(The following story by Abby Sewell appeared on the Desert Dispatch website on January 9.)

BARSTOW, Calif. As unemployment numbers continue to rise nationwide, Barstows major employers are reporting few layoffs, but some local businesses have closed their doors in recent weeks, while others have scaled back on hiring.

BNSF Railway, the third largest employer in Barstow, according to statistics maintained by the city, has made layoffs in its Barstow and Needles yards, spokeswoman Lena Kent said. The railway cut four train crew positions in Barstow and 26 in Needles in the past five weeks. Whether any more furloughs are coming will depend on the economy, she said.

Like many other companies, weve been impacted as well by the current economic conditions, Kent said. Traffic volumes have decreased and we dont anticipate them increasing in the near future.

Workers at the Barstow BNSF yard said the topic of job cuts has been on everyones mind. Several of the workers had been through layoffs in the past.

Barstow-based carman Aaron Harper was furloughed for a little over a year in 1999 before being called back to work. The railway offered him the option of transferring to Chicago or Kansas City at the time, Harper said, but because of his wife and children he decided to take the layoff rather than uprooting

I tell the new guys you cant really worry about it, because if it happens, it happens, he said.

Engineer Phil Riley, who has worked for the railroad for 15 years, has enough seniority not to be concerned about his own job, but he said the newer hires are rushing to look for positions at other yards where they can chase seniority if more layoffs come down in Barstow.

Its just now starting to affect us, he said. Everyones starting to feel it here, and everyones worried about whats coming down in the future.

Meanwhile, the Barstow areas two largest employment sites, Fort Irwin and the Marine Corps Logistics Base, remained unaffected by the recession. Both reported that they are currently filling positions rather than laying off. A total of 5,646 civilians work at Fort Irwin, both for the Department of Defense and for private contractors, post spokesman John Wagstaffe said. MCLB Barstow spokesman Keith Hayes said there are about 1,600 civilian employees on base.

Defense-related jobs, which depend on federal defense spending rather than on the private market, are typically safe in a recession, said Hobie Hicks, human resources manager with IAP World Services, a contractor that provides support services at Fort Irwin. The company is currently hiring for 31 positions, ranging from air traffic controllers to lifeguards

Were an industry that is rather recession-proof, because government spending typically is higher in a recession, Hicks said.

Retail and restaurant businesses have been hit harder. City spokesman John Rader said that because much of Barstows economy caters to travelers passing through on the interstates, it is sensitive to economic downturns. Declining traffic counts on the freeways are having an effect on the service sector, he said.

There was a time when Las Vegas was viewed as recession proof, he said. In this current recession, even Las Vegas is seeing declining visitors and has been struggling to attract tourists. Las Vegas woes have a big impact on Barstows economy.

Since December, the Straw Hat Grill restaurant, which opened its doors in April, closed up shop due lack of business and the KB Toys and Big Dogs stores at the Barstow Outlets have closed their doors due to KBs bankruptcy and corporate downsizing at Big Dogs.

Barstow Outlets on-site manager Sabrina Bernal estimated that the two stores had employed a total of about 25 people. Straw Hat owner Jeff Eason, Jr., who still owns the Straw Hat Pizza shop, said the restaurant had about 17 employees, but most have found other jobs or already had a second job when the grill closed down.

For himself and his wife, Eason said, It will be a major financial loss for us, but thats the risk you take in business.

Meanwhile, some stores slowed down on their holiday hiring or cut back employee hours. Levis outlet assistant store manager Steven Kilpatrick said although the stores business has remained steady, the holiday hiring was down by 40 or 50 percent from the previous year.

This is the first year (in eight or nine years in retail) that Ive seen a store that does this volume of business run with so little seasonal help, he said.

Hiring has also slowed at the Tanger Outlets Center, where about four to six stores have positions open, as opposed to the average 10-store list, said general manager Jennifer Rodriguez. It is normal for sales to slow down in the early part of the year, however, she said.

Representatives of the TravelCenters of America and Flying J Travel Plaza truck stops, both major employers in Barstow, did not respond to requests for comment.

Home Depot representatives could not be reached for comment. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Daphne Moore said she was not aware of any layoffs at the Barstow store.

Monday, January 12, 2009