Challenger Release

8/4/2019 Challenger Release

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CONTACTSJames K. Pedderson, Director of Public RelationsOffice: 312-422-5078

Mobile: [email protected]

Colleen Madden, Media Relations ManagerOffice: 312-422-5074

[email protected]

FOR RELEASE AT 7:30 A.M.EDT,OCTOBER 5,2011

Layoffs Surge to Highest Total Since April 2009PLANNED JOB CUTS TOP 115,000 IN SEPTEMBER;

DOMINATED BY BANK AND MILITARY CUTBACKS

CHICAGO, October 5, 2011 Employers announced plans to shed

115,730 workers from their payrolls in September, making it the worst job-

cut month in over two years. Heavy reductions planned by the military

accounted for a large portion of September job cuts, signaling what may lie

ahead as the federal government seeks across-the-board cuts in spending.

September job cuts were 126 percent higher than the 51,114

announced in August, according to the latest report on monthly job cuts

released Wednesday by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray &

Christmas, Inc. They were 212 percent higher than September 2010, when

employers announced just 37,151 job cuts. Last months total is the highest

since April 2009, when 132,590 job cuts were announced.

The September surge brought the number of job cuts announced in

the third quarter to 233,258, the highest quarterly toll since the third quarter

of 2009. That figure is up 103 percent from the previous quarter and 105

percent higher than the same quarter a year ago.


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To date, U.S.-based employers have announced 479,064 planned

layoffs in 2011, a 16.5 percent jump from the same point last year, when job

cuts totaled 411,272.

One-third of the layoffs announced this year came from governmentemployers. It is, by far, the largest job-cutting sector, with 159,588

announced job cuts to date. This figure includes 54,182 government-sector

cuts in September, 50,000 of which are the result of a five-year troop

reduction plan announced by the United States Army.

The second largest job-cutting sector to date is the financial sector,

which announced 54,013 planned layoffs between January 1 and the end of

September. That is up 177 percent from the 19,474 job cuts recorded over

the first three quarters of 2010. Of the 54,013 financial job cuts this year,

31,167 occurred in September, with 30,000 resulting from Bank of

Americas multi-year workforce reduction plan aimed at saving the

struggling bank $5 billion per year.

It would be easy to look at the September job-cut figure alongside

some of the other less-than-stellar economic news that has been reported

lately and draw the conclusion that the economy is indeed headed for a

double dip. However, it is important to keep in mind that 80,000 cuts, or

nearly 70 percent of last months total, came from just two organizations:

Bank of America and the United States Army, said John A. Challenger,

chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Neither of these cuts is directly related to recent softness in theeconomy. The Bank of America cuts are the result of continued fallout

from the housing market collapse and restructuring effort to remake the bank

into a smaller, more nimble institution. The military cuts are the result of

drawing down forces in two wars and cost-cutting efforts in all areas of the

federal government, he added.


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That being said, both could definitely be a sign of more cuts to come.

Bank of America is not the only bank still struggling in the wake of the housing

collapse. And, the military cutbacks are probably just the tip of the iceberg

when it comes to federal spending cuts and layoffs, Challenger noted.While the U.S. Army is not a traditional employer, its announcement was

very corporate-like in that plans to achieve the reductions using voluntary and

involuntary separations and is considering buyouts, reductions in high-year

tenure limits and early retirement boards, according to anArmy Times article,

which quoted Army Service Personnel Chief Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick.

Last months Army cuts represent the second such military personnel

reduction announced in as many months. In August, 17,500 military

personnel cuts were announced by the Army, Air Force and Navy.

As officers, soldiers and even civilian personnel get displaced from

the military, they face special challenges when making the transition to the

traditional job market. Perhaps the biggest challenge is taking the often

specialized skills and experience gained in the military and translating it to

the private sector, said Challenger.

The other big obstacle is the fact that many of these individuals

entered the military straight out of high school or college and the entire job-

search process, from resume writing to interviewing strategy, is completely

foreign to them. For these reasons, many former soldiers struggle to find

their way in the job market.

