AUSTIN | Economic Development

[We vs us]

So, how did the last recession pan out here?

I'm not sure exactly what we're seeing globally, but pretty safe to say we're in the sauce at least for the short term (IMO).

Did everything stop all at once, or was it a pause and then leap forward? Obviously much relies on funding, and up til today's oil craziness I would've thought that avenue was still safe and strong. Not so sure any more . . .

[H2O]

Originally Posted by We vs us

So, how did the last recession pan out here?

I'm not sure exactly what we're seeing globally, but pretty safe to say we're in the sauce at least for the short term (IMO).

Did everything stop all at once, or was it a pause and then leap forward? Obviously much relies on funding, and up til today's oil craziness I would've thought that avenue was still safe and strong. Not so sure any more . . .

Austin was probably the least affected by the Great Recession than any other large US city. Several major projects that were underway prior to 2008 continued. A few that were in early stages were cancelled. Locally, the economy was still fairly strong until about 2010, and things picked up again by 2012. It was said that Austin was the last to enter the recession, and the first to exit. Population growth continued as before. The biggest problem was that it was difficult to obtain development financing until about 2012, even though the demand was there.

[The ATX]

I think we will begin seeing some of the more speculative projects going on hold - especially if they have a hotel component.

[The ATX]

SXSW is laying off 1/3 of its employees per MyFox7. I don't know the number of employees.

[sammyk]

Originally Posted by The ATX

SXSW is laying off 1/3 of its employees per MyFox7. I don't know the number of employees.

Around 55-60.

[austlar1]

And shale producer Parsley Energy, soon to occupy a new downtown Austin office tower carrying their name, may be a merger or takeover candidate due to the energy bust, which is largely attributable to the fallout from Covid 19. Their stock has really tanked. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN20W2WT

[myBrain]

Originally Posted by austlar1

And shale producer Parsley Energy, soon to occupy a new downtown Austin office tower carrying their name, may be a merger or takeover candidate due to the energy bust, which is largely attributable to the fallout from Covid 19. Their stock has really tanked. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN20W2WT

It's because of the conflict between SA and Russia, I don't think it has anything to do with the virus.

edit: nvm, coronavirus effects on demand seem to have instigated the whole thing?

[We vs us]

Oh hey, Tesla's supposedly eyeing Nashville for their next Gigafactory.

https://www.axios.com/tesla-weighs-n...8b767d58d.html

Though it's also pretty clear Elon likes TX, too.

[llamaorama]

To be fair, Tennessee has a lot of auto manufacturing already. This actually seems like a fairly careful decision by Tesla standards. San Antonio has Toyota of course but it’s not in the same scale as all the stuff in the upper part of the South.

[The ATX]

No surprise. But Marriott has started to lay off what they expect to be "tens of thousands" of workers.

[freerover]

Originally Posted by The ATX

No surprise. But Marriott has started to lay off what they expect to be "tens of thousands" of workers.

So they have to file a warn notice within a week of layoffs? Seems like the last one to come in was SXSW.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by freerover

So they have to file a warn notice within a week of layoffs? Seems like the last one to come in was SXSW.

The info was from a CNBC news report, and it refers to their entire workforce. So Texas WARN letters will be needed when the layoffs begin here.

[freerover]

Originally Posted by The ATX

The info was from a CNBC news report, and it refers to their entire workforce. So Texas WARN letters will be needed when the layoffs begin here.

How do the timing of the WARN letters compare to the timing of the layoffs typically?

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by freerover

How do the timing of the WARN letters compare to the timing of the layoffs typically?

In situations like this, companies typically issue a press release announcing that there will be mass layoffs. But prior to the actual layoffs they will of course have to issue WARN letters with specific details depending on State and Federal laws. From what I've noticed, the actual layoffs can happen shortly after WARN letters are sent.

[We vs us]

I'm not sure what the WARN threshold is, but Marriott itself may not have as many employees in the area as we think, mostly because of their franchise system. White lodging, for instance, may be cutting hundreds of jobs at this point, but the employer is White Lodging, not Marriott.

From what I can tell, this was the major week where most inessential staff were furloughed throughout the hotel industry. You'll see buildings being mothballed from this point onwards, probably through at least sometime in May.

My hotel's furloughs (which also dropped this week) are initially supposed to last 8-12 weeks, but in reality the furloughs will last till occupancies start to increase -- whenever that actually happens.

[We vs us]

So hey, all the bars along Dirty Sixth were putting plywood boards up over the windows. It looked like they were preparing for a hurricane.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by We vs us

So hey, all the bars along Dirty Sixth were putting plywood boards up over the windows. It looked like they were preparing for a hurricane.

Or looting? This is crazy....or is it?...

[corvairkeith]

Originally Posted by We vs us

So hey, all the bars along Dirty Sixth were putting plywood boards up over the windows. It looked like they were preparing for a hurricane.

Yep, I took these today.







Rainey Street is a ghost town.





As is SoCo.

[DavidVistaChino]

For what it’s worth, a lot of major police departments in the country are setting up task forces to plan how to combat rioting at grocery stores.
Sounds lovely, doesn’t it?

[freerover]

We need to vote to expand Convention Center This year

Voting to expand the convention center this year means temporary jobs for the next few years and makes Austin more competitive for big events when construction finishes which will be long after we have a Covid 19 vaccine. Austin lost Dellworld and continues to miss out on big events so too many businesses rely way too heavily on SXSW. We need to do what we can now for our future selves and that means authorizing the hotel tax to be used for expanding the convention center to help the future Austin Economy.