Gloom deepens as 75,000 global jobs go

Gloom deepens as 75,000 global jobs go By FT Reporters Published: January 26 2009 14:50 | Last updated: January 26 2009 19:21 Fresh evidence of a deepening downturn emerged Monday as a wave of leading corporations announced more than 70,000 job cuts in one of the gloomiest days in the global economic crisis so far. US corporate groups such as Caterpillar, General Motors, Sprint Nextel, Home Depot, Pfizer and Texas Instruments led the retreat, as the domestic recession coupled with tough export markets continued to take a heavy toll on their businesses. Large European companies such as Philips, the Dutch electronics company, the financial group ING and the UK steelmaker Corus, which is owned by India’s Tata Group, struck the same downbeat tone as they unveiled plans to axe staff. EDITOR’S CHOICE Video: Justin Baer on global job cuts - Jan-23Video: Wharton’s advice on how to manage job cuts - Jan-26Caterpillar to cut 20,000 jobs as orders fall - Jan-26Sprint Nextel to cut 8,000 jobs - Jan-26Philips focuses on cash as it axes 6,000 jobs - Jan-26Corus cuts 2,500 UK jobs as demand drops - Jan-26In many cases, the cutbacks accompanied disappointing quarterly results or bleak outlooks for 2009, when many of the world’s largest economies are expected to be hit by severe downturns. Raymond Torres, head of the International Labour Organisation’s research institute, said employers were shedding workers far more quickly in this recession than in the last one in the early 1990s. “We have a vicious circle of depression, where job losses lead to falling consumption, which lowers industrial confidence, which leads to less investment, which results in more job losses, and so on,� he said. Caterpillar, the world’s largest maker of construction equipment, said it would cut 20,000 jobs as it reported fourth-quarter profits more than 32 per cent lower than a year ago and warned that earnings would be under pressure in 2009. Table: Job cuts The news comes a month after the US group slashed executive salaries by up to half and cut jobs at large plants. Sprint Nextel, the US mobile-phone operator, said it would cut 8,000 jobs, or 14 per cent of its workforce, while DIY retailer Home Depot is shedding 7,000 posts and freezing salaries as it battles a consumer slowdown in the US. Pfizer, the drug group, added to the tally, saying 19,500 people would lose their jobs after its takeover of US rival Wyeth, while General Motors, the troubled carmaker, announced 2,000 job losses at two plants in Michigan. The Dallas-based chipmaker Texas Instruments also announced it would slash its payroll by 12 per cent through 1,800 layoffs and 1,600 voluntary retirements and departures. The news in the US came after ING said it would axe 7,000 of its 130,000 global staff and Philips announced the loss of 6,000 jobs as it accelerated its restructuring plans. Corus, Britain’s largest steelmaker, announced cuts of 3,500 jobs from its global workforce of 41,000, with more than 2,000 jobs to go in the UK where it employs 20,000. Reporting by Justin Baer and Francesco Guerrera in New York, Andrew Ward in Washington, Hal Weitzman in Chicago, Richard Milne in London and Frances Williams in Geneva

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