By Jessica Goldstein, 19 May 2020
The decline of traditional “brick and mortar” retail is part of a protracted process which has spanned decades. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated processes which were already well underway.
New Zealand Labour government promises billions for big business
By John Braddock, 19 May 2020
While handing over billions to big business through the COVID-19 crisis, Labour’s budget boosts the military and prepares a sweeping assault on the social position of the working class.
Australian government heightens trade conflict with China
By Mike Head, 18 May 2020
Successive Australian governments have been in the forefront of imposing tariffs and other restrictions on imports from China.
US Fed report reveals depth of financial crisis it helped create
By Nick Beams, 18 May 2020
A Foreign Policy article noted that with its asset holdings predicted to reach $9 trillion by the year's end, the Fed is pumping money into the financial system at the rate of $1 million every second.
US House passes $3 trillion coronavirus “relief” bill
By Jacob Crosse, 16 May 2020
In a near party-line vote, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed a fourth stimulus bill that has no chance of being approved by the Republican-controlled Senate.
Prices for basic foods soar in the US as pandemic disrupts supply chains
By Alex Findijs, 16 May 2020
Grocery prices in the country rose 2.6 percent in April, the largest increase in a single month since 1974.
Australian governments exploit mass unemployment to coerce workers into unsafe workplaces
By Mike Head, 16 May 2020
Nearly half a million workers dropped out of the workforce in April, yet unemployment and underemployment still reached a record total of 19.9 percent.
Worsening conditions at Hirdaramani garment plants in Sri Lanka
By our reporters, 16 May 2020
Sri Lankan apparel manufacturers have responded to the COVID-19 crisis with a wave of wage and job cuts and the imposition of increased working hours and productivity targets.
Unemployment soars in New Zealand
By Tom Peters, 16 May 2020
Having handed tens of billions of dollars to big business, the Labour Party-led government is presiding over an increase in unemployment and social misery on a scale not seen in generations.
Three million more US workers apply for unemployment, reaching 36 million in two months
By Trévon Austin, 15 May 2020
On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reported that 40 percent of US households bringing in less than $40,000 a year lost a wage earner in March.
Local county officials in California bow before billionaire’s demand to reopen Tesla factory
By Jessica Goldstein, 14 May 2020
Earlier this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk reopened his 10,000-employee factory in defiance of the orders of Alameda County health officials.
Fed chief calls for more money for Wall Street and corporations
By Nick Beams, 14 May 2020
Powell’s remarks effectively poured water on the claim that once lockdowns are lifted, as being demanded by the “return to work” advocates, the American economy will immediately snap back in a so-called V-shaped recovery.
Democrats release fraudulent “relief” bill
By Barry Grey, 14 May 2020
The political charade and partisan grandstanding now under way serve to mask the bipartisan unity when it comes to protecting the basic class interests of the ruling elite.
UK: Johnson government readies post-lockdown onslaught against working class
By Robert Stevens, 14 May 2020
The offensive is being prepared as the government is attempting to force millions back to work in unsafe conditions.
German companies plan layoffs, attacks on wages and benefits amid coronavirus pandemic
By Peter Schwarz, 14 May 2020
The German government’s response to the pandemic was conditioned from the outset by the interests of the major corporations and banks.
India’s calamitous COVID-19 lockdowns leave more than 120 million jobless
By Wasantha Rupasinghe and Keith Jones, 14 May 2020
Egged on by big business, the BJP government is now pushing for a return to work, and cynically citing the suffering its lockdown has inflicted on India’s working people to justify making them risk infection and death.
Ohio University lays off 140 workers amid massive statewide cuts to higher education
By Katy Kinner, 14 May 2020
New layoffs and furloughs are in response to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s $775 million budget cut, with $110 million to be cut from higher education.
Mounting worker opposition to Quebec’s reckless back-to-work drive
By Louis Girard, 14 May 2020
Quebec’s rightwing populist CAQ government is spearheading the drive of Canada’s business elite to force a precipitous return to work amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Depression USA
By Joseph Kishore—SEP candidate for US president, 9 May 2020
The social desperation of millions of people in the United States is being used by the ruling class to compel a return to work amidst the expanding coronavirus pandemic.
Mass joblessness deepens in US as corporations move to implement permanent layoffs
By Shannon Jones, 8 May 2020
The official unemployment rate now stands at 14.7 percent, itself a significant underestimate of the scale of joblessness, as millions of families are confronting food insecurity.
