Downsizing is at its highest level in five months.
According to a report by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray and Christmas Inc., planned job cuts by employers surged 41 percent in October to 47,724.
The surge was blamed on weak quarterly earnings reports. The numbers were up 12 percent from October 2011.
September saw only 33,816 job cuts, one of the lowest totals in two years. Layoffs are still 17 percent lower than at this point in last year.
“The final three months of the year tend to see heavier downsizing activity as companies make year-end adjustments to meet earnings goals and to prepare for the New Year,” said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray and Christmas in a press release. “Certainly, the deluge of weak third-quarter earnings reports that resulted from declining sales here and abroad does not bode well for workers as 2013 approaches.”
