Job cuts by telecoms may set new record this year

Telecommunications job cuts are expected to hit record numbers this year, an outplacement consultancy said Monday.

Cuts in the sector are expected to exceed last year's record 317,777 sackings in telecom last year, outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray and Christmas reported.

Currently, this year's 165,840 telecom cuts are running 27 percent higher than the 130,442 job cuts announced in the first half of 2001, the consultancy said.

This year, telecom cuts account for one of every four jobs overall slashed in the US. Challenger says some 735,527 job cuts have occured across all categories since the beginning of the year.

The consultancy reported that technology job slashes in other tech sectors, including computers and e-commerce, is slowing.

The ailing telecom sector will only suffer more from its current woes, including the ongoing probe into WorldCom, which is teetering on bankruptcy after revealing a nearly US$4 billion accounting scandal.

"Even with overall job cuts falling from the record pace of 2001, telecommunications continues to surprise us month after month with significant job-cut numbers," said consultancy CEO John Challenger. "The fact that telecom downsizing is on track to beat last years total really tells where this industry is headed."