US state and municipal governments plan massive austerity to meet COVID-19 budget shortfalls
By Isaac Finn, 8 May 2020
State and municipal governments are announcing cuts to medical programs and education and are furloughing workers to make up for the budget shortfall.
With minimal federal relief, US states plan huge cuts to public education
By Evan Blake, 8 May 2020
The impact of the pandemic has thoroughly undermined state budgets, which is being used by Democratic and Republican politicians to dismantle and privatize public education and other vital social services.
UK Chancellor Sunak to wind down furlough wage scheme as part of back-to-work offensive
By Robert Stevens and Julie Hyland, 7 May 2020
The furlough scheme is being ended with workers facing either going back into work in unsafe conditions, in the middle of a deadly pandemic, or losing their jobs.
Jobs massacre deepens in European aviation as four UK corporations announce 26,000 redundancies
By Julia Callaghan, 7 May 2020
In recent days, four conglomerates based in Britain and Ireland—British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Rolls-Royce and Ryanair—have announced they will be laying off a combined 26,000 workers.
Nearly half of Australia’s young hospitality workers lose their jobs
By Mike Head, 7 May 2020
Despite the biggest government handouts to big business in history, almost 1 million people were made jobless in just five weeks.
Mired in debt, Sri Lankan government vows to avoid default
By Saman Gunadasa, 6 May 2020
Big businesses and the government are translating this economic crisis into a massive attack on jobs, wages and all hard-won workers’ rights.
Layoffs and corporate bankruptcies spread as US workers face mounting hardship
By Shannon Jones, 5 May 2020
Job cuts are sweeping the US as major manufacturers join retailers in announcing long-term layoffs.
The political economy of capitalist debt
By Nick Beams, 5 May 2020
No matter how much it seems that “value” can simply be created out of thin air, the gargantuan mass of fictitious capital and debt ultimately rests on the surplus value obtained from the exploitation of the working class.
Euro zone economy contracts at record pace
By Nick Beams, 2 May 2020
The European Central Bank has taken the same road as the US Fed, committing itself to pump still more money across the board into the financial markets.
Germany’s Lufthansa: Billions in state aid and mass layoffs
By Peter Schwarz, 2 May 2020
The airline unions are appealing to Chancellor Merkel for state intervention.
Argentine unions and employers agree to wage cuts pushing millions into poverty
By Rafael Azul, 2 May 2020
More than a million workers will face hunger and poverty while businesses get massive subsidies.
Amid back-to-work drive and state reopenings
US government prepares for hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 deaths
By Patrick Martin, 2 May 2020
Press inquiries have found that the federal government is ordering enough body bags for at least five times the current US death toll.
As US unemployment reaches Great Depression levels, millions still unable to obtain assistance
By Shannon Jones, 1 May 2020
With the official jobless rate expected to reach 20 percent, millions find they cannot get state unemployment benefits as overloaded systems crash.
Stock markets surge as Fed pledges to continue corporate handouts
By Nick Beams, 30 April 2020
Despite figures showing the deepest economic contraction since the 2008 financial crisis, the Dow closed up by over 500 points.
Spain ends confinement, moving to “new normal” as COVID-19 cases rise
By Alejandro López, 30 April 2020
On Tuesday evening, Sánchez outlined his government’s plan under the name “ Transition Plan to a New Normal.”
British Airways announces 12,000 redundancies amid global airline jobs massacre
By Thomas Scripps, 30 April 2020
The job losses will devastate tens of thousands and are a warning to workers of the economic “reconstruction” being prepared by the ruling elite in the wake of the pandemic.
Profits before human life: German parliament president Schäuble wins broad support in the establishment
By Peter Schwarz, 30 April 2020
The German ruling class is marking the 75th anniversary of Hitler’s suicide in the Führer bunker by discussing how many human lives should be sacrificed in the coronavirus crisis.
Millions of US workers blocked from applying for jobless benefits
By Kevin Reed, 29 April 2020
An Economic Policy Institute survey shows that the real number of unemployed workers in the US is far higher than the official 26.5 million who have filed unemployment claims.
Round two of the “Paycheck Protection Program”: Another disaster for US small businesses and their employees
By Barry Grey, 29 April 2020
The abortive start of the second round of the “small business” program demonstrated that the vast majority of small businesses and their employees will receive little or nothing in relief from the economic collapse.
