Quiksilver Inc. will lay off 168 more people at its Huntington Beach headquarters, according to a notice filed with the California Employment Development Department.

The restructuring will result in 150 actual layoffs and elimination of another 50 positions, said the company. Quiksilver estimated it would save $40 million annually by eliminating the jobs.

The announcement is just the latest round of layoffs at Quiksilver. Last year, the company cut 397 in Orange County alone, according to records filed with the state Employment Development Department.

Last month, Quiksilver surprised the action sports retail industry when it said it would not participate in this month’s annual Action Sports Retail show in San Diego.  In December, the company said it would close 25 of its surfwear stores.

Robert B. McKnight Jr., chief executive, noted the previous cuts last year, which reduced costs more than $35 million.  He said the spending cuts are across-the-board, but with an eye toward minimizing the impact on customers and other business partners.

“All levels of our organization are affected by these actions as nearly 20 percent of the employees involved in the reduction hold manager-level titles or higher,” said McKnight in a company statement. “Our management team has worked together on these cost reduction measures with the primary goal of becoming better positioned to weather the current environment and to meet our business objectives moving forward.”

download PDF of the press release

read more at the OC register

Looks like surfers are again getting the drug rap.

Two men, three boards and 141 pounds of marijuana —- that’s what U.S. Border Patrol agents found when they stopped two surfers off the San Diego County coast Thursday night.

The men were illegal immigrants, and they were trying to smuggle six bales of the drug on one of the surfboards. It’s one of the more creative ways criminals are trying to sneak drugs into the country via the ocean, said Mike Unzueta, special agent in charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s San Diego office.

“We’ve seen marijuana that was hidden within surfboards,” Unzueta said. “We’ve seen compartments built into boats. We’ve seen people smuggling on Jet Skis, too.”

Just nine months into the federal fiscal year, nearly 54,000 pounds of marijuana have been intercepted on their way to local shores, Unzueta said.

That’s double what agents would expect to find in a 12-month period, he said.

Officials from multiple agencies say smugglers may be heading out to sea because of increased security at the land border between the United States and Mexico

read more at north county times

Easy digital access to NSSA Nationals photos

In an effort to bring 2009 NSSA Nationals competitors free, digital access to their shots from the contest, we present the SURFING x Facebook Online Darkroom. Here’s how it works:

1. NSSA Nationals competitors send a Facebook friend request to “SURFING AT NATIONALS“
2. Our most experienced photographers head down to Lowers to shoot the heats…your heats!
3. Following the day’s action, we upload and tag the best photos on the “SURFING At Nationals” Facebook page. If you’re not a friend, you can’t get tagged, so get online and add us ASAP.
4. You can download, post, print, and share your photos with the world for free. Send them to sponsors. Impress a girl. Make a poster for your wall of you ripping.

But remember, in order for it to work, you need to add “SURFING At Nationals” to your Facebook friend list now. After you’ve done that, wax up and hit the water. We’ll see you at Lowers!

see more info at surfing magazine’s site