According to the latest employment data from the Bureau of LaborStatistics, 10.1 percent of military veterans 18 years and older were

unemployed in August. Unemployment among veterans of the current wars

in Iraq and Afghanistan stood at 16.6 percent.


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Given the opportunity, former military typically prove themselves to be

ideal employees. They tend to be more loyal, more disciplined and are better at

most when it comes to thinking on their feet. President Obama is definitely

taking a step in the right direction by providing tax incentives to employers thatopen their recruiting doors a little wider for veterans, said Challenger.

Other steps that could be taken include increased education for both

employers as well as job-seeking veterans on how the skills and experience

gained in service translate to the non-military workforce. It may also be

necessary to retrain those exiting military service for occupations that are in

demand. Lastly, military personnel impacted by separations could be provided

with some basic job-search training on such areas as preparing a resume,

networking strategies, interviewing techniques, etc., he said.

The heavy cuts announced by the Army and Bank of America were, at

least, partially offset last month by heavy seasonal hiring plans announced by

several retailers. It was reported last month that retailers Halloween City and

Party City would hire 12,000 and 14,000 workers, respectively, to handle the

flood of Halloween costume and decoration shoppers. Meanwhile, toy retailer

Toys R Us said it would be hiring about the same number of holiday workers

as last year, which was around 40,000. In all, employers announced plans to

hire 76,551 workers during September.

October is the prime month for seasonal worker hiring. Those

hoping to take advantage of the hiring surge should be out there seeing

employers now. Job seekers should not overlook smaller mom-and-popstores, restaurants, movie theaters and other entertainment venues. We

expect seasonal hiring to be about the same as last year, when more than

600,000 holiday workers were added to retail payrolls between October and

December, said Challenger.

# # #


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CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC.

JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT

TOP FIVE INDUSTRIES

Year To Date

2011 2010

Government/Non-Profit* 159,588 123,469

Financial 54,013 19,474

Retail 41,789 31,246

Aerospace/Defense 30,122 13,584

Health Care/Products 20,341 20,912

MONTH BY MONTH TOTALS

2011 2010

January 38,519 71,482February 50,702 42,090

March 41,528 67,611

April 36,490 38,326

May 37,135 38,810

June 41,432 39,358 .

July 66,414 41,676

August 51,114 34,768

September 115,730 37,151

October 37,986

November 48,711

December 32,004TOTAL 479,064 529,973

Some reductions are identified by employers as workers who will take early retirementoffers or other special considerations to leave the company.

LAYOFF LOCATION

Year to Date

District of Columbia 83,494

North Carolina 52,199

California 48,995

New Jersey 28,352Michigan 24,189

Listings are identified by the location of the layoff or corporate headquarters as statedin announcement.

Copyright 2011 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.


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JOB CUTS BY INDUSTRY

SEPTEMBER Year-To-Date

Government* 54,182 159,588Financial 31,167 54,013

Education 6,462 8,724

Energy 4,771 11,798

Transportation 3,920 11,639

Industrial Goods 2,227 15,506

Health Care/Products 2,115 20,341

Aerospace/Defense 1,691 30,122

Retail 1,616 41,789Electronics 1,133 5,942

Entertainment/Leisure 852 11,288

Telecommunications 725 8,440

Computer 690 11,987

Pharmaceutical 690 19,076

Utility 675 3,442

Services 668 9,809

Consumer Products 611 11,366Construction 549 6,526

Non-Profit 509 953

Media 268 5,868

Automotive 95 7,999

Insurance 90 2,760

Food 24 12,392

Apparel 1,276

Chemical 2,447Legal 2,729

Real Estate 1,244

TOTAL 115,730 479,064*Through June, education and non-profit job cuts were included in the category

Government/Non-Profit. In July, Challenger separated those categories. They will

remain separate from this point forward. Historically, job cuts in those industries

will remain tallied together.



