fineleg Posted January 26, 2009 Posted January 26, 2009 How is the college hiring scenario these days in US, India etc? Many companies are shedding jobs, Today Sprint Nextel announced big cuts, Pfizer is gonna do it (due to Wyeth acquisition) etc. How are new undergrads, grads and doctoral folks faring or are they continuing to study longer to be in Univ to weather the recession?
fineleg Posted January 26, 2009 Author Posted January 26, 2009 Bloody Monday: More than 50,000 jobs lost http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/26/news/economy/job_cuts/index.htm Six companies announce massive job cuts in a scary start to the week. The final week of January began with a bloodbath for the job market, as more than 50,000 more cuts were announced on Monday alone. At least six companies from manufacturing and service industries announced cost-cutting initiatives that included slashing thousands of jobs. About 170,000 job cuts have been announced so far this year, according to company reports. Nearly 2.6 million jobs were lost over 2008, the highest yearly job-loss total since 1945. "It's all about the consumer, and the consumer's been hit hard," said Robert Brusca, chief economist at Fact and Opinion Economics. "It's a vicious circle as weakness begets layoffs, which beget more spending weakness." Construction machinery manufacturer Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500) said Monday it will cut 20,000 jobs amid a "very challenging global business environment." The company had already planned to cut 15,000 workers since the fourth quarter of 2008, but added another 5,000, bringing the total to 20,000. Sprint Nextel Corp. (S, Fortune 500) will cut a total of about 8,000 jobs by March 31, the company said in a release. The telecommunications company's plan is to reduce internal and external labor costs by about $1.2 billion on an annual basis. Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500), the world's largest home improvement retailer, announced Monday it will eliminate its EXPO design center business and cut 7,000 associates, or approximately 2% of the company's total workforce. The company blamed a lack of demand for big ticket design and decor projects. Dutch financial group ING said Monday it will take a 2008 loss of $1.3 billion and cut 7,000 jobs. The company could not comment on where the cuts would take place. ING employs around 130,000 people across 50 countries. Pfizer (PFE, Fortune 500) said in an earnings report it would cut 10% of its staff of 81,900 and close five of its manufacturing plants. The drugmaker recently announced that it was cutting up to 8% of its research staff, or up to 800 jobs. The company already cut 4,700 jobs in 2008. Deere& Co. (DE, Fortune 500) , the world's top farm-equipment maker, said it would cut nearly 700 jobs between factories in Brazil and Iowa. The job cuts across sectors didn't surprise Brusca, as nearly all are weak, he said. "The services sector is shedding jobs at a horrific pace, because that's where most of the jobs are," Brusca said. "When the consumer is in tough shape it's hard for business to do well, because it all depends on consumption or investments." Continuing the scary trend The cuts mark a horrific start to the week, and a brutal start to 2009. In the previous week, around 40,000 cuts were announced across multiple industries. Wednesday, in particular, was littered with a slew of job cuts: BHP Billiton, Clear Channel Communications, Intel, Rohm and Haas Co., UAL Corp. and Williams-Sonoma all announced job cuts totaling over 27,000 positions. Also last week, Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Entertainment said it would cut about 800 jobs, or 10% of its worldwide staff in the upcoming weeks, while Microsoft unveiled its plan to cut up to 5,000 jobs - 5.5% of its global workforce. Outlook: A recovery in sight? Brusca said he agreed with many economists' predictions that the recession will end after the second quarter of 2009. Americans might feel the job market start to bounce back a bit sooner than expected, he said. "These recessions are like geometry," Brusca said. "It looks like we'll have a V-shaped cycle, in that we're going into this with very sharp losses. This intense-phase recession will probably recover fairly quickly, with the job market coming out it at the same angle it came in." In the short term, the economy and the job market are in trouble, Brusca said. But "it doesn't look like the bottom is falling out of the economy," he said. And there's a silver lining to the gloomy clouds over America's economy. "The good news is it's so bad right now that we will have a definite, noticeable recovery when it comes," Brusca said. "We're getting a lot of adjustment out of the way early."
triam Posted January 26, 2009 Posted January 26, 2009 and I am graduating soon.. :(( if possible stay in college for a while longer.
