Barclays PLC, which recently bought Lehman Brothers’ North American operations, plans to cut about 3,000 jobs, Reuters reported, citing a source close to the British bank.
The cuts are expected to come from both Barclays and Lehman, though final decisions on whom to let go have not yet been made, according to the wire service. The goal reportedly is to complete them by year-end.
Meanwhile, a number of U.S. companies have announced job cuts since yesterday.
Brunswick Corp. announced it will eliminate about 1,450 hourly and salaried positions by the first quarter of 2009. The boat and engine maker said it is taking the action “in light of extraordinary developments within the global financial markets” that are affecting the recreational marine industry. “We are living and working in the most turbulent economic times in recent history,” said Dustan McCoy, the company’s chairman and CEO.
Whirlpool said it will lay off 440 workers, or more than 20 percent of the work force, at its Middle Amana, Iowa plant, according to the Associated Press. Spokeswoman Jill Saletta cited sagging market conditions. “It’s a really tough time,” she told the wire service. “I’m fairly confident we’re not the only ones.”
And Shaw Industries Group said it is closing a spun yarn facility in Georgia and laying off 440 employees. It cited a decrease in demand for flooring products.
Even government workers are getting pink slips. Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine on Thursday ordered 570 layoffs of state employees, according to the Associated Press.