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JOB CUTS BY REGION, STATE

East 53,548

Dist. of Columbia 50,013

New York 805

Pennsylvania 680

New Jersey 646

Maryland 523

Maine 370

New Hampshire 219

Connecticut 183

Massachusetts 109

Midwest 7,525

Illinois 3,835

Wisconsin 1,109

Ohio 1,022

Missouri 567

Michigan 462

Indiana 375

Kansas 125

Minnesota 17

Iowa 13



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JOB CUTS BY REGION, STATE

West /Southwest 8,431

California 3,890

Washington 1,705

Texas 1,063

Nevada 881

Montana 294

Oklahoma 246

Oregon 98

Colorado 93

New Mexico 92

Hawaii 28

Utah 23

South Dakota 18

South 46,226North Carolina 37,981

Georgia 3,016

Tennessee 1,875

Florida 1,638

Arkansas 895

Virginia 310

South Carolina 185

Kentucky 185Louisiana 129

West Virginia 12



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JOB CUT REASONS

SEPTEMBER YEAR-TO-DATERestructuring 54,178 130,141

Economic Conditions 32,718 57,290

Cost-Cutting 13,123 111,276

Closing 6,566 86,883

Merger/Acquisition 3,913 12,900

Voluntary Severance 2,030 19,120

Relocation 662 3,715

Loss of Contract 594 7,218New Focus 525 525

Demand Downturn 505 13,601

Government Regulation 500 2,946

Outsourcing 216 3,095

Reorganization/Consolidation 165 340

Firing 28 28

Labor Dispute 7 1,349

Bankruptcy 8,982Competition 13,150

Flooding 245

Funding Loss 2,992

Legal Trouble 1,340

Natural Disaster 139

Order Cancellation/Reduction 1,335

Rising Costs 300

Technological Update 154TOTAL 115,730 479,064



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QUARTER-BY-QUARTER

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TOTAL

1989 9,850 10,100 24,085 67,250 111,285

1990 107,052 87,686 49,104 72,205 316,047

1991 110,056 76,622 147,507 221,107 555,292

1992* 110,815 85,486 151,849 151,850 500,000

1993 170,615 84,263 194,486 165,822 615,186

1994 192,572 107,421 117,706 98,370 516,069

1995 97,716 114,583 89,718 137,865 439,882

1996 168,695 101,818 91,784 114,850 477,147

1997 134,257 51,309 95,930 152,854 434,350

1998 139,140 131,303 161,013 246,339 677,795

1999 210,521 173,027 173,181 118,403 675,1322000 141,853 81,568 168,875 221,664 613,960

2001 406,806 370,556 594,326 585,188 1,956,876

2002 478,905 292,393 269,090 426,435 1,466,823

2003 355,795 274,737 241,548 364,346 1,236,426

2004 262,840 209,895 251,585 315,415 1,039,735

2005 287,134 251,140 245,378 288,402 1,072,054

2006 255,878 180,580 202,771 200,593 839,822

2007 195,986 197,513 194,095 180,670 768,264

2008 200,656 275,292 287,142 460,903 1,223,993

2009 578,510 318,165 240,233 151,122 1,288,0302010 181,183 116,494 113,595 118,701 529,973

2011 130,749 115,057 233,258 479,064

AVG 214,243 163,205 192,030 229,527

*Estimate based on half-year total. Challenger began tracking job-cut data in 1993.

Before that, it was tabulated by an independent newsletter no longer published.



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ANNOUNCED HIRING* PLANS

Industry Jobs

Retail 70,912

Financial 939

Automotive 850

Services 850

Consumer Products 700

Industrial Goods 561

Healthcare/Products 515Food 400

Insurance 307

Government 226

Entertainment/Leisure 100

Transportation 91

Construction 75

Education 25

TOTAL 76,551

*71,600 of the jobs reported are temporary, seasonal positions.



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ANNOUNCED HIRING PLANS

MONTHLY TOTALS

2011 2010

January 29,492 31,381

February 72,581 8,300

March 10,869 13,994

April 59,648 15,654

May 10,248 14,922

June 15,498 11,732

July 10,706 8,151

August 15,201 14,075

September 76,551 123,076

October 124,766

November 26,012

December 10,575

TOTAL 300,794 402,638


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