Job Cuts Keep Coming—Is Your Firm On the List?

The pace of corporate layoffs picked up sharply in January 2009, reflecting the worsening US recession.

AP

“The experience of previous deep recessions suggests claims are nowhere near their peak, and we doubt that peak will be reached before the fall of this year,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist for consulting firm High Frequency Economics.

Shepherdson said in a research note that weekly jobless claims could reach 750,000 later this year.

Here is a rundown of corporate job cuts announced in January 2009:

• Eastman Kodak posted an unexpected quarterly loss and said it would cut up to 4,500 jobs this year after suffering a dramatic decline in demand for digital cameras and commercial printing equipment.
• British drugmaker AstraZeneca posted lower fourth-quarter net income, announced 6,000 further job cuts and issued a cautious 2009 sales outlook.

• Northbrook-based Allstate said that it plans to cut about 1,000 jobs in its financial arm through a combination of attrition and job cuts over the next two years.
• Oshkosh said it was cutting its workforce by 7 percent and withdrawing its 2009 earnings forecast. The company said it was also cutting production and closing a number of facilities. Over the past year, Oshkosh has laid off about 2,400 of its 14,200 workers.
• Tool maker Black & Decker said it would cut about 1,200 jobs to curb costs while battling a further fall in demand in most of its markets in 2009.
• Ford Motor Credit, the lending and financing arm of Ford Motor , will cut about 20 percent of its U.S. staff, or about 1,200 jobs, as part of a restructuring plan announced in meetings with employees.

—Sources: AP, Reuters, with CNBC.com staff.

CONTINUED : The Employment Gloom Continues...

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