It looks like May's decline in the unemployment rate should be taken seriously.

If you recall, economists and many other so-called experts were surprised that the jobless rate dipped to 4.4 percent last month from 4.5 percent in April.

However, now there is more evidence that unemployment has peaked and layoffs have bottomed.

It seems that U.S. corporations announced 80,140 layoffs in May, which was down 52 percent from April, which had hit a decade-high of 165,564, according to a survey by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

This was the lowest figure in six months.

However, job cuts nearly tripled compared with May 2000.

High-tech industries accounted for 45 percent of announced layoffs in May. Leading the May layoff brigade were E-commerce companies, which cut 8,243 people, followed by media companies, which canned 6,483.

Meanwhile, the number of workers laid off from their jobs in the first three months fell by 28 percent compared with the final three months of 2000, according to the Labor Department.

Of course, seasonal factors could skew quarter-to-quarter comparisons, such as when farmers no longer need as many workers after their crops have been harvested.

In fact, first-quarter layoffs rose 20 percent from a year ago.

Still there is enough evidence that things probably won't get much worse for workers.

And a stable workforce that is not worried about losing their jobs could turn into more buoyant consumers. And this could spark a stronger economy by year-end.

Still, there are companies that are currently laying off people. For example:

• General Motors Corp. said on Monday it cut more than 500 contract workers from its payroll last week, and nearly 2,800 since January, as part of a move to reduce its North American white-collar work force by 10 percent.

• Software developer Entrust Technologies Inc. said it would cut about 400 jobs, or 30 percent of its work force

6+1 Appeals to Nortel
Nortel Networks Corp. is the latest company to adopt the so- called "6+1" option plan See our recent package of stories.

Nortel said its plan to exchange underwater employee stock options for new, lower-priced options. It said that 111 million outstanding stock options are eligible under the program.

Eligible employees can cancel options that were granted on or after Nov. 12, 1999 for new options to be issued at least six months plus one day from the date of cancellation of the tendered options. The new options will carry an exercise price equal to the market price of Nortel's share price on the grant date of the new option.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board developed the "6&1" timeframe last July as part of FIN 44 to establish when earnings charges related to "variable" accounting would end. By waiting six months and one day to reissue, companies preserve "fixed" accounting treatment.

The exchange plan covers about 40,000 of the 75,000 to 80,000 employees Nortel expects to have after it completes it planned layoffs of 20,000 employees by the end of June.

However, Nortel's directors and officers aren't participating in the program.

Nortel closed Monday at $14, way down from its 52-week high of $89.

SunTrust to Take Bid to Shareholders
If you can't beat 'em, appeal to the shareholders.

That's the tactic being taken by SunTrust Banks Inc., which is trying to take over Wachovia Corp. against its wishes. Wachovia, of course, has agreed to a friendly merger with First Union Corp.

So, SunTrust is now trying to change Wachovia's bylaws to enable shareholders to call a special meeting to expand Wachovia's board so it can get new directors who would support SunTrust's takeover bid, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Wachovia shareholders are scheduled to vote Aug. 3 on whether to approve the agreed upon deal with First Union, which calls for a stock- swap valued at $13.56 billion.

SunTrust's stock-swap bid is valued at $13.93 billion.

Under Wachovia's current bylaws, only the CEO or board can call a special meeting. So, SunTrust wants to amend the bylaws to permit shareholders representing at least 10 percent of Wachovia's shares to require the bank to call a special meeting.

From the CFO.com "Brief" Case

• Edward Kelley, the longest standing Federal Reserve Governor, said he plans to resign as soon as the Fed Board fills one of its current vacancies.

• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will introduce a version of its Athlon microprocessor that can get chips into powerful computers used by large corporations, according to The Wall Street Journal.