The Layoff Kings: The 25 Companies Responsible for 700,000 Lost Jobs

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/the-layoff-kings-the-25-companies-responsible-for-700-000-lost/19588515/

Between December 2007 (when the recession officially began) and last month, more than 8 million Americans have lost their jobs, according to the government. Of those job losses, 700,000 stem from layoffs at just 25 companies, according to 24/7 Wall Street's analysis of data from employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Certain industries figure prominently on this list of layoff kings. The auto industry, for example, is estimated to have cut nearly 200,000 jobs in the U.S. since 2006. The industry's union, the United Auto Workers, has been able to preserve blue collar jobs in the industry for decades, but the recession and foreign competition have proven too formidable for the union to fight against.

The financial services sector is another culprit. The financial meltdown forced some banks to close (Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns) and others to be acquired (Merrill Lynch, Washington Mutual), leaving hundreds of bankers, brokers and assistants without jobs.

A growing number of unemployed workers translated into slower sales of consumer products and the materials used to make them. Companies that turn commodities into finished products, such as Alcoa, DuPont and Dow Chemical, have felt the pressure of that shrinking spending. Each have been squeezed as prices for their end products fell by more than the underlying prices of raw materials, such as metals and chemicals.

See full article from DailyFinance: http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/the-layoff-kings-the-25-companies-responsible-for-700-000-lost/19588515/?icid=sphere_copyright


More at the link ---

[corkhead]

1. here's the actual list in a nutshell...

1. General Motors Number of jobs cut since recession began: 107,357
2. Citigroup Number of jobs cut since recession began: 73,056
3. Hewlett-Packard Number of jobs cut since recession began: 47,540
4. Circuit City Stores Number of jobs cut since recession began: 41,495
5. Merrill Lynch Number of jobs cut since recession began: 40,650
6. Verizon Wireless Number of jobs cut since recession began: 39,000
7. Pfizer Number of jobs cut since recession began: 31,771
8. Merck Number of jobs cut since recession began: 24,400
9. Lehman Brothers Number of jobs cut since recession began: 23,340
10. Caterpillar Number of jobs cut since recession began: 23,024
11. JPMorgan Chase Number of jobs cut since recession began: 22,852
12. Starbucks Number of jobs cut since recession began: 21,316
13. AT&T Number of jobs cut since recession began: 18,401
14. Alcoa Number of jobs cut since recession began: 17,655
15. Dow Chemical Number of jobs cut since recession began: 17,530
16. DuPont Number of jobs cut since recession began: 17,000
17. Berkshire Hathaway Number of jobs cut since recession began: 16,900
18. Ford Motor Number of jobs cut since recession began: 15,912
19. KB Toys Number of jobs cut since recession began: 15,100
20. United States Postal Service Number of jobs cut since recession began: 15,000
21. DHL Express USA Number of jobs cut since recession began: 14,900
22. Sprint Nextel Number of jobs cut since recession began: 14,500
23. Sun Microsystems Number of jobs cut since recession began: 14,000
24. Boeing Number of jobs cut since recession began: 13,715
25. ChryslerNumber of jobs cut since recession began: 13,672