vadodaravictor Posted January 26, 2009 Posted January 26, 2009 Things are getting bad each day ...when will this stop:((
zubinpepsi Posted January 26, 2009 Posted January 26, 2009 if possible stay in college for a while longer. I cant.. my contract ends in sep...maybe i shud start lookin into Post-doc line which im not reallly keen on.. i really wanted to goto the industry as i have been in the univ for too long... i need a change.. but seems like a very bad time to graduate now.. :((
fineleg Posted January 26, 2009 Author Posted January 26, 2009 Bloody Monday: More than 50,000 jobs lost http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/26/news/economy/job_cuts/index.htm Six companies announce massive job cuts in a scary start to the week. The above number got revised to 71,400 as Texas Instruments and others add to the list today. This 71,400 is just ONE SINGLE DAY - one day! http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/26/news/economy/job_cuts/index.htm
Nash Posted January 26, 2009 Posted January 26, 2009 Scenario is very bad. Hiring is freezed and no body going to hire for next 3 months. This is not right time to graduate. Advice extend your study if you on student visa in USA. Or go back to india and enjoy recession at home.. heheh
Nash Posted January 27, 2009 Posted January 27, 2009 I graduated last month :(( Same here..Congrats for graduation:two_thumbs_up:..
fineleg Posted January 27, 2009 Author Posted January 27, 2009 Congrats holy and Nash. That is a proud accomplishment (despite the current situation).
fineleg Posted January 29, 2009 Author Posted January 29, 2009 http://www.cnbc.com/id/28912437 The latest batch of grim data fanned worries that the year-long recession, triggered by the collapse of the U.S. housing market, could be the worst economic slump since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Companies:SAP Aktiengesellschaft Systeme, Anwendungen, Produkte | Pacific Sunwear of California Inc | Eastman Kodak Co | ASTRAZENECA PLC | Allstate Corp | Oshkosh Truck Corporation | Black and Decker Corp | Ford Motor Company | Best Buy Co Inc | Starbucks Corp | Readers Digest Associates Inc | Target Corporation | Baker Hughes Inc | Quiksilver Inc | Wyeth | Texas Instruments Inc | Corning Inc | General Motors Corp | Huntsman Corporation | Deere & Co | Home Depot Inc | Sprint Nextel Corp | Caterpillar Inc | Intel Corp | Microsoft Corp | UAL Corporation | Lee Enterprises Inc | Time Warner Inc | Eaton Corp | Clear Channel Communications Inc | Rohm and Haas Co | Bank of America Corp | Conoco Phillips | Hertz Global Holdings, Inc | Wellpoint Inc | Halliburton Co | Schlumberger Ltd | ALCOA Inc | Cigna Corp | Boeing Co | Walgreen Co | Lexmark International Inc | Cummins Inc | Visteon Corp | Oracle Corporation | ING Group, N.V. | Barclays PLC | Pfizer Inc | Barnes & Noble, Inc. | Ecolab Inc | Seagate Technology Holdings | Google Inc | MeadWestvaco Corp | Motorola Inc | Marshall & Ilsley Corp | Autodesk Inc
fineleg Posted February 5, 2009 Author Posted February 5, 2009 Naveen Duraisamy’s job offer from Caterpillar was rescinded, but that hasn’t deterred the UW engineering master’s program graduate from continuing his job search at a recent career fair in Madison. By Erica Perez of the Journal Sentinel Posted: Feb. 4, 2009 6:46 p.m. Naveen Duraisamy's future seemed enviable: Despite a down economy, the engineering student had a job offer from a Fortune 500 company, where he'd start after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Then, days before his Dec. 21 commencement, the international student got an e-mail from his future employer: Caterpillar Inc. had rescinded the job offer, citing uncertain economic times. With his student visa about to expire, Duraisamy quickly enrolled in classes so he could stay in the country. He began the job search from scratch. "I was completely shocked," said Duraisamy, 26, a native of southern India. "I didn't know what to say to them." Duraisamy is among dozens of mostly engineering and business students in Wisconsin who have had job or internship offers rescinded because of the economy. It's the latest blow for college students searching for their first real jobs. Already, fewer employers attend career fairs, recruit on campus or make offers. Last year at this time, Milwaukee School of Engineering had 54 employers registered for on-campus recruiting in winter and spring. This year that figure has plummeted to nine, said Mary Spencer, director of career placement at MSOE. Students and universities are forced to cope with the new economic reality. "It is very devastating for them," said Diana Trendt, interim director of the career center at UW-Platteville. "All of a sudden they thought everything was set. They would graduate and go right into their first career. . . . There's those feelings of bitterness - can I really trust employers going forward?" It's unclear how many students have had offers rescinded. When Caterpillar announced 20,000 layoffs last week, the company's campus relations representative, Christine Troglio, e-mailed Marquette University's career center to say the manufacturer