Caterpillar, Sprint, Pfizer Slash Jobs as Sales Fall
(Update4)
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By Don Jeffrey

Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Caterpillar Inc., Sprint Nextel
Corp., Home Depot Inc. and ING Groep NV led companies today
announcing at least 77,000 job cuts as sales withered and
construction slowed amid a global economic recession.

In the U.S., the firings brought the number of job
eliminations this month to more than 150,000, according to
Chicago-based executive search firm Challenger Gray &
Christmas.

The firings came as American jobless claims hit a 26-year
high, reaching 589,000 in the week ended Jan. 17, as
shrinking demand for products and services forced companies
to lower costs.

"These are not just numbers on a page," U.S. President
Barack Obama said at the White House, referring to recent
job cut announcements. "We cannot afford delays" in
getting an $825 billion economic recovery program through
Congress.

Today's biggest layoffs were at Peoria, Illinois-based
Caterpillar. The world's largest maker of construction
equipment said it's cutting 20,000 jobs after
fourth-quarter profit fell by almost a third.

Pfizer Inc., the New York-based drugmaker that's acquiring
competitor Wyeth for $68 billion, said it will close five
factories and eliminate 19,000 jobs, or 15 percent, of the
combined company's workforce.

Sprint Nextel, the U.S. wireless carrier, will eliminate
8,000 jobs, or 14 percent of its workforce, in order to
reduce expenses by $1.2 billion a year.

Home Depot

Home Depot, the world's largest home-improvement retailer,
said it will cut 7,000 jobs, or 2 percent of its workforce,
and exit its Expo home-décor business. Texas Instruments
Inc., the second-largest U.S. chipmaker, said it planned to
eliminate 1,800 jobs and shed 1,600 more workers through
voluntary retirements.

"Certainly since 2001, with the dot-com collapse, we
haven't seen these kinds of large cuts," Challenger Gray
spokesman James Pedderson said in an interview. "In terms
of the number of companies and the number of cuts, this
morning is certainly unusual."

The biggest month for U.S. job cuts since Challenger Gray
has been compiling data was January 2002, when 248,475
positions were eliminated. Today's figures included
layoffs outside the U.S.

Before today, at least 15 companies announced they planned
to eliminate 93,000 positions so far in January, Challenger
Gray said. Topping that list was Circuit City Stores Inc.,
the bankrupt consumer-electronics retailer that's shutting
down its U.S. stores and firing more than 30,000 people.

General Motors Corp., the largest U.S. automaker, said today
it will eliminate shifts at Michigan and Ohio plants,
shedding 2,000 jobs as sales drop.

European Jobs

In Europe, ING, the biggest Dutch financial-services
company, said it will reduce its workforce by 5.4 percent,
eliminating 7,000 jobs, after its second consecutive
quarterly loss.

Royal Philips Electronics NV, Europe's largest maker of
consumer electronics, said it will cut 6,000 positions after
its first quarterly loss in almost six years.

Corus, the unit of India's Tata Steel Ltd. that's
Europe's second-biggest steelmaker, said it will reduce
its workforce by 8 percent, or 3,500 jobs, as demand from
builders and automakers declines.

Barnes Group Inc., the aerospace manufacturer, said today it
had reduced its workforce by an additional 800 positions to
5,700 as of Dec. 31, citing "severe declines in the
transportation" market and the effects of the Boeing Co.
strike.

Lincoln National Corp., the life-insurer, said it's
cutting 5 percent of its staff, or 540 jobs, after posting
five straight declines in quarterly profit.

Eliminating Workers

Brooks Automation Inc., a maker of robots and pumps used to
produce microchips, said it's eliminating 350 more jobs
after reducing its workforce by 10 percent in the fourth
quarter of last year.

Altus Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it will cut 75 percent of
its workforce after realigning its product offerings.

Caterpillar fell 8.4 percent and Pfizer dropped 10 percent
at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Home
Depot rose 4.7 percent and Sprint gained 1.2 percent. Texas
Instruments gained 4.9 percent following the announcement
after the close of regular trading.

Last week, International Business Machines Corp. cut at
least 1,400 sales jobs, according to a copy of a separation
agreement obtained by Bloomberg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Don Jeffrey in New
York at djeffrey1@bloomberg.net.

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