Reply #11: AT&T, DuPont, Credit Suisse, Viacom among firms adding to layoff numbers

[ozymandius]

The job losses just keep mounting.

AT&T Inc., DuPont Co. and several other companies announced plans to lay off more than 20,000 people Thursday, buckling under the strain of a recession that some economists predict may have pushed the U.S. jobless rate to the highest level in 15 years.

More than 1 million Americans have lost their jobs this year and the Labor Department's report on the November unemployment rate, due Friday, may show it jumped to 6.8 percent, the highest since 1993, according to economists.

....

AT&T: The telecommunications giant, pressured by the economic turmoil and the mounting loss of traditional phone customers, is cutting 12,000 jobs, or about 4 percent of its workforce.

....

DuPont: The chemical manufacturer said it will cut 2,500 jobs, or roughly 4 percent of its workforce, and will not turn a profit in the fourth quarter as a severe slowdown in the automotive and construction markets eats away at chemical sales.

The firm also said it will release 4,000 contractors by the end of this year, with more contractor cuts expected in 2009, and will implement work schedule reductions and redeploy more than 400 employees on projects to reduce working capital and operating costs.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-fri-job-cuts-dec05,0,3582702.story

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Credit Suisse sheds 5,300 jobs (11 percent of its global workforce)

Viacom cuts 850 jobs (7 percent of its workforce)

Steelcase Inc loses 600 jobs and closing an Atlanta plant

NBC Universal plans to cut 500 jobs.