More than 11,500 job cuts announced Tuesday

The bloodletting for the U.S. job market continues as companies across the economic spectrum announce a slew of work force reductions.

The job market continued to take a beating Tuesday, as six companies across several industries announced more than 11,500 job cuts Tuesday.

The huge number of job cuts pales only in comparison to Monday's statistics: seven companies issued job cut announcements totaling more than 71,400 layoffs.

In January alone, companies have announced more 211,500 job cuts.

High-tech glass and ceramics maker Corning Inc. (GLW, Fortune 500) announced it will cut 3,500 jobs, or 13% of the company's workforce, by the end of 2009. The company said its restructuring efforts will save the company between $150 million and $200 million a year.

At the close of trading Tuesday, Corning shares remained flat at $9.99.

Meanwhile, oil field services company Baker Hughes (BHI, Fortune 500) announced it will cut 1,500 employees worldwide. That's about 4% of its work force, and 850 of the cuts will be from the company's North American work force.

A Baker Hughes spokesman said the cuts are necessary because of the poor economy and credit crisis - plus, productivity from drilling rigs has fallen 25% since September's peak. The recent pullback in oil and gas demand in North America has hit the company hard, as the continent accounts for about 42% of revenue.

Baker Hughes is scheduled to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2008 earnings on Wednesday. The company's stock remained flat, closing at $32.77.

And Navistar International Corp. (NAV) said it will close its Indianapolis engine plant and Indianapolis Casting Corporation factory at the end of July. About 700 employees will lose their jobs as a result, a Navistar spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, specialty chemicals and office products company Avery Dennison (AVY, Fortune 500) announced it will cut approximately 3,600 employees worldwide over the next two years "in response to challenging economic conditions." Details were unclear, as the plan is still in development. Navistar's stock closed up 4.56%, to $28.66.

Volvo Trucks North America announced permanent layoffs of 650 hourly employees in March and April at its plant in Dublin, Va. A spokesman said declining demand caused the 40% workforce reduction at the plant.

The company laid off about 1,000 workers at the plant last May, and it had planned weeklong shutdowns during the first three months of 2009 in an effort to avoid additional job cuts.

Forest product company Weyerhaeuser (WY, Fortune 500) announced it will close two mills in Washington and cut approximately 220 jobs "due to weak market conditions." The company said 25 salaried positions and 196 hourly positions will be cut. Weyerhaeuser's shares closed at $28.71, up 2.32%

Target (TGT, Fortune 500), the second-largest U.S. discounter after Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), announced 1,500 job cuts. The Work force reduction affects 9% of employees at its headquarters, including the elimination of about 600 employees and 400 open positions, primarily in the Twin Cities area. The majority of those changes are effective today.

Target also announced it will close its Little Rock, Ark., distribution center, which currently employs 500 people, later this year. Target shares remained flat, at $33.34

Source : CNN
[tags : recession bankrupt collapse retrenchment financial news collapse stagnation economic slowdown financial collapse world recession global recession layoff job cut]

U.S. Companies Cut 519,895 Jobs Since Election

U.S. companies have announced more than 519,895 job cuts since the Election Day victory by Barack Obama, who has proposed a plan to create as many as 4 million jobs to boost the economy.

Following is a list of dismissals announced since Nov. 1, based on information compiled by Bloomberg News and Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the Chicago-based executive search firm. Only companies with 500 or more job cuts are included in the table.

