John Challenger Companies Quotations

The only clear picture we have from the job cut numbers this year is that employers appear to be confused about the direction this economy is taking, ... Companies are experiencing increased business, but they are also seeing their costs soar due to higher fuel prices, inflation in supplier prices and a weaker dollar, which makes it more expensive to buy foreign parts.

We are at a peak period of employment. Companies can't afford to lose people.

Many companies have now had over two years of strong profitability. They haven't yet completely reinvested that in technology, but as they gain economic strength, they will.

Businesses are starting to ramp up spending on new equipment and technology and consumer spending looked relatively strong in January, despite predictions that they were tapped out. This may mean fewer job cuts in the months ahead as companies try to meet the steady demand for their products.

Because of the declining numbers of students in computer science and engineering, companies are looking overseas for tech-savvy workers.

It is not unusual to see heavy job-cutting in the beginning of the year. Companies are still making adjustments based on the previous year's performance.

I think companies will spend billions of dollars over the next several years building their e-commerce structures, and these dot.com employees will be leaders in helping them do that,

Relying on outsourcing gives companies more flexibility in regard to budgeting and allows them to respond more quickly to fluctuations in the economy,

It has become apparent that U.S. companies are deciding that the best way to keep profits in line is to cut jobs at the first sign of weakness in any of their product lines.

We now see more and more of these Old Economy-New Economy hybrids cutting their online staffs, ... Companies that were hoping, if not expecting to eventually shift the lion's share of their business to the Internet may be forced to consider entirely new strategies for both short term and long term.

The Asian situation has been a real driver and should continue into 1999, as companies scale back their growth plans,

Most companies are looking at how the housing market affects them. If they see housing slowing, they'll be more cautious.

While companies seemed to be hoarding workers post-merger or acquisition through February, it appears that this is not the case anymore. While we do not have our own merger job-cut data for March tabulated yet, we know a large number of merger-related cuts were announced.

While voracious consumer spending has helped maintain overall economic strength, companies are still hampered by stiff pricing competition from abroad, ... The inability to raise prices has cut into corporate profits, which, in turn, has most certainly contributed to increased job cutting.

We typically see higher job cuts in January as companies set into motion business plans and employment needs for the new year.

The strong economy prompted ambitious yearly plans on the part of many companies, especially those in consumer goods manufacturing, ... In order to meet those goals, as well as to stay competitive in today's global 24-hour economy, several companies in the poll have added or plan to add third shifts, creating the need for even more workers.

Now, ... it appears that companies are disregarding the fact that serious labor shortages persist, and are deciding to trim their workforces after a merger or acquisition.

Now is the time when companies finalize their budgets for the coming year or make last-minute cutbacks to improve the year-end bottom line,

Companies need to find out where their business is going to be in the next decade, ... and the way you do that is by listening to your employees, watching the market, and then growing in those areas with your people.

Companies are trying to be much more responsive to the individuals they want to hire. If they can meet (a need) for you, they will. It's very important to be open. That may be the thing that clinches the deal.

Companies are starving for people with technology skills. I think people are kind of shocked. It's certainly almost taboo in society. Parents tell their kids the last thing they should do is skip college for the big money.

Companies are much more nimble today. They're cutting costs, but then they grow in new areas, so layoffs continue at the same time as job growth.

Companies are much more nimble today, ... They're cutting costs, but then they grow in new areas, so layoffs continue at the same time as job growth.

Companies are looking at their staffing needs for the balance of 2001 and the numbers do not present a very positive picture. The most worrisome aspect of the job-cut numbers, in terms of serving as an economic barometer, is the fact that job cutting has been heaviest in both manufacturing and technology.

Companies are far from finished when it comes to thinning out their ranks,

Companies are essentially asking employees to do two jobs. Employees can feel like you're piling it on.

Companies that simply let these workers go will probably find a significant decline in the level of customer service and may even find some customers taking their business elsewhere.

Companies that had told us they were seeing a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel suddenly found themselves thrust back into darkness.

as companies expand in one area, they often cut in the areas that do not show as much promise.

Following the stock price plummet, many companies are running on fumes when it comes to cash.

Consumers and companies have been gobbling up new technology in the last 12 to 24 months ... Their technology cup is overflowing, which may lead to a cooling off period until a major technology breakthrough comes along.

The normal mode of merging is you buy a company and condense the headquarters and the duplicative operations, ... Now, most companies are expanding so rapidly that they need to keep the other company's employees to meet the needs of that expansion.

Even when the economy is fully recovered and companies are back in expansion mode, we may not see a revival in hiring of the rank-and-file worker. Cost containment oriented companies, in an effort to become more agile in this increasingly competitive global marketplace, will rely more an more on a just-in-time workforce of contract and contingent workers.

The world is not the same as it used to be. Companies pay for skills in an era where brains are more important than brawn, and the forces of automation, globalization, deregulation and competition have changed what this kind of work is worth in the world.

Smaller to medium sized companies will be looking to beef up and build tech infrastructure just as big companies did in the last boom.

Smart companies will create more telecommuters so people can work from home,

The labor market is starting to look more and more like the one we experienced in the late 1990s. Companies are undoubtedly reluctant to increase their costs, but it has become necessary to boost salaries and special benefits in order to attract and retain the top talent.

The field is continually changing, and some companies feel like they're constantly under siege. It takes a special kind of individual just to walk into that, much less take control of it.

In the beginning of the downturn, it was primarily the companies which conducted business solely over the Internet that were having the most trouble,

Higher health care and energy costs for employers and employees are definitely taking a toll. Companies are being forced to enact more cost-containment measures to protect profits,

The heavy job cutting we have seen over the past three years appears to be trending down, ... However, the job market seems to be in a state of limbo, where companies are eager to hold on to people they have, but many are reluctant to create any new jobs.

A growing number of people may see companies in the private sector as putting profits before people and before ethics,

The market has very high expectations. The unrelenting search for profits is driving companies in an era when they can't raise prices and some of their potential for expansion overseas is being crimped.

The longer search times reflect additional risks in the job market. High energy prices may be slowing companies hiring plans and could result in the postponement of expansion programs.