Layoffs mount, economic crisis deepens in the US

DHL Express, the country’s third largest parcel delivery company, now joins the ever-increasing list of companies making massive cuts in its labor force. It announced on Monday that it was laying-off 9,500 workers and shutting down hundreds of service centers. The cuts are in addition to a 5,400 employee reduction announced last May.

Economic conditions have also led to a reduction, for the first time since 2001, in the quantity of shipping that DHL and rivals Federal Express and United Parcel Service carry out.

The layoffs themselves will devastate the small town of Wilmington, Ohio, where DHL is headquartered. About 3,000 of the town’s 12,000 residents work directly for the company, while the remainder relies on it indirectly. “They’re taking away everything from me, my family, my friends—this whole town,” DHL employee Sherry Barrett told CNN.

Also on Monday, Circuit City, the second largest electronics retailer in the US, filed for bankruptcy protection. Prior to the announcement, manufacturers had begun to cut off product line shipments fearing that the company would not be able to make its payments. Circuit City simultaneously announced 700 layoffs among its corporate staff.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2008/nov2008/econ-n11.shtml