IBM has laid off 2,408 people Monday as part of its latest round of job cuts, according to a union trying to organize the company's workers.

The total so far exceeds the original prediction by The Alliance@IBM that IBM would cut about 2,000 jobs in the United States and Canada in this round.

The cuts are affecting IBM's operations in Research Triangle Park and other locations nationwide, the group reports.

"I've been shocked," said Lee Conrad, national coordinator at The Alliance@IBM. "This has been one of the bigger one-day job cuts I've seen at IBM."

Local workers at IBM, one of the area’s biggest employers, got hit by another wave of layoffs today.

The extent of the damage from this round is not clear, but those notified will swell the ranks of the jobless already well-represented by castoffs from Sony Ericsson, Nortel Networks, Lenovo and others.

The cuts affected IBM operations across the nation, according to a labor union trying to organize IBM’s workers.

“It’s clear IBM is moving work offshore at a record rate,” said Lee Conrad, national field coordinator of Alliance@IBM.

The union reported that IBM had cut nearly 500 jobs in the U.S. and Canada as of this afternoon. Conrad said the total is likely to increase as more information is collected.

The town of Wilson, an hour east of Raleigh, will soon lose its only Sears store.

The store will begin its going-out-of-business sale on Feb. 21 and shut down May 9. As a result, 54 employees will lose their jobs.

The Sears Holding Co., based near Chicago, notified the N.C. Department of Commerce about the closure last week. Sears opened the Wilson store in 1997.

Sears spokeswoman Kim Freely said the store is closing for business reasons as part of a periodic assessment of performance and company priorities.

Sears has 27 stores in the state.

As many as 100 current school district employees will be laid off this year because of the poor economy, Wake County school board members learned today.

Chief Business Officer David Neter said plans are being developed to lay off 75 to 100 central services employees. Central Services covers everything not based at schools, such as the maintenance department, technology department, human resources and communications.

Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline, which has cut hundreds of Triangle jobs in recent years, will announce another round of layoffs Thursday when it reports quarterly earnings, a British newspaper reports.

The London-based corporation employs about 5,000 people in this region, mostly at its North American headquarters in Research Triangle Park. GSK has been slashing expenses under CEO Andrew Witty to offset slowing sales of blockbuster drugs amid increasing competition from cheaper, generic medicines.

Now the company is preparing to announce plans to eliminate 4,000 jobs, nearly half at its research centers, the Sunday Times of London reports. GSK "will scale down activities at research facilities in Britain, across Europe and in the United States as it builds its activities in emerging markets," the newspaper reports.

GSK's ongoing layoffs could hurt the Triangle's economy, as more highly paid researchers and scientists are thrown out of work. The company employs about 100,000 worldwide.

Workers laid off last year from the Caterpillar plant in Clayton can now get a little extra help.

The U.S. Department of Labor has decided that their jobs were hurt by trade and has certified that they are eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance.

In practical terms that means they can now receive training in new occupations and get some income while taking classes. Some workers also may be eligible for job search and relocation allowances and a Health Coverage Tax Credit.

Workers should be contacted by the state on how to apply for individual benefits and services.

Nationwide, the Labor Department added about 1,100 workers from companies in seven states to the TAA eligibility list.

A global power management company is laying off 20 people in Raleigh as it consolidates operations in Pennsylvania. 

Eaton Corp. notified the employees this week that the unit they work for, credit and financial services, will be closed here. The 20 jobs will end between January and June next year.

Eaton, based in Ohio, employs more than 800 people at six locations in the Raleigh area, said spokeswoman Kelly Jasko.

The company makes interruptible power supply equipment that's used to protect electronic data by financial, corporate and government customers.

Goldsboro has lost 54 jobs with the closure of a call center.

CDG Management, based in New Jersey, notified the N.C. Department of Commerce to say it would close the center Nov. 27.

The company said in its letter that its closing all fundraising call centers. All the laid off workers will be eligible for state unemployment benefits.

The nation's biggest manufacturing site for Kellogg's snacks began laying off employees in Cary this morning as part of a corporate reorganization.

The Battle Creek, Mich.-based company is moving ahead with plans to cut $1 billion in annual costs, but spokesman Kris Charles would not disclose the number of local jobs to be cut.

"As we simplify and standardize our processes at the Cary bakery, some jobs were impacted," Charles said. "Affected employees were notified today."

Two years ago Kellogg's, the nation's biggest cereal maker, announced an expansion of 180 jobs at the Cary plant that would bring staffing there to 800 people.

The facility manufactures Keebler crakers, Cheez-It crackers, Zoo animal crackers, Austin cookies, among other products. Earlier this year the plant suspended production of all peanut butter products during an outbreak of salmonella that sickened hundreds of people.

The class-size waivers are now in the hands of the state Board of Education.

As noted in today's article, the school board voted Tuesday to request waivers for 329 K-3 classes at 66 elementary schools. School administrators are blaming the need for the waivers on the state budget problems.

"We’re not at a position we want to be in," Supt. Del Burns told board members. "We wish classes weren’t at this size. We’re still dealing with the impact of the economy.”