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?
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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.
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
be very prudent in your spending.
Spend like today is your last day on earth (if like me you have no debt) ![]()