CEOs expect more job cuts through year end

Nearly three-quarters of CEOs in the Business Roundtable expect to cut workers in the next six months as sales sag, a survey showed Tuesday, suggesting further deterioration in the job market is likely at least through the end of the year.

Seventy-one percent of CEOs said they expect to cut workers in the next six months, up from 60% from November, when the quarterly survey was last conducted, and the most since the survey began at the end of 2002, the Business Roundtable said. Twenty-one percent expect to keep payrolls unchanged, while 7% said they plan to add workers.

Source: USA Today

Job cuts down 19.3% in March

The number of planned job cuts announced by U.S.-based employers fell 19.3 percent to 150,411 in March, according to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

The number of announced layoffs had dropped 23 percent to 186,350 in February, said the global outplacement firm, meaning that March numbers mark the first two-month decrease in job cuts since February to March 2007.

Source: Austing Business Journal

U.S. Jobless Benefit Rolls Reach Record 4.99 Million

The number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits jumped to 4.99 million two weeks ago, breaking a record for a fourth straight time, signaling the job market is still deteriorating.

Total benefit rolls surged by 170,000 in the week ended Feb. 7, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. First-time applications for unemployment benefits were unchanged at 627,000 last week, higher than economists projected.

Source: Bloomberg

Mini expected to announce the loss of 850 jobs

About 850 job cuts and the end of week­end working at the Mini car plant near Oxford are expected to be announced tomorrow in the latest blow to Britain’s manufacturing.

The marque, owned by BMW of Germany, saw global sales accelerate slightly last year only to drop 35% in January. The Mini workers hit by the decision are contract staff with few employment rights – brought in to work alongside full-time employees on the production lines, which built 230,000 vehicles last year. However, the move to reduce output and cut 850 out of 4,500 employees will also affect dozens of supply firms and thousands of their staff who depend on Mini.

Source: The Guardian

Nearly 10,000 more job cuts logged on Thursday

According to CNNMoney: “The job market onslaught continued on Thursday, with up to 10,000 new job cuts reported before the market open.”

AstraZeneca (AZN, drugmaker): -6,000 jobs
Kodak (EK, photomaker): -3,000 jobs
Oshkosh (OSK, builder of fire engines, dump trucks and military vehicles): -1,500 jobs