More Layoffs Announced—Is Your Firm On the List?

More companies announced layoffs on Tuesday as the employment picture continued to dim.

Target and Baker Hughes became the latest companies to slash jobs, with Baker Hughes cutting up to 1,500 positions.

Target wouldn't disclose how many employees were laid off but said more information would be provided once employees had been notified.

AP

According to the survey released this week by the National Association for Business Economics, 2009 will be another lousy year for workers, with more companies expecting to cut payrolls in the months ahead.

Thirty-nine percent predicted job reductions through attrition or "significant" layoffs over the next six months, up from 32 percent in the previous survey in October. Around 45 percent in the current survey anticipated no change in hiring plans, while roughly 17 percent thought hiring would increase.

"Job losses accelerated in the fourth quarter, and the employment outlook for the next six months has weakened further," said Sara Johnson, NABE's lead analyst on the survey and an economist at IHS Global Insight.

The gloomy news continued overseas as Russia edged closer to a recession last month as half a million people lost their jobs and real wages and capital investment both fell for the first time in over nine years, data showed on Tuesday.

As Russia heads for its worst economic crisis since the 1998 default, officials have warned of the possible threat of public unrest if the economic situation worsens.

"The economy will be in for a painful adjustment this year, and we foresee a further stream of grim economic news in the coming months when the effect of the crisis is expected to become even more pronounced," Ivan Tchakarov, economist at Nomura, said in a research note.

Here is a rundown of corporate job cuts announced so far this year:

• Target says it is cutting an undisclosed number of staffersin its headquarters as part of an effort to reduce expenses.
• Oilfield-services provider Baker Hughes announced plans to cut about 4 percent of its work force, or about 1,500 employees.

• Corning posted weaker-than-expected quarterly results and outlook due to a significant decline in demand for glass for televisions and computer monitors, and said it would eliminate up to 4,900 jobs to cut costs.

• Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariantsaid it was axing 1,000 jobsto cut costs and could shed more staff this year after it posted a 5 percent drop in full-year sales.
• Texas Instruments posted a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly profit, but said it may post a loss in the current quarter and announced a 12 percent cut in jobs, as demand for cell phone chips fell.

• Pfizer said it is buying rival Wyeth for $68 billion in a deal that will quickly boost Pfizer's revenue and diversification.The deal came as Pfizer set out a list of issues: a 90 percent drop in income, a hefty charge to end an investigation, a severe cut in its dividend, a shockingly low profit forecast for 2009 and 8,000 job cuts starting immediately. Additionally, Pfizer also plans by 2011 to cut about 8,190 jobs, 10 percent of its workforce, as part of what it expects will be a staff reduction totaling 15 percent of the combined companies' workers—implying a total job loss of almost 20,000.
• Apparel maker Quiksilver said it will slash 200 jobsto cut costs in a worsening retail environment.
• General Motors announced it is laying off 2,000 workers in Ohio and Michigan and plans to schedule extra down time at 14 plants.

• Caterpillar , the world's largest maker of construction and mining machines, which also reported lower-than expected fourth-quarter earnings, said it is laying off 17,000 workers, and buying out 2,500 others to reduce costs.

• Sprint Nextel , the No. 3 U.S. mobile service provider, will cut up to 8,000 jobs, or about 14 percent of its workforce, as part of a plan to reduce labor costs by $1.2 billion a year.

• Home Depot plans to eliminate 7,000 jobs while closing four dozen stores under its smaller home improvement brands as the recession continues to batter the nation's housing market. Its shares climbed more than 5 percent in morning trading.
• Writedowns of more than 1 billion euros pushed Philips Electronics deep into the red in the fourth quarter, and it will cut 6,000 jobsto cope with a steep downturn that has hurt its consumer business.

The Employment Gloom Continues...

• Farm-equipment maker Deeresays it will lay off almost 700 workers at factories in Brazil and Iowa.
• U.S. chemical maker Huntsman said it plans to cut about 1,175 jobs, or about 9 percent of its workforce, by year-end to reduce costs and tackle the huge slump in chemical demand.
• Microsoft announced it would cut up to 5,000 jobsand said it could no longer offer profit forecasts for the rest of the fiscal year.
• Intel said it would close sites in Asia and scale back operations in the United States as part of a restructuring that could affect as many as 6,000 jobs.
• UAL announced it will further reduce the number of salaried and management employees by approximately 1,000 positions by the end of 2009. This is in addition to the 1,500 positions the company announced in the second quarter.
• Diversified U.S. manufacturer Eaton said it planned to cut 5,200 jobs, or about 6 percent of its work force, in an effort to further slash costs in the face of a struggling economy.
• Time Warner's Warner Bros. Entertainment said it would cut about 800 jobs, or 10 percent of its worldwide staff in coming weeks.
• Lee Enterprises , which publishes 49 daily newspapers including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, said its quarterly profit on a preliminary basis fell 69 percent and cut its staffing by more than 10 percent.
• Rohm and Haas said it plans to cut 900 jobs, or 5.5 percent of its workforce, in a bid to tackle the slump in demand and widespread market weakness.
• Bank of America may slash as much as 4,000 jobs in its capital markets units starting this week. The cuts are expected to be in New York and reflect the consolidation of the bank’s sales and trading businesses after it bought Merrill Lynch three weeks ago.

The Employment Gloom Continues...

• Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, majority owner of automaker Chrysler, announced it may cut about 10 percent of its worldwide staff.
• Clear Channel Communications , which operates radio stations and outdoor advertising space, plans to lay off about 1,500 employees—mostly in ad sales—of the 20,000 work force in the United States.
• ConocoPhillips , citing a steep decline in oil and gas prices, saidit will cut 4 percent of its workforce and sees big writedowns on some of its exploration and production assets.
• Pfizerplans to lay off as many as 2,400 sales staff this quarter in a continuing reorganization. The drugmaker has already cut about 15,000 jobs in the past two years, including 800 research jobs earlier this week, to downsize before the company's $12 billion-a-year.
• General Electric's GE Capital unit will cut between 7,000 and 11,000 jobs. GE had said it would reduce costs at GE Capital by about $2 billion this year, according to the report.
• Advanced Micro Devices plans to cut 1,100 jobs, 9 percent of its global staff, and slash the remaining employees' pay as the chip maker hopes its third round of layoffs in a year can help it get through a brutal market for computer sales.
• Insurance company WellPoint said that it would eliminate about 1,500 positions, or about 3.5 percent of its workforce, to reduce administrative costs.
• Rental car company Hertz Global said Friday it will eliminate more than 4,000 jobs worldwide as it further cuts costs amid slowing demand.

• Delta Air Lines , which took over rival Northwest Airlines last year, said it expects about 2,000 staff to opt for an early retirement program as it aims to trim capacity as much as 8 percent this year.

• Autodesk is cutting 750 jobs, or about 10 percent of its work force to cut expenses and expects to report a loss rather than a profit for the fourth quarter.