Doomsday has started and is going to reach our shores
soon...Singapore! So much for foreign company when it is cut, it
certainly not going be their own people 1st....
So do we have FW working in these sectors? So what are garhman
saying FW will go 1st during down turn?
/////quote///
ANNOUNCEMENTS about job cuts are coming thick and
fast as the financial crisis hits the real economy
worldwide.
Motorola said
yesterday that it planned to cut thousands of jobs and simplify how
it makes devices, while appliance maker Whirlpool and banking giant
Credit Suisse also announced fresh layoffs.
<!-- Vodcast
--><!-- Background Story -->And despite soaring profits,
British energy giant BP, fresh from unveiling an 83 per cent jump
in third-quarter net profits, said it is planning to cut more jobs
than previously announced, the Financial Times reported
yesterday.
Motorola's plans,
which could include thousands of layoffs, could be announced today,
when the company reports its results, the Wall Street Journal
reported.
The company is also
seeking to outsource production of some Windows Mobile
phones.
Contacted by The
Straits Times yesterday, Motorola said that it does not comment on
rumour or speculation.
ST understands that
the company's headcount in Singapore includes 100 staff working in
its Asia-Pacific regional headquarters based here. The company also
has R&D centres here.
Meanwhile, Credit
Suisse, Switzerland's second-biggest bank, announced its plans to
cut 500 jobs in its securities unit and some support functions,
adding to the 1,565 layoffs already announced over the past
year.
The reductions are in
response to 'market conditions and projected staffing levels
required to meet client needs', said Ms Karen Laureano-Rikardsen, a
spokesman for the Zurich-based bank. The firm's securities unit
employed 21,300 people at the end of September.
Credit Suisse told The
Straits Times that it currently employs close to 5,000 staff in
Singapore across three locations - One Raffles Link, Changi
Business Park and One Raffles Quay.
It did not comment on
the possibility of local layoffs, but a source close to the
situation said reviews had been carried out recently.
ST believes that at
least one mid-level banker in the 50-member investment banking
division has been told to leave, and a couple more positions are
expected to be cut.
Banks and brokerages
worldwide have already reported more than 148,000 job cuts and
US$680 billion (S$1 trillion) of markdowns and credit
losses.
The largest US home
appliance maker Whirlpool also said on Tuesday that it is
eliminating about 5,000 jobs this year and next, due in large part
to the long downturn in the American housing market.
Whirlpool, whose
brands include Maytag, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air, said it has 73,000
employees worldwide.
Since January,
Whirlpool has announced the closure of four plants in Tennessee,
Mississippi and Mexico - a loss of about 2,000 jobs.
About 1,900 more jobs
will be cut overseas, mostly in Europe.
In the midst of all
these layoffs, the European Commission has promised to cushion the
impact of the economic downturn on households and jobs. It says it
wants to fund more training for the unemployed and help them start
new businesses.
European Commission
president Jose Manuel Barroso said his top priority was to minimise
the impact of slowing growth and keep unemployment to an absolute
minimum.
He also said European
Union governments stood ready to give money to member states facing
serious financial problems.
BLOOMBERG, REUTERS,
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