DATE     COMPANY                                         CUTS
==============================================================
Nov-08   Citigroup                                      75,000#
Dec-08   Merrill Lynch (Bank of America Merger)         35,000
Jan-09   Circuit City                                   34,000
Jan-09   Caterpillar                                    20,000
Jan-09   Pfizer                                         19,000
Nov-08   Lehman Brothers                                16,000
Dec-08   KB Toys                                        15,000
Nov-08   DHL Express                                    14,900
Jan-09   Alcoa                                          13,500
Dec-08   AT&T                                           12,000
Dec-08   Dow Chemical Co. (contractors & full time)     11,000
Jan-09   General Electric (GE Capital)                  11,000*
Dec-08   JPMorgan Chase (Washington Mutual)              9,200
Jan-09   Sprint/Nextel                                   8,000
Nov-08   Circuit City Stores                             7,305
Jan-09   Home Depot                                      7,000
Nov-08   Sun Microsystems                                6,000
Jan-09   Eaton                                           5,200
Jan-09   Intel                                           5,000
Jan-09   Microsoft                                       5,000
Jan-09   Schlumberger                                    5,000
Dec-08   Federal-Mogul                                   4,600
Jan-09   Boeing                                          4,500
Nov-08   ArvinMeritor                                    4,000
Jan-09   Hertz                                           4,000
Jan-09   Motorola                                        4,000
Dec-08   Wyndham Hotel Group                             4,000
Jan-09   Avery Dennison                                  3,600@
Jan-09   Corning                                         3,500
Dec-08   Omnicom Group                                   3,500
Dec-08   United States Steel                             3,500
Dec-08   Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (wound-care unit)       3,400
Jan-09   Texas Instruments                               3,400
Jan-09   Xerox                                           3,400
Nov-08   Pepsi Bottling Group                            3,150
Dec-08   Ryder Systems                                   3,100
Nov-08   Lehman Brothers (Barclays)                      3,000
Nov-08   First American                                  2,950
Jan-09   IBM                                             2,800
Dec-08   DuPont                                          2,500
Dec-08   Tyco Electronics                                2,500
Dec-08   Western Digital                                 2,500
Jan-09   EMC                                             2,400
Nov-08   Freescale Semiconductor                         2,400
Dec-08   Avis Budget Group                               2,200
Jan-09   Cooper Industries                               2,200
Dec-08   Newell Rubbermaid                               2,200
Dec-08   Office Depot                                    2,200
Jan-09   Textron                                         2,200
Jan-09   Freightliner                                    2,100
Jan-09   Cessna Aircraft                                 2,000
Jan-09   Delta                                           2,000
Dec-08   General Motors                                  2,000
Nov-08   General Motors (salaried workers)               2,000
Jan-09   MeadWestvaco                                    2,000
Dec-08   Stanley Works                                   2,000
Dec-08   Viasystems Group                                2,000
Dec-08   Air Transport Services Group (ABX Freight Unit) 1,900
Jan-09   Bank of America                                 1,900
Jan-09   Clear Channel Communications                    1,850
Dec-08   3M                                              1,800
Nov-08   Applied Materials                               1,800
Nov-08   Bank of New York Mellon                         1,800
Dec-08   Belden                                          1,800
Dec-08   State Street                                    1,800
Dec-08   Danaher                                         1,700
Nov-08   Fidelity National Investments                   1,600
Dec-08   Pentair                                         1,600
Nov-08   Washington Mutual (Pleasanton Campus)           1,600
Jan-09   Freeport-McMoran                                1,550
Jan-09   Baker Hughes                                    1,500
Dec-08   Kemet                                           1,500
Dec-08   ON Semiconductor                                1,500
Jan-09   WellPoint                                       1,500
Dec-08   Con-Way                                         1,450
Dec-08   Cooper Tire & Rubber                            1,400
Dec-08   Furniture Brands International                  1,400
Dec-08   InBev (Anheuser-Busch)                          1,400
Jan-09   Williams-Sonoma                                 1,400
Dec-08   Air Products & Chemicals                        1,300
Jan-09   ConocoPhillips                                  1,300
Nov-08   Morgan Stanley                                  1,300
Dec-08   Unisys                                          1,300
Nov-08   Fidelity Investments                            1,288
Nov-08   ArvinMeritor (hourly & salaried)                1,250
Jan-09   Compass Bank                                    1,200
Jan-09   Kennametal                                      1,200
Jan-09   Huntsman                                        1,175
Dec-08   Hutchinson Technology                           1,125
Jan-09   Advanced Micro Devices                          1,100
Dec-08   Fairchild Semiconductor                         1,100
Jan-09   Harley-Davidson                                 1,100
Nov-08   HSBC North America Holdings (Investment Bank)   1,100
Jan-09   Rio Tinto Alcan                                 1,100
Jan-09   Saks                                            1,100
Dec-08   Aetna                                           1,000
Dec-08   Alcatel-Lucent (management jobs)                1,000
Jan-09   Alltel                                          1,000
Jan-09   Ashland                                         1,000
Jan-09   Bose                                            1,000
Jan-09   Ecolab                                          1,000
Jan-09   Electronic Arts                                 1,000
Dec-08   Electronic Arts                                 1,000
Dec-08   Genworth Financial                              1,000
Nov-08   GlaxoSmithKline (US sales)                      1,000
Nov-08   Mattel                                          1,000
Nov-08   Neptune Orient Lines                            1,000
Dec-08   Sovereign Bancorp                               1,000
Jan-09   UAL Corp (United Airlines)                      1,000
Jan-09   Walgreens                                       1,000
Nov-08   USG                                               900
Nov-08   La-Z-Boy                                          850
Dec-08   Viacom                                            850
Jan-09   Barnes Group                                      800
Jan-09   Cummins                                           800
Jan-09   Suntech Power                                     800
Jan-09   Time Warner (Warner Bros.)                        800
Dec-08   Sonoco Products                                   700
Jan-09   Deere                                             692
Dec-08   U.S. Steel                                        677
Nov-08   Lam Research                                      600
Jan-09   Seagate                                           600
Dec-08   Principal Financial                               550
Jan-09   Bridgestone                                       543
Jan-09   Lincoln National                                  540
Dec-08   Agilent Tech                                      500
Nov-08   Hartford Financial Services                       500
Dec-08   Las Vegas Sands                                   500
================================================================
Total                                                    519,895
================================================================
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. and Bloomberg

# -- Combined total for the year.

* -- May cut 7,500-11,000 this year.

