Job losses are the worst in seven years
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- December
- 3
When Citigroup Inc. recently announced plans to cut about 52,000 jobs worldwide in coming months, it was the biggest downsizing announced this year by a company with a major presence in the Lower Hudson Valley.
But it was hardly the only local downsizing to make headlines. Other notable job cuts announced by area companies in recent months included PepsiCo Inc. of Purchase (3,300 jobs worldwide), Olympus Surgical & Industrial America Inc. (170 jobs in Orangeburg) and Boscov’s, the shuttered department store in the Nanuet Mall (120 lost jobs).As the local pain intensified, a national study released yesterday painted a bleak picture of the U.S. job market. Job cuts nationally surged to a seven-year high of 181,671 positions in November as companies tightened their belts in response to the global financial crisis, lackluster consumer spending and a weakening economy, according to the report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
The November job cut totals rose 61 percent from the October numbers and 148 percent from the totals in November 2007. November was the worst month for job cuts since January 2002, when the economy was struggling to rebound from the September 11 terrorist attacks.
“Those hoping for a holiday reprieve in downsizing as Christmas approaches could be disappointed,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “The spirit of the holidays will not preclude further job-cutting if economic conditions continue to deteriorate. In fact, December has historically been among the larger job-cut months of the year, with many employers making last-minute staffing adjustments to meet year-end earnings goals.”
Job cuts for the year have exceeded 1 million positions for the first time since 2005.
The massive job cuts disclosed by troubled Citigroup, which has 26 offices in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties and $5.08 billion in deposits, were among the 91,356 job cuts announced last month by the financial services industry, according to the report.
“Obviously, the financial sector is still struggling,” Challenger said. “Heavy job cutting also continued in the automotive sector. It is too soon to tell if and when government intervention will be effective at stemming the rate of job cuts. These sectors are going through radical changes that could irrevocably alter their makeup.”
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 at 4:30 pm by Jay Loomis.
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