Trump orders meatpacking workers back on the job as opposition mounts to back-to-work campaign
By Niles Niemuth, 29 April 2020
US President Donald Trump’s executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to force employees at meatpacking plants back to work marks a new stage in his administration’s confrontation with the working class.
Classical musicians, orchestras and opera companies confront COVID-19 lockdown
By Fred Mazelis, 29 April 2020
Freelance and younger musicians are especially hard hit by cancellations and shutdowns.
New York state’s economy spirals into the abyss under the effects of COVID-19
By Philip Guelpa, 28 April 2020
A new study projects that the economic impact to New York state of the pandemic will reach $243 billion and it will take three years until a “full recovery.”
The Great Wall Street Heist of 2020
By Joseph Kishore—SEP candidate for US president, 28 April 2020
2020 will go down not only as the year of the coronavirus pandemic but also as the year of the greatest act of thievery and plunder yet perpetrated by the corporate and financial oligarchy.
US billionaires increase wealth by $280 billion since March, as millions are unable to get unemployment benefits
By Gabriel Black, 27 April 2020
The wealth of the ultra-rich has surged since the March stock market slump, as the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic further concentrates the wealth of society.
The deadly return to work begins
By Marcus Day, 27 April 2020
From Georgia to Minnesota, US states are beginning to ease social distancing measures and reopen businesses this week, despite the growing death toll from COVID-19.
US unemployment up 26 million in five weeks
By Evan Blake, 24 April 2020
With an additional 4.4 million Americans filing for unemployment last week, a total of 26 million people have filed for unemployment over the past five weeks.
Thousands of jobs on the line after Virgin Australia goes into administration
By Terry Cook, 24 April 2020
The announcement by Virgin Australia, the country’s second largest domestic carrier, threatens at least 15,000 jobs.
“Back to work” campaign in the US will lead to surge in coronavirus deaths
By Joseph Kishore, 24 April 2020
The American ruling class is attempting to rapidly resume production and send workers back to work. If this policy is carried out, countless thousands more people will get gravely sick or die.
As US governors rush to reopen businesses, “Excess death” counts begin to reveal true toll of pandemic
By Bryan Dyne, 23 April 2020
A series of reports have shown that the real death toll from the coronavirus in many parts of the United States and Europe is likely at least twice what has been officially reported.
Oil price plunge continues
By Nick Beams, 22 April 2020
Trump has indicated government bailout measures for the industry may be forthcoming after his failed attempt to halt the price slide by having Russia and Saudi Arabia cut production.
Real jobless rate could reach 30 percent in Australia
By Mike Head, 22 April 2020
Low-paid workers are twice as likely to be thrown out of work as high-income people in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Grattan Institute.
Oil price contracts take historic plunge into negative territory
By Nick Beams, 21 April 2020
The price at the close of trading was -$37.63 compared with $18.36 a barrel on Friday—the first time oil prices have gone into negative territory.
US farm relief program hands billions to agribusiness while millions lack food
By Alex Findijs, 21 April 2020
The farm relief program will protect the profits of the ruling class, while farmers are dumping produce because the distribution chain has been disrupted.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of economic nationalism
By Nick Beams, 21 April 2020
The pandemic has made clear that the tiny minority of corporate and financial oligarchs, and the profit system over which they preside, stand as an obstacle to the rational organisation and scientific planning of the economy and society necessary to deal with the threat to human life.
Amazon workers in Italy strike over coronavirus cover-up
Worker resistance grows internationally as governments push premature return to work
By Shannon Jones, 18 April 2020
The reckless drive by the Trump administration and governments in Europe to resume production despite health warnings will produce a social explosion.
Chinese economy contracted by 6.8 percent in first quarter
By Nick Beams, 18 April 2020
The announcement of the plunge in China came just days after the IMF forecast that the world economy will experience a $9 trillion loss of output over 2020-21.
Bangladesh garment workers strike against COVID-19 job and wage cuts; Australian maritime union ends strike over COVID-19 at Hutchison Ports
Workers Struggles: Asia and Australia
18 April 2020
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Steep fall in US economy and worse is to come
By Nick Beams, 16 April 2020
Any notion that there will be a rapid economic recovery once the immediate effects of the pandemic pass is being dispelled.
Unemployment already at Great Depression levels in Australia
By Mike Head, 16 April 2020
A record 3.92 million workers, or 27.4 percent, were either unemployed or under-employed by the end of March.
World economy to take biggest hit since Great Depression
By Nick Beams, 15 April 2020
The IMF’s “baseline scenario” is that the world economy will lose $9 trillion in 2020 and 2021, equivalent to the combined economic output of Germany and Japan.
