Job Insecurity High as Layoffs Show Huge Surge

The number of planned layoffs at U.S. firms fell in March but downsizing by retail companies still helped the first quarter rack up the largest amount of cuts in over a year, a report showed on Thursday. Employers announced 49,255 planned job cuts last month, down 11 percent from 55,356 in February, according to the report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

But March's layoffs were still up 30 percent from the same time a year ago, the fourth time in the last six months that monthly job cuts have been higher than the year before. For the quarter, there were 145,041 workers let go, up 5.6 percent from the fourth quarter of last year. It was the worst quarter for layoffs since the third quarter of 2011.

Retailers cut the most employees in March, announcing 16,445 layoffs, up from 2,279 in February. In the first three months of the year, retail firms have cut 25,400 jobs, second only to the financial sector's 33,819 for 2013 so far. Read more >>

Planned layoffs rise for third month

Planned layoffs at U.S. firms rose for the third month in a row in November, partly driven by the bankruptcy of Hostess Brands, a report showed on Thursday.

Employers announced 57,081 job cuts last month, the highest level since May and up nearly 20 percent from 47,724 in October, according to the report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

November's job cuts were also up 34.4 percent from the 42,474 seen a year ago.

Still, 2012 is shaping up to be a better year than last year. With one month to go, employers have announced 490,806 cuts in 2012, lower than 2011's total of 606,082 layoffs.

The bankruptcy of Twinkies maker Hostess in November accounted for 18,500 of the jobs lost. The computer industry, which has led layoffs for the year, cut 3,313 jobs last month.

"Job cuts this year have really been driven by a handful of large-scale cuts," Rick Cobb, executive vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement. Read more >>

Layoffs rise as more companies are downsizing

Just when it looked as if the economy was upsizing, more companies are downsizing. A mounting number of companies, including many tech firms, have been announcing layoffs, prompting some to worry about the proliferation of pink slips amid third-quarter earnings reports showing nearly zero growth.

"We've seen a spate of bad earnings announcements," says John Challenger of outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas. "Companies often take fast action," which results in job cuts.

Colgate-Palmolive was the most recent example Thursday, with plans to cut 2,300 jobs. But that announcement just piled on top of similar revelations from firms such as online game company Zynga, heavy equipment maker Caterpillar, computer chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices and chemical firm DuPont in recent weeks.

Early data point to a disturbing rise in layoffs, as seen by:

-- Recent uptick in layoffs. Companies in North America announced plans to cut more than 62,000 jobs since Sept. 1, says Bloomberg News. That's the biggest two-month slashing of jobs since the beginning of 2010. Read more >>

Planned job cuts up 14% in 2011

Planned job cuts dropped in December but were up 14% overall for 2011, according to a report from outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

December's total of 41,785 announced lay-offs was a 1.6% drop versus November, and was the lowest monthly total since June. Total announced job cuts for 2011, however, hit 606,802, up from the 529,973 announced in 2010.

The increase in cuts was driven primarily by lay-offs in government and financial sector jobs, which together accounted for 41% of all announced job losses.

With pressure on governments at all levels to cut spending and the European debt crisis still unresolved, both these sectors are "likely to continue to struggle in 2012," Challenger CEO John Challenger said in a statement accompanying the report. More...