Tom writes:

> Coincidentally (or not) I just got this item from my mom -- somehow your
>  message seems to fit this scenario...
>
>  --- forwarded message ---
>  (Layoffs) Food for Thought
>
>
>  Joe Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN)
>  for 6am. While his coffee pot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he shaves with
>  his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG). He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN
>  SRILANKA), designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE) and tennis shoes (MADE IN
>  KOREA). After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet (MADE IN
>  INDIA) he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO) to see how much he
>  could spend today. After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) to the radio
>  (MADE IN INDIA) he got in his car (MADE IN GERMANY) and continued his
>  search for a good paying AMERICAN JOB. At the end of yet another
>  discouraging and fruitless day, Joe decided to relax for awhile. He put on
>  his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL) poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN
>  FRANCE) and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA), and then wondered why he
>  can't find a good paying job in ... AMERICA...



In that regard, I just got this from my newswire feed:

=======================================

Survey: Companies' Layoff Plans Up 65 Percent in July

By Anupama Chandrasekaran
Reuters

NEW YORK (Aug. 6) - U.S. job cut announcements jumped 65 percent to a record
level in July, led by telecommunications, computer, electronic and industrial
companies, a report by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
said Monday.

Announced job cuts in July hit 205,975, up from 124,852 in June. July's total
was more than three times the level of job cuts recorded in the same month
last year, the report said.

"Job cuts tell us as much about the economy's future as they do about the
present. Companies are looking at their staffing needs for the balance of
2001 and the numbers do not present a very positive picture," said John
Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The survey began
in 1993.

For the first half of 2001, U.S. companies said they planned to cut 777,362
jobs, more than three times the number announced during the first six months
of last year.

The telecom sector overtook the technology sector in July in recording the
highest number of job-cut announcements. With 44,908 jobs cuts announced in
July, the total number of layoffs announced in the sector hit 175,350 for the
first seven months this year.

Technology companies announced 26,321 layoffs in July bringing the total to
101,044 for the year to date.

Mobile phone company Ericsson announced up to 22,000 job cuts in July and
telecom equipment manufacturer Lucent said it plans to lay off between 15,000
and 20,000 employees this month.

"This is a very, very big surge in layoffs. Basically it says two things: One
is that the employment situation is not going to turn around in the near
future and will continue to get worse during summer months. It also means
that (benefits) claims will edge higher," said Eric Green, chief economist
with BNP Paribas.

"But it does not mean much for the market. Everyone knows the labor market is
weak and will continue to get weaker in the coming months," he added.

On Friday, the Labor Department said the number of nonfarm jobs declined by
42,000 in July. But the unemployment rate held steady at 4.5 percent.

July's Challenger data was the sixth time in the past seven months that job
cut announcements totaled more than 100,000.

The market reaction to the Challenger report was minor, with Treasuries
ticking higher.

"We moved up a little but the impact was limited because it came after
Friday's jobs report," said Ray Remy, head of government bond trading at HSBC
Securities.

======================================

Wirt Atmar

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