Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Tweet

[IWS] Challenger: JOB CUTS FALL 16% to 55,679 in OCTOBER [4 November 2009]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

November 4, 2009
CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC.
JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT

CONTACTS
James K. Pedderson, Director of Public Relations
Office: 312-422-5078
Mobile: 847-567-1463
jamespedderson@challengergray.com

Colleen Madden, Media Relations Manager
Office: 312-422-5074
colleenmadden@challengergray.com


Press Release 4 November 2009
Job Cuts Continue To Fall In October
OCTOBER JOB CUTS FALL 16% TO 55,679

CHICAGO, November 4, 2009 ­ The number of planned job cuts
announced by U.S. employers declined for the third consecutive month in
October, falling 16 percent to 55,679 from 66,404 in September, according
to the latest job-cut report released Wednesday by global outplacement
consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

The October job-cut total was the lowest since March 2008, when
employers announced plans to shed 53,579 workers. It was 51 percent lower
than the 112,884 job-cut announcements made in October 2008.

The pace of downsizing has slowed steadily throughout the year after
reaching a seven-year peak of 241,749 in January. The month-over-month jobcut
total has declined in eight of last 10 months. Four consecutive monthly jobcut
totals, including October, were lower than the year-ago figure.

Despite the downward trend, the 1,192,587 layoffs announced this year
are 36 percent higher than the 875,974 cuts recorded through October 2008.
Only 31,406 more cuts must be announced to exceed the 1,223,993 planned
layoffs recorded in 2008.

One area that could see more downsizing before year's end is the auto
sector, which announced plans to shed another 13,420 workers last month. This
brings its 10-month job-cut tally to 164,440, the highest among all industries.

The second-ranked government and non-profit sector has announced plans
to reduce payrolls by 160,434 workers this year. While job cuts in this sector
have declined in each of the last two months, it is an area that is primed for more
cuts, as states and local governments continue to buckle under the weight of
oppressive budget deficits.

"While there are still some trouble spots, the continued decline in job
cutting activity across most industries is a positive sign that the economy is
slowly improving. Taken with the recently reported rise in GDP, increase in
manufacturing activity and unexpected gain in home sales, it appears that the
light at the end of the tunnel is finally visible. However, it is important to
realize that, as deep and widespread as this recession was, it is going to be a
long and sometimes painful recovery," said John A. Challenger, chief
executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

"It will be particularly painful for the 14.5 million unemployed
Americans, who will find that job gains will not come nearly as quickly as
the job losses occurred. Companies will, at first, be very cautious not to
over-hire, in case this recovery is not sustainable. Even when the pace of
job creation accelerates, it simply will take a lot of time to re-absorb all of
these displaced workers," Challenger added.

# # #


TOP FIVE INDUSTRIES
Year To Date
                                                  2009                    2008
Automotive                               164,440                 110,610
Government/Non-Profit                    160,434         71,479
Industrial Goods                         105,027                 43,997
Retail                                  97,065 5            3,765
Transportation                           68,768                  66,876


MONTH BY MONTH TOTALS
                                 2009                    2008
January                  241,749                 74,986
February                         186,350                 72,091
March                             150,411                 53,579
April                            132,590                 90,015
May                              111,182                 103,522
June                             74,393                  81,755
July                             97,373                  103,312
August                            76,456                  88,736
September                        66,404           95,094
October                          55,679                  112,884
November                                        181,671
December                                        166,348
TOTAL                             1,192,587                1,223,993
Some reductions are identified by employers as workers who will take early retirement offers or other
special considerations to leave the company.

LAYOFF LOCATION
        Year to Date
New York                148,953
California                       131,812
Michigan                         100,180
Illinois                         75,894
Texas                            66,168
Listings are identified by the location of the layoff or corporate headquarters
as stated in announcement.

JOB CUTS BY INDUSTRY
                        October         Year-to-Date
Automotive              13,420          164,440
Electronics             10,882          60,269
Computer                7,089           60,803
Government/Non-Profit 4,832     160,434
Transportation  4,000           68,768
Energy          3,008           31,471
Entertainment/Leisure 1,971             14,320
Retail          1,643           97,065
Health Care/Products 1,465              36,420
Construction            1,427           22,011
Industrial Goods        998             105,027
Services                941             20,625
Aerospace/Defense       859             50,862
Financial               655             49,584
Consumer Products       497             27,642
Utility                 465             3,141
Insurance               400             8,547
Food                    275             18,584
Apparel                 257             6,000
Media           227             21,829
Telecommunications 226          40,041
Pharmaceutical  113             58,696
Chemical                29              54,248
Real Estate                             1,394
Commodities                     10,366
TOTAL           55,679          1,192,587


JOB CUTS BY REGION, STATE
        OCTOBER
East                    5,221
Connecticut             2,700
Massachusetts           1,126
New York                        695
District of Columbia    400
New Hampshire   300

Midwest                         10,453
Illinois                        3,863
Ohio                    2,610
Missouri                        1,730
Iowa                    1,300
Minnesota               260
Kansas                  250
Indiana                         213
Wisconsin               95
Michigan                        82
Oklahoma                50

West /Southwest         17,187
Texas                   6,390
California                      5,718
Washington              1,892
Arizona                         1,234
Utah                    870
Colorado                        825
Oregon                  178
New Mexico              80

South                   22,818
Tennessee               13,000
Florida                         7,567
Georgia                         1,210
N. Carolina             981
Virginia                        35
Louisiana                       25

JOB CUT REASONS
OCTOBER
                        October         Year-To-Date
Restructuring           17,146          100,515
Closing                 15,909          102,625
Cost-Cutting            10,242          184,273
Economic Conditions     5,677           429,847
Demand Downturn         3,632           177,082
Merger/Acquisition      3,000           62,863
Relocation              73              2,296
Competition                             5,580
Labor Dispute                           1,500
Order Cancellation/Reduction            4,712
No Clear Reason                         367
Bankruptcy                              50,417
Fluctuating Sales                       8,198
Government Regulation                   350
Legal Trouble                           1,095
Outsourcing                             3,100
Reorganization/Consolidation            2,669
Technological Update                    331
Voluntary Severance                     54,767
TOTAL           55,679          1,192,587


Copyright 2009 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************






<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?