The job market is off to a terrible start this year, with companies announcing more than 80,000 job losses so far, in one of the most painful symptoms of the ongoing recession.
Circuit City Inc. is the biggest culprit of 2009. The bankrupt retailer said on Friday that it is shutting down because of dried-up consumer spending and liquidating its 567 U.S. stores, dooming some 30,000 jobs.
Also on Friday, the Hertz (HTZ, Fortune 500) rental car company said it would cut 4,000 jobs in the first quarter, because of decreased demand for its cars. Japanese auto maker Honda Motor (HMC) said it would cut 3,100 jobs and healthcare company WellPoint (WLP, Fortune 500) said it would slash 1,500.
Other massive job cuts from this week include electronics producer Motorola (MOT, Fortune 500), with 4,000 cuts, finance firm Barclays, with 2,100, and packaging company Meadwestvaco (MWV, Fortune 500), with 2,000.
It's getting the point where some of us know more people out of work or who are fearing they'll be next than we do people who have any semblance of job security...
In theory if the experts are right, after the next six months things should start to improve but it will take quite a bit of time for those who have already been laid off or about to be laid off to catch up financially.
No comments:
Post a Comment