Nikon is to cut about 1000 jobs from its domestic plants. It also plans to downsize its subsidiaries in Sinapore and transfer parts of the business to Taiwan Job cuts are expected to save about 8 billion Yen or 84 million Dollars.

Nikon forecasts a net loss of 17 billion yen ($179 million) the fiscal year through March 2010. It posted a net profit of 28.1 billion yen last business year on sales of 879.7 billion yen.

The Tokyo-based manufacturer best known for its cameras have been hit particularly hard amid falling demand for steppers, a device used to make semiconductors.

Total losses = 1000

• Hunton & Williams has announced that 23 associates and counsel and 64 staff members have been laid off. The cuts, announced in a firmwide e-mail distributed Thursday morning, are spread across practice areas and offices. They affect two percent of the Richmond-based firm’s 1000 lawyers and six percent of its staff. Today’s cuts are Hunton’s first round of layoffs since the start of the downturn.
• Faced with huge losses, rising debts, India’s second largest air carrier by market share, Jet Airways has axed its 120 foreign airhostesses from its 3000 cabin crew in a bid to save on costs.  This new round of axing cabin crew, comes close on the heels of Jet Airways terminating contracts of about 60 cabin crew, who were on probation, and another 50 employees who have superannuated, early this month as the airline moved to cut cost and stay trim. See Related Link: India’s domestic airlines to cut 2500 jobs.
• In yet another sign of the troubled economic times, a well-known intellectual property boutique Fish & Richardson is laying off 35 lawyers and 85 support staff.
• MeadWestvaco Corp. is closing its beverage packaging plant in Wilmington, putting 105 people out of work, the Virginia-based company announced.
• Polish media group Agora AGOD.WA is increasing staff cuts to 400 after falling circulation and dwindling advertising revenues.
• German auto parts manufaturer Schaeffler Group KG announced that it could axe up to 4500 jobs in Germany as part of restructuing efforts to save 250 million euros (US$340 million) as the global economic crisis cuts deeply into auto sales.
• Toledo-based Dana Holding Corp. has laid off 115 of the 280 employees working at its Fort Wayne axle plant, were in response to Chrysler LLP’s shutdown of plants that make Jeep Cherokees and Wranglers.
• ArcelorMittal officials have announced plans to layoff nearly 1000 workers at the steelmaker’s Indiana Harbor plant. The sagging economy, particularly the deep slump in auto manufacturing, has caused steep declines in demand for steel — less than a year after domestic steelmakers had recorded some of their highest revenues in history.
• After earlier layoff announcements concerning attorneys in its United States, Asia and Dubai offices, DLA Piper is now officially wielding the ax in the United Kingdom with  24 “fee-earners” and 100 support staff going.
• Freescale Semiconductor, Texas-based computer chipmaker, has decided to retrench around 250 professionals at its Bangalore centre, as the company seeks to lower its operational costs by shutting down several manufacturing units across the globe and trim its payroll.
• Seagate Technology said that it plans to cut about 1100 jobs from its workforce in a move the computer storage maker expects will reduce costs by about $125 million a year.

Total losses = 8131

Source: Layoff Tracker

Atmel, the makers of semiconductors, continues to make changes to its business model by firing 300 employees in an attempt to survive the Global Economic Downturn. In 2008, the company fired a 2000 of its 8000 workers.

Toshiba are predicting record losses today and are openly blaming ED for their financial crisis and as a result will be slashing 3900 jobs.  The electronics and engineering group estimated its net loss hit 350 billion yen (3.5 billion dollars) in the financial year ending March 2009, even worse than the 280-billion-yen shortfall it had predicted in January.

It would be Toshiba’s biggest ever loss.

Total losses = 3900

In total, 130 staff at Panasonic Semiconductor Asia will be laid off, according to executive secretary of the United Workers of Electronics and Electrical Industries Halimah Yacob. While the bulk are rank-and-file workers, 30 are from the ranks of professionals, managers, executives and technicians. About 50 are foreigners.

If losing 3500 jobs from Corus was bad enough the following companies also announced job losses:

• Adams let go 267 people. They went into administration last year.
• Barrett & Priceless the shoe chains look like they are in big trouble. They employ over 5400 people. They have called in one of the big four administrators (Deloitte’s), that in itself is a big clue.

Over in the USA  a total of 48000 jobs were lost today, a lot of them from big named companies:

• Caterpillar, the world’s largest heavy equipment maker announced Monday it was slashing up to 5000 jobs.
• Pfizer announced cost cuts that will include slashing about 8000 jobs.
• Sprint Nextel said it would be eliminated about 8000 positions in the first quarter as it seeks to cut annual costs by $1.2 billion.
• Home Depot said it would reduce about two percent of its associates, or about 7000 jobs.
• General Motors slashes 20000 jobs at plants in Michigan and Ohio as the recession slams sales of its vehicles.

In Europe:

• Dutch banking and insurance group ING announced 7000 job cuts.
• Philips, Europe’s largest Electronics manufacturer said it was cutting 6000 jobs globally.