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Computerworld - Job cuts in the Internet arena have hit a record 17,554 so far this month, according to an outplacement company that tracks Net-related layoffs. That's up more than 80% from the 9,533 cuts announced last month (see chart below).

April 2001 Dot-com Job Cuts By business category Technology 6,059 Consumer services 2,959 Financial services 2,341 Retail 2,284 Professional services 2,023 Media 814 Portal 703 Entertainment 371 Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

While dot-coms continue to shed the most jobs overall, there was a sharp rise in the number of layoffs announced by traditional companies' Internet divisions, reported Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. today.

"We are seeing a telling shift in the types of companies that are announcing job cuts," CEO John A. Challenger said in a statement. "In the beginning of the downturn, it was primarily the companies which conducted business solely over the Internet that were having the most trouble. ... We now see more and more Old Economy-New Economy hybrids cutting their online staffs."

Pure Internet companies announced 6,059 job cuts this month, according to Challenger.The sharpest jump in job reductions came in the online financial services sector, which saw 2,341 cuts this month, up from 302 in March, the outplacement firm said. That's likely due in part to the decline in stock prices, which has caused a slowdown in all kinds of equity trading.

Late last month, for example, San Francisco-based Charles Schwab & Co. said it would cut 3,400 positions because of an overcapacity for processing online trading orders (see story). And Omaha-based Ameritrade Holding Corp. said this month that it's cutting about 7% of its workforce due to adverse market conditions (see story).

Related stories:

• HP warns of another weak quarter, moves to cut more jobs, April 18, 2001







• Two consulting firms lay off staff in wake of IT spending slowdown, April 12, 2001







• Acxiom workers line up for voluntary pay cuts, April 12, 2001







• Keeping workers revved up during tough financial times, April 9, 2001

For more industry coverage, head to our Financial News page.

Dot-com Job Cuts: January 2000–April 2001 January 2000 303 October 5,677 February 130 November 8,789 March 25 December 10,459 April 327 January 2001 12,828 May 2,660 February 11,649 June 1,652 March 9,533 July 2,194 April 17,554 August 4,193 September 4,805 TOTAL 92,778 Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

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