John Challenger Heavy Quotations

It is not unusual to see heavy job-cutting in the beginning of the year. Companies are still making adjustments based on the previous year's performance.

While some forecast the economy to be strong this year, some areas hit with heavy downsizing could struggle.

The very heavy downsizing reported in November is more confirmation that the effects of the Sept. 11 attack on the economy have been substantial. In the eight years we have tracked job cuts data, the downsizing for the last three months has been at levels never before seen.

The heavy year-end downsizing does not necessarily indicate a sudden weakening of the economy, ... The fact is, job cutting has become a permanent part of the corporate cost-management mix, as demonstrated by the fact that a strong financial sector still found nearly 100,000 jobs to eliminate.

The heavy job cutting we have seen over the past three years appears to be trending down, ... However, the job market seems to be in a state of limbo, where companies are eager to hold on to people they have, but many are reluctant to create any new jobs.