had rescinded most internship and full-time job offers for recent college graduates. A Caterpillar spokeswoman did not return calls for comment. Other manufacturing companies that have announced work force reductions in recent months have also withdrawn job or internship offers, university officials said. Marquette, UW-Milwaukee's College of Engineering, UW's engineering and business schools, MSOE, UW-Platteville and UW-Stout all reported students with rescinded offers, at least two dozen among them. That may seem small, but it could be just the tip of the iceberg. Employers very rarely rescind job offers. Most career center directors haven't seen it happen since 2001. "I've been doing this for 15 years, and this is the toughest spring," said Laura Kestner, career services center director at Marquette. While many employers made it clear they would not hire at all this year, it appears others may have miscalculated their hiring ability. Caterpillar, for example, made Duraisamy's offer last spring, when things looked good: The company maintained robust demand for exports. But the global downturn in Europe and Asia and a stronger dollar meant a severe drop in orders. "The decision to rescind offers was not an easy one," Troglio's e-mail to Marquette says. "However, financial conditions have caused the company to take this action. I hope these actions do not harm our relationship with you, and I look forward to continuing our partnership." Students with rescinded offers generally have little legal recourse, said Paul M. Secunda, an associate professor of law at Marquette. Most jobs are at-will, so employers can dismiss or not start an employee for any reason. In rare cases, people with rescinded job offers have won relief in court if they spent a lot of money to relocate or if they quit an old job in reliance on the new job. Some courts have held that an offer letter is a contract, and the employer must have a good reason to withdraw the job. Of course, an economic downturn could qualify as good reason, Secunda said. "Most courts say you can't get blood from a stone," he said. "The overall story is: There's not much these students can do." A few students at MSOE who had their jobs withdrawn luckily had received more than one offer. They were able to approach a second- or third-choice employer and get a job, Spencer said. Starting over Other students, including Duraisamy, are re-enrolling in school to put off post-graduation reality. Most affected students are starting the job search from scratch, shaking hands at career fairs and sending out résumés. However, spring career fairs and on-campus recruiting sessions have thinned out. For some students who have specialized in areas such as investment banking or real estate, career advisers have begun to suggest other options with more growth: sales, insurance and some areas of retail, for example. "Let's go to the career fair. Let's make sure we're exploring all avenues," said Steve Schroeder, business career center director at UW. "There's a reason that company made that student the offer to begin with. Let's capitalize on that." Some schools penalize employers that rescind offers. UW's College of Engineering generally asks employers to refrain from campus recruiting and career fairs for one year, said John Archambault, director of career services at the college. And even if employers face little legal penalty for withdrawing a job offer, they can take a hit to their image. "We will welcome these employers back . . . but the students talk to each other, obviously, and some of these companies are going to have a hard time recruiting, at least in the near future," Schroeder said. For Duraisamy, though, Caterpillar remains his dream employer. "It's not just the mistake of them, it's the economic conditions," he said. Duraisamy visited the spring career fair this week to make new connections, but hopes Caterpillar will recover and hire him after he graduates with a second master's degree in December. He stays in touch with his hiring manager there, who has told Duraisamy he will update him with any openings. "That is reassuring for me," he said. "I'm sure he'll get back to me. I'm just hoping for that to happen. But I'm not sure how long this recession is going to last."
Guest dada_rocks Posted February 10, 2009 Posted February 10, 2009 Finally after two years of recession talks my paycheck will get affected this month.. Ironically our company registered record sales last year so we are being offered bonus but at the same time since forecast is utterly bleak for 2009 there will be pay-cut at the same time of 5%... Feeling the pinch finally
fineleg Posted February 10, 2009 Author Posted February 10, 2009 Finally after two years of recession talks my paycheck will get affected this month.. Ironically our company registered record sales last year so we are being offered bonus but at the same time since forecast is utterly bleak for 2009 there will be pay-cut at the same time of 5%... Feeling the pinch finally It is a good sign - shows they are still quite strong. Good.
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