Have 30,000 lost jobs over the past one week?

News of the US officially slipping into recession seems to have spurred another round of massive retrenchment, as the first week of December alone saw a stunning 30,000 layoffs, with more than half happening in the world’s largest economy.

The whopping numbers are just a continuation of a strained labour market as employers in America slashed 5,33,000 jobs in the month of November, the maximum downsizing in 34 years. Right from telecom giant AT&T to battered banking major Credit Suisse to steel maker ArcelorMittal, the layoffs are spread across the sectors, amid the worst financial turmoil since the great depression of 1930s.

Moreover, since the start of recession in December last year, as concluded by the National Bureau of Economic Research, 1.9 million people lost their jobs and two-thirds of the losses happened in the last three months. Leaving a gloomy November, this month’s layoffs are led by AT&T which would slash 12,000 jobs or about four per cent of its total workforce.

JP Morgan is reportedly planning to reduce its workforce by 21%. The move is expected to result in 4,000 employees being given the pink slip by January at Washington Mutual.

Source: Agencies

AT&T likely to cut 12,000 jobs

AT&T, the largest US phone company, will cut 12,000 jobs, striving to trim expenses as the US economy falters. The reductions amount to about 4% of the workforce, Dallas-based AT&T said on Thursday in a statement.

The company plans to record $600 million in expenses for severance this quarter. The reductions would bring AT&T’s total job cuts to more than 25,000 this year. The carrier and its smaller competitors are grappling with slowing consumer spending and a jobless rate at its highest level in 14 years.

AT&T fell 18 cents to $28.90 in early trading after closing at $29.08 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The carrier also plans to reduce spending next year to cope with the slowdown, with plans to give specific forecasts for 2009 spending plans in late January.

The carrier said its still adding jobs in its wireless and video units. In July, the company said it would eliminate 10,000 jobs to reduce overlap in some departments after its 2006 purchase of BellSouth Corp. Before that, the company announced 4,650 cuts, some in its home-phone business, which has lost customers to cable operators and wireless competitors.

Source: Agencies