Trump threatens 50% tariffs on Brazil if it doesn't stop the Bolsonaro 'witch hunt' trial    Trump praises 'good English' of Liberian president, prompting criticism across Africa    Saudi, Hungarian defense ministers discuss military ties    Al-Rajhi: Cabinet's decision is supportive to most vulnerable groups    King Salman appoints Dr. Majid Al-Fayyad as Royal Court advisor    Alkhorayef emphasizes Saudi Arabia's growing role as global industrial investment hub    Saudi Arabia adopts World Drowning Prevention Day as national health priority    GACA imposes SR2.8 million in fines for 87 civil aviation violations in Q2 2025    Desperate Gaza doctors cram several babies into one incubator as fuel crisis reaches critical point    Total e-messages sent to parties in lawsuits reach over 11.8 million during first half of 2025    3 arrested in assault case in Riyadh    New Property Ownership Law will take into effect in January 2026 Al-Hogail thanks King and Crown Prince for the updated law    HONOR returns to Esports World Cup as Official Smartphone Partner for 2025 The renewed commitment will see HONOR elevate mobile esports competition with cutting-edge AI technologies and industry-leading hardware    Riot Games responds to match-fixing allegations in VALORANT    BLAST responds to BESTIA Visa controversy ahead of CS2 Austin major    Christophe Galtier named NEOM SC head coach ahead of historic Saudi Pro League debut    Michael Madsen, actor of 'Kill Bill' and 'Reservoir Dogs' fame, dead at 67    BTS are back: K-pop band confirm new album and tour    Michelin Guide launches in Saudi Arabia with phased rollout in 2025    'How fragile we are': Roskilde Festival tragedy remembered 25 years on    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



More than 85,000 jobs cut amid churning crisis
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 27 - 01 - 2009

At least 85,000 new job cuts were announced in a single day Monday as the rampant financial crisis hit more workers across the globe and brought down Iceland's government.
In a sign of the deepening social impact of the crisis, companies announced an avalanche of cuts, piling pressure on US President Barack Obama as he pushes a stimulus plan for the world's biggest economy.
“These are not just numbers on a page,” Obama said as he pressed for urgent action on an 825-billion-dollar stimulus plan.
“As with the millions of jobs lost in 2008, these are working men and women whose families have been disrupted and whose dreams have been put on hold. We owe it to each of them and to every single American to act with a sense of urgency and common purpose. We can't afford distractions and we cannot afford delays.”
The financial catastrophe also claimed a scalp as Iceland's Prime Minister Geir Haarde announced the resignation of his government after months of protests over economic policies that brought the country close to bankruptcy.
US construction equipment giant Caterpillar said it planned 20,000 job cuts worldwide to cope with plunging sales.
New York-based drug maker Pfizer announced it would acquire its rival Wyeth for 68 billion dollars, the largest pharmaceutical takeover deal in nearly a decade amid a dearth of corporate dealmaking due in part to a credit squeeze. It said it would also cut its global workforce by around 10 percent - meaning at least 8,000 posts cut in a company that currently employs almost 82,000 people in more than 150 countries.
General Motors announced plans Monday to cut 2,000 jobs at two US plants as it prepares to submit a long-term viability plan in exchange for billions in loans from the US government.
US telecom firm Sprint Nextel announced 8,000 cuts - 14 percent of its staff - and top US home improvement retailer Home Depot said it would cut 7,000.
Japan's top 12 automakers expect to cut a total of 25,000 jobs between now and the end of March, a survey by Jiji Press concluded on Monday.
Dutch banking and insurance group ING announced 7,000 job cuts and a deal for the Dutch state to guarantee billions of euros' worth of troubled assets.
Dutch electronics giant Philips said it would eliminate 6,000 jobs. The announcements by the two Dutch companies came ahead of confirmation that Europe's second-biggest steelmaker, Indian-owned Corus, said it would cut more than 3,500 jobs around the world, most of them in Britain.
“I was told on Friday I have a choice - either accept a 10 percent pay cut or take redundancy - that is no choice,” said 45-year-old Douglas Mayhill, a worker at a Corus plant in Port Talbot, southern Wales.
In Italy the auto sector could shed 60,000 jobs unless the state comes to the rescue, the head of Fiat said on Monday ahead of a government meeting on the challenges facing the car industry.
In Washington, International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that Group of 20 major countries have made little progress in fighting the global financial crisis since their November summit.
“We gathered here in Washington and said we would recapitalize banks, disclose their losses, implement stimulus packages,” Strauss-Kahn said.
“Very little has been done. I don't say nothing has been done, but it's moving very, very slowly.” The US Congress was meanwhile due to begin debate this week on Obama's stimulus bill, designed to haul the US economy out of a paralyzing recession.
In his first presidential radio address at the weekend, Obama raised the prospect of double-digit unemployment and a massive erosion of family incomes if Congress did not act on the bill.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday the economic downturn around the world can only be brought to an end if countries work together to tackle the financial crisis.
Although Brown said there was a “great deal” that individual countries can do to help their own domestic problems, he insisted that the only only long-term solution was international, with better regulation and co-ordinated government intervention.
“If what happens to a bank in one country can within minutes have devastating effects for banks on a different continent, then only a truly international response of policy and governance can be effective,” he said in a speech.
“If we all coordinate our response there will be a quicker global and therefore British recovery,” he added.


Clic here to read the story from its source.