@ -- Estimated 10 percent of workforce.

Source : Bloomberg
[tags : recession bankrupt collapse retrenchment financial news collapse stagnation economic slowdown financial collapse world recession global recession layoff job cut]

Bloody Monday: Over 71,400 jobs lost

The final week of January began with a bloodbath for the job market, as over 71,400 more cuts were announced on Monday alone.

At least six companies from manufacturing and service industries announced cost-cutting initiatives that included slashing thousands of jobs.

More than 200,000 job cuts have been announced so far this year, according to company reports. Nearly 2.6 million jobs were lost over 2008, the highest yearly job-loss total since 1945.

"It's all about the consumer, and the consumer's been hit hard," said Robert Brusca, chief economist at Fact and Opinion Economics. "It's a vicious circle as weakness begets layoffs, which beget more spending weakness."

Construction machinery manufacturer Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500) said Monday it will cut 20,000 jobs amid a "very challenging global business environment." The company had already planned to cut 15,000 workers since the fourth quarter of 2008, but added another 5,000, bringing the total to 20,000.

Pfizer (PFE, Fortune 500) said in an earnings report it would cut 10% of its staff of 81,900 and close five of its manufacturing plants. And a second round of cuts will shed about 15% of employees from the combined Pfizer/Wyeth staff of 120,000. That makes a total of 26,000 jobs lost. The company already cut 4,700 jobs in 2008.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (S, Fortune 500) will cut a total of about 8,000 jobs by March 31, the company said in a release. The telecommunications company's plan is to reduce internal and external labor costs by about $1.2 billion on an annual basis.

Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500), the world's largest home improvement retailer, announced Monday it will eliminate its EXPO design center business and cut 7,000 associates, or approximately 2% of the company's total workforce. The company blamed a lack of demand for big ticket design and decor projects.

Texas Instruments (TXN, Fortune 500) said it will slash its workforce by 3,400 employees to cope with weak demand and the slowing economy. More than half of those cuts will be layoffs while "voluntary retirements and departures" will make up the rest.

Dutch financial group ING said Monday it will take a 2008 loss of $1.3 billion and cut 7,000 jobs. The company could not comment on where the cuts would take place. ING employs around 130,000 people across 50 countries.

Deere& Co. (DE, Fortune 500) , the world's top farm-equipment maker, said it would cut nearly 700 jobs between factories in Brazil and Iowa.

The job cuts across sectors didn't surprise Brusca, as nearly all are weak, he said.

"The services sector is shedding jobs at a horrific pace, because that's where most of the jobs are," Brusca said. "When the consumer is in tough shape it's hard for business to do well, because it all depends on consumption or investments."

Continuing the scary trend

The cuts mark a horrific start to the week, and a brutal start to 2009. In the previous week, around 40,000 cuts were announced across multiple industries.

Wednesday, in particular, was littered with a slew of job cuts: BHP Billiton, Clear Channel Communications, Intel, Rohm and Haas Co., UAL Corp. and Williams-Sonoma all announced job cuts totaling over 27,000 positions.

Schlumberger said Friday that it will cut 5,000 jobs worldwide, with 1,000 of the cuts taking place in North America.

Also last week, Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Entertainment said it would cut about 800 jobs, or 10% of its worldwide staff in the upcoming weeks, while Microsoft unveiled its plan to cut up to 5,000 jobs - 5.5% of its global workforce.

Outlook: A recovery in sight?

Brusca said he agreed with many economists' predictions that the recession will end after the second quarter of 2009. Americans might feel the job market start to bounce back a bit sooner than expected, he said.

"These recessions are like geometry," Brusca said. "It looks like we'll have a V-shaped cycle, in that we're going into this with very sharp losses. This intense-phase recession will probably recover fairly quickly, with the job market coming out it at the same angle it came in."

In the short term, the economy and the job market are in trouble, Brusca said. But "it doesn't look like the bottom is falling out of the economy," he said.

And there's a silver lining to the gloomy clouds over America's economy.

"The good news is it's so bad right now that we will have a definite, noticeable recovery when it comes," Brusca said. "We're getting a lot of adjustment out of the way early."

