Global Job Cuts Refuse To Relent

Job cuts across the globe in various industries are piling up as more and more companies announce lay off plans.

The job losses in this downturn are hitting workers across all income levels and job categories.Job losses are piling up and there are more jobs to be cut in the future.There are lot of people being handed pink slips across the globe.In this gloomy scenario, people are frantically looking for ways to cope with the situation.Nokia, world’s largest mobile phone maker, will be pruning its global workforce again by another 490 jobs, with as many as 170 positions to be slashed in logistics, production management and production support areas. American Express has announced that it will be eliminating about 4,000 jobs as part of a plan to reduce another $800 million in costs for the remainder of the year.

The deepening global downturn has left more Americans unemployed than in nearly 30 years. The speed and scale of recent layoffs are staggering, but heavy industry jobs have been hit particularly hard.In most cases, the cutbacks reflects a bleak 2009 outlook for national economies stricken by severe downturns across the globe. Manufacturers and other businesses continue to
slash production and payrolls to survive tough times. In 2008, the United States economy lost 3 million jobs, and 600,000 more in the last month alone.China, the world’s third-largest economy after the U.S. and Japan, is one of the only major economies still growing, though its growth slowed sharply in the past year. The government says about 20 million migrants have lost their jobs and leaders worry about possible unrest.

Air France-KLM is looking to shed 3,000 jobs in its current financial year:
The cuts come in addition to 2,700 posts eliminated in the fiscal year to 31 March 2009, as the airline industry suffers a fall in demand. Air France-KLM is expecting to shed 3,000 jobs in its current financial year, in a bid to further cut costs.The firm separately announced a tie-up with Delta Airlines on selected routes to share revenues and costs. Delta is the world’s largest airline, while Air France is the largest carrier in Europe. The deal, which is initially for a 10-year period, covers all flights between North America and Europe, Amsterdam and India, and between North America and Tahiti.

Hewlett-Packard has decided to slash more than 6,400 jobs… :
The company, which has a strong presence in India, has reported a 17 per cent fall in profits at USD 1.7 billion for the three months ended April 30, 2009. New York Technology major Hewlett-Packard, has posted a steep decline in second quarter profits, will be cutting more than 6,400 jobs or about two per cent of its global workforce in the coming months. Revenue from outside the United States in the second quarter accounted for 64 per cent of total revenue, with revenue in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) declining 12 per cent over the prior-year period while accounting for nine per cent of total HP revenue,” the statement noted. In May last year, Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced that it would acquire technology services company EDS for about USD 13.9 billion.

Dutch state-controlled bank ABN Amro plans to axe a net of 4,000 to 5,000 jobs:
DUTCH STATE-controlled bank ABN Amro posted a €886 million after-tax loss in the first quarter, with most of the total incurred by units in the process of being transferred to Royal Bank of Scotland.A consortium including RBS, Fortis and Spanish banking group Santander bought ABN Amro in 2007 for €70 billion. After a crisis of confidence, the Dutch government took over Fortis’s local operations, including its interests in ABN Amro, last October for €16.8 billion.The complexity of the two series of transactions is such that the process of separating the ABN Amro businesses acquired by the Dutch state from the businesses acquired by RBS is still ongoing.ABN said last week it planned to cut 4,000 to 5,000 jobs and up to €1.3 billion in costs over the course of its integration with Fortis Bank Nederland. That integration is the next step the
government plans after the RBS split, and was part of Fortis’s original plan.

Irish lender ACC Bank has announced that it will cut 200 jobs and close 16 branches around the country:
ACC Bank is to cut 200 jobs and close 16 branches around the country and has blamed the global financial crisis, the sharp deterioration in the Irish economy and collapse of the property market for the move.The lender to small and medium-sized businesses and the agricultural sector, which is owned by Dutch financial services provider Rabobank, will close branches between October and next April.