With anger mounting over pandemic response, unions make pitch to save American capitalism
By Jerry White, 15 April 2020
In a joint comment published by USA Today, the leaders of four major unions urge corporate America to use their services to “restore profits and economic growth.”
Canada’s coronavirus wage-subsidy tailored to propping up business, not protecting workers’ incomes
By Roger Jordan, 14 April 2020
The trade unions and NDP have once again rallied to the support of the Trudeau government, whose response to the pandemic has focussed on bailing out the banks and big business so as to safeguard the wealth and investments of the capitalist elite.
European Union to spend half a trillion euros on imperialist interests in coronavirus bailout
By Peter Schwarz, 13 April 2020
After two days of bitter disputes, the EU finance ministers agreed on a coronavirus bailout worth €500 billion.
Last-minute deal on oil production cuts
By Nick Beams, 13 April 2020
The fear was that had an agreement not been reached the oil price would have crashed when trading opened today, after already dropping by 40 percent since the beginning of March.
African economies in free fall as coronavirus pandemic worsens
By Stephan McCoy, 11 April 2020
An African Union study predicts that some 20 million jobs are at risk in Africa due to the impact of the pandemic.
Wolves guard the hen house: Who is overseeing the $2 trillion stimulus package?
By Genevieve Leigh, 11 April 2020
The mechanisms established to manage stimulus money primarily exist to bail out the major corporations, further enrich the banks, and to secure Wall Street.
International Labour Organisation warns of massive job losses from COVID-19
By Nick Beams, 10 April 2020
According to the International Labour Organisation, the COVID-19 crisis is expected to wipe out 6.7 percent of total working hours globally in the second quarter of this year—equivalent to 195 million full-time workers.
Bailout of US corporations expands while workers see little relief
By Barry Grey, 9 April 2020
While billions have already flowed to the corporations and banks, the limited provisions of the bailout law touted as a boon to working people have yet to kick in, and for millions they likely never will.
Labor and the unions help push corporate bailout through Australian parliament
By Mike Head, 9 April 2020
The main thrust of the bills is to allow employers to cut wages, working hours and other working conditions.
US automakers planning return to work before coronavirus danger subsides
By Tom Hall and Jessica Goldstein, 8 April 2020
Automakers are planning a return to work that would endanger workers and their families.
Unions agree to salary furlough at British Airways
By Paul Bond, 8 April 2020
The Unite union claims it has secured BA’s agreement that no worker will be laid off without pay, and that there will be no redundancies, at least temporarily.
Sri Lanka: Billions to big business as government prepares new attacks on working people
By Saman Gunadasa, 8 April 2020
No meaningful government funds have been provided for personal protection equipment for health workers, ventilators for patients or kits for mass coronavirus testing.
Fiction, reality and the global crisis of capitalism
By Joseph Kishore and David North, 7 April 2020
As the death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic mounted on Monday, a mood of uncontrollable euphoria prevailed among investors on Wall Street.
Share buybacks have been the “only net source of money entering the stock market” since 2008
By Nick Beams, 7 April 2020
A report published in the Wall Street Journal reveals that one of the main reasons for the cash shortage of major corporations, now lining up for a bailout, is the trillions of dollars they have spent on share buybacks to boost the fortunes of the ultra-wealthy.
US jobless numbers head toward Depression levels
By Nick Beams, 4 April 2020
The official March data, showing job losses of 701,000, are a significant underestimation since they are based on surveys conducted before widespread lockdowns were in place.
UK corporations scramble for coronavirus bailout funds
By Paul Bond, 4 April 2020
The £350 billion bailout is an unprecedented financial handout to UK corporations, conducted without even the rubber stamp of a parliamentary vote.
Canadian government’s bailout increases banks’ control over economy and state
By Roger Jordan, 4 April 2020
Canada’s Liberal government is funnelling hundreds of billions of dollars to the banks and major corporations to guarantee the wealth of the capitalist elite.
Banks set to make billions from stimulus measures
By Nick Beams, 3 April 2020
Banks, lobby groups, major legal firms and hedge funds are all striving to get their slice of the largest corporate and financial bailout in history.
For emergency action against the destruction of jobs! Full financial and social support for all working people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic!
Joseph Kishore—Socialist Equality Party candidate for US president, 3 April 2020
All sections of the working class must be fully compensated for the economic consequences of the pandemic.
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