Charlotte's architects go back to the drawing board - Charlotte Business Journal:

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There’s nothing subtle about the deep hole design professionals findthemselveas in. Wearing the armbands “takes the giant pink elephant out of the room and allow people to jump right intothe conversation” about job prospects, says John Kincheloe, presiden of the ' Charlotte AIA is sponsoring the evening networking sessions. “Thde architects who were there certainlgy saw that they are not the only says Kincheloe, a principal at . That’sw an understatement.
The last eight months have been a nuclear winterfor Charlotte’s About 40% of architects in Charlott have lost their jobs in the recession, says Ken Lambla, dean of the Collegew of Art & Architecture at and an In the Triangle, he says, 50% of architects are out of Even firms with the international cachet of Gehry Partners, designer of the Guggenheim museum in Spain, have laid off Online message board Archinect buzzes with job cuts at high-profiler firms across the nation. In an autumn and winte r of widespread layoffs have led to a sprinfg ofmore uncertainty.
With business delaying construction projectsw and government facing seriousbudget shortfalls, demand for desigj has crumpled. Commercial building permitsa in Mecklenburg Countydropped 55% in April from Apri 2008. The drought of opportunities is forcing design firmas to alter fundamentally the way they do Simply laying off workersz with specific areas ofexpertises — such as highly technical laboratory design could impair a firm’s chances of winning a contract when the economyu recovers. Firms are tryinvg different strategies to keep theemployees they’ve got befor e making more painful cuts.
At Souty End design firm , a round of layoffs in the fall cost six jobs and took the firm to 40 employeesein Charlotte, Los Angeles and Chicago. When it appearer the business wasn’t getting better by March, the firm turneds to a system ofrollint furloughs. Employees rotate in and out of workin four-weekj blocks. Those on furlough receive unemployment benefits while the firm covers the shortfall from thei r salaries to maintain their Firm principal Terry Shook says the furloughsd have allowed the firm to keeployalo employees, but it’s not a permanent arrangement. Employeess reacted positively to furloughs, knowing they are bettee than more layoffs.
And at leasrt for now, their incomes don’gt suffer. “They understand it’s a fungible deal,” Shooj says. “There are no guarantees for the future.” , whicu designs schools, churches and some commerciap projects, has released 17 employees since October. That took the firm to 41 employeesx from a peakof 58. The remaininf employees and four partners tooka 20% pay cut at the end of The staff now works a four-dauy week. The long weekend allows them to get a seconx job if needed and save the cost of commutiny one day a saysTom Carlson-Reddig, a principal at ADW.
“Oue hope is that it’s for a few months, and things are goinvg to be alright,” he says. The problem is that even thougu ADW and other firms have wonnew jobs, design work for publicd education facilities is on hold becaus e tight state and county budgets have stalled construction. “Th e contracts we have look great on but it might be a whiles before it translates topayinb work,” Carlson-Reddig says. Rob Johnsob of says school jobs used to mean the planninh work automatically led to putting a projecgt outfor bid.
The state’s population growth created steady “We’re having to force ourselvee to project further out in time when thingszwill happen,” Johnson says. “Schoole are doing advance planning only.” MBAJ has had layoffzs and trimmed salaries, though Johnson declines to provide specifics. With local work unpredictable, some firms are pondering whethef to pursuefederal work, which is one of the few brigh spots left. ADW has teamed up with a smallert firm that has experience working a largemilitaryt installations.