Big U.S. companies announce massive job cuts

PEORIA, Ill. - The Year of the Ox got off to an inauspicious start for American workers.

A slew of American heavyweight companies, including Caterpillar, Pfizer, Sprint Nextel, Home Depot and General Motors, announced cuts Monday adding up to 45,000 jobs lost. What's more, a group of business economists predicted many more job losses in the year ahead.

Caterpillar had by far the worst news of the group. The world's largest heavy equipment maker announced Monday it was slashing up to 5,000 jobs on top of several earlier actions. The latest cuts of support and management employees will be made globally by the end of March. An additional 2,500 workers already have accepted buyout offers, and ties have been severed with about 8,000 contract workers worldwide. In addition, about 4,000 full-time factory workers already have been let go.

In all, the almost 20,000 jobs being lost equal about 18 percent of the company's work force.

Ailing automaker General Motors Corp. also said it would slash 2,000 jobs at plants in Michigan and Ohio as the recession slams sales of its vehicles.

Sprint Nextel Corp. said it would be eliminating about 8,000 positions in the first quarter as it seeks to cut annual costs by $1.2 billion. Home Depot said it would reduce about two percent of its associates, or about 7,000 jobs. And Pfizer, fresh from agreeing to buy rival Wyeth for $68 billion, announced cost cuts that will include slashing about 8,000 jobs.

The Year of the Ox, year 4706 in the Chinese lunar calendar, is supposed to represent prosperity through perseverance and hard work. But the hope for a better year in 2009 was being dashed by the job losses and the growing concern that many more would join the ranks of the 2.6 million who became unemployed in 2008, the most annual job losses since 1945.

The latest outlook from forecasters in a survey released Monday by the National Association for Business Economics showed 39 percent predicted job reductions through attrition or “significant” layoffs over the next six months, up from 32 percent in the previous survey in October. Around 45 percent in the current survey anticipated no change in hiring plans, while roughly 17 percent thought hiring would increase.

Video   Shaky economy sheds more jobs Jan. 26: Even as President Obama calls for a stimulus bill to get Americans back to work, several large companies announce major layoffs. CNBC's Erin Burnett and MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell report. MSNBC

President Barack Obama, referring to a litany of companies announcing job cuts in the past few days, said the nation can't afford "distractions" or "delays" when it comes to the economic stimulus plan working its way through Congress.

Obama pointed to job losses at companies including Microsoft, Intel, United Airlines and Home Depot. And he said it means more working men and women "whose families have been disrupted and whose dreams have been put on hold."

Obama told reporters Monday the government owes it to "every American" to act with a "sense of urgency" and "common purpose."

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