43,000 Jobs Are Eliminated in Latest Wave of Layof
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Date: 1/26/2009 10:05:24 AM
Sender: Umemployed
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43,000 Jobs Are Eliminated in Latest Wave of Layoffs
It was a bleak start to the workweek for thousands of American workers.
Several corporations said Monday morning that they would cut a total of 43,000 jobs in an attempt to slash costs to survive a recession that has taken a toll on new orders, profits and companies’ outlooks for growth.
The cuts announced Monday included 20,000 jobs at the heavy-equipment manufacturer Caterpillar; 8,000 at the wireless provider Sprint Nextel, and 7,000 at Home Depot and 8,000 from the expected merger of the pharmaceutical makers Pfizer and Wyeth. Some smaller layoffs were also announced.
President Obama cited the layoff announcements in remarks Monday morning urging Congress to approve an $825 billion economic stimulus package of tax cuts, emergency benefits and public spending projects.
“These are not just numbers on a page,” Mr. Obama said. “As with the millions of jobs lost in 2008, these are working men and women whose families have been disrupted and whose dreams have been put on hold. We owe it to each of them and to every single American to act with a sense of urgency and common purpose. We can’t afford distractions and we cannot afford delays.”
Monday’s announcements were only the latest in a grim parade of job cuts from employers from Wall Street to wireless providers to computer companies to retail stores.
The United States economy has shed some 2.59 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, and unemployment rose to 7.2 percent last month. Economists worry that the economy could now be shedding as many as 600,000 jobs a month, and they said Monday’s layoff announcements served to underline the stricken state of the labor market. Last week, the government reported that first-time unemployment claims had risen to 589,000 for the week ending Jan. 17, tying an all-time high set in December.
“This is a big deal,” said Dean Baker, a director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “We’re losing jobs at an incredibly rapid rate, and even with that, I’m worried they’re accelerating. We’re seeing a much more rapid rate of layoff announcements.”
Caterpillar, which has been hurt by falling orders for construction and mining machinery, said Monday morning that it would cull 20,000 workers through layoffs and buyouts. It said it would make “sharp declines” in overtime and eliminate scores of temporary and contract jobs.
The company said 2009 would be one of its weakest years since World War II.
“These are very uncertain times,” the chief executive, James W. Owens,, said in a statement. “While it’s painful for our employees and suppliers, it’s absolutely necessary given economic circumstances. We expect to have most of the actions needed to lower employment and cost levels in place by the end of the first quarter.”
“We were whipsawed in the fourth quarter as key industries were hit by a rapidly deteriorating global economy and plunging commodity prices,” Mr. Owens said.
The wireless provider Sprint Nextel said its 8,000 job cuts were part of a plan to trim labor costs by $1.2 billion, and said most of the cuts would be completed by March 31. About 850 of the job cuts are expected to come through buyouts, which will cost the company $300 million in severance costs and related expenses.
“Labor reductions are always the most difficult action to take, but many companies are finding it necessary in this environment," Sprint’s chief executive, Daniel R. Hesse, said.
Home Depot, the country’s largest home-supply chain, said it would cut 7,000 jobs, about 2 percent of its work force, and close its high-end EXPO home design stores.
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