Source : CNN
[tags : recession bankrupt collapse retrenchment financial news collapse stagnation economic slowdown financial collapse world recession global recession layoff job cut]

January 2009 had 49,762 Layoff from America 500 Largest Public Companies

Layoffs for January 2009 at America's 500 largest public companies*: 49,762

Jan. 16: ConocoPhillips (nyse: COP - news - people ) trims capital spending by 18%, writes off $34 billion and reduces workforce by 4% (1,300 jobs).

Jan. 16: Hertz Global Holdings (nyse: HTZ - news - people ) sets out for worldwide restructuring in first quarter of 2009; cuts 4,000 jobs.

Jan. 16: WellPoint (nyse: WLP - news - people ) reduces workforce by 600 and removes 900 open positions.

Jan. 16: Advanced Micro Devices (nyse: AMD - news - people ) reduces global workforce by 9% (1,100 jobs).

Jan. 15: Xerox (nyse: XRX - news - people ) cuts 275 jobs in New York region.

Jan. 15: MeadWestvaco (nyse: MWV - news - people ) fires 2,000 and plans closings or restructurings at up to 14 plants.

Jan. 15: Autodesk (nasdaq: ADSK - news - people ) expects loss from 2008 fourth quarter; pink-slips 750 (10% of workforce).

Jan. 15: Marshall & Ilsley (nyse: MI - news - people ) cuts 8% of staff (830) in ongoing cost-cutting.

Jan. 15: General Electric's (nyse: GE - news - people ) jet-engine group cuts 1,000 white-collar jobs.

Jan. 14: Ecolab (nyse: ECL - news - people ) restructures and reduces workforce by 4% (1,000 jobs).

Jan. 14: Delta Air Lines (nyse: DAL - news - people ) gives 2,000 early retirements as part of 8% capacity reduction.

Jan. 14: Motorola (nyse: MOT - news - people ) lays off 4,000 following a 3,000-worker layoff last year; expects savings of $700 million a year.

Jan. 14: Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) fires 100 hirers as it cuts back on contract workers and temporary employees.

Jan. 13: Cummins (nyse: CMI - news - people ) freezes salaries for the rest of the year and lets 800 go.

Jan. 13: Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ) cuts 800 researchers as it lowers cost in the face of poor performance and coming patent losses.

Jan. 12: Mosaic (nyse: MOS - news - people ) fires 1,000 in Saskatchewan.

Jan. 12: Aircraft maker and Textron (nyse: TXT - news - people ) subsidiary Cessna sends 2,000 packing.

Jan. 12: Best Buy (nyse: BBY - news - people ) clears 12.5% of its headquarters staff with 500-employee layoff.

Jan. 12: Precision Castparts (nyse: PCP - news - people ) dismisses 40 as airline industry continues to struggle.

Jan. 9: Oracle (nasdaq: ORCL - news - people ) reportedly cuts 500 from U.S. sales and consulting businesses.

Jan. 9: Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) cuts 4,500 and returns workforce size to what it was in early 2008.

Jan. 9: Freeport-McMoRan (nyse: FCX - news - people ) slices workforce in half at Arizona mine; 1,550 workers let go.

Jan. 9: Smitfield Foods' (nyse: SFD - news - people ) Butterball--the nation's largest turkey company--fires 75 at Missouri plant.

Jan. 8: Union Pacific (nyse: UNP - news - people ) pink-slips 230 as company struggles; stock down 22% year-to-date.

Jan. 8: Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works--owned by General Dynamics (nyse: GD - news - people )--dismisses 179.

Jan. 8: Continuing companywide job cuts at Eaton (nyse: ETN - news - people ) hit Iowa, with 78 laid off.

Jan. 8: Walgreen (nyse: WAG - news - people ) cuts 1,000--roughly 9%--from corporate and field manager ranks.

Jan. 7: EMC (nyse: EMC - news - people ) fires 2,400 as it reduces 2009 expenses by $350 million.

Jan. 6: Alcoa (nyse: AA - news - people ) starts global salary and hiring freeze, plans sale of four non-core businesses and cuts workforce by 13% (13,500 jobs).

Jan. 6: Aqua Glass--a subsidiary owned by Masco (nyse: MAS - news - people )--pink-slips 30 employees.

Jan. 5: Cigna (nyse: CI - news - people ) reduces workforce by 4% (1,100 jobs).

Jan. 5: United States Steel (nyse: X - news - people ) cuts 50 jobs as it closes production lines in Texas.

Source : Forbes
[tags : recession bankrupt collapse retrenchment financial news collapse stagnation economic slowdown financial collapse world recession global recession layoff job cut]