John Challenger 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.

There is no question about it. More people today are striking out on their own, either involuntarily or voluntarily.

What's new is that these relationships between men and women are less fraught with risk.

We're seeing the dismantling of the retirement age of 65.

There is a lot of extra fiscal stimulus moving into the economy from the storm relief.

There are thousands of co-heads, chiefs and directors now. You don't know if they are top people or are buried in middle management somewhere.

The places where it's really going to hit is government and teachers. Governments are going to be unable to pay for the promises they've made. Pensions for teachers and government workers just dwarf what we see in the private sector.

Layoffs are still very high, and the economy seems to be showing little sign of pulling out of the doldrums, ... These lower cuts may just mean that we aren't seeing any further dips right now -- that we're just in this kind of steady, low-wattage kind of state.

Many of the weakest firms no longer exist, and those once considered the titans of the Internet are trimming payroll and other costs to the bare minimum.

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.

Many are waiting with bated breath to see if the economy continues to add jobs at the rate it did in March. If it does not, it could be serious blow to consumer and business confidence, thus slowing the momentum of the recovery again.

Several telecom deals have yet to be finalized, but once they are we can expect to see more fallout, especially since many of these deals were made with the sole purpose of cutting costs,

October and November were the second- and third-heaviest months of the year for layoffs, ... We returned to the levels of job cutting we saw in 2001, which was the heaviest year we've ever tracked.

None of this bodes well for retailers depending on strong holiday sales, nor for the entire economy, which has mostly relied on consumer spending to keep it afloat,

More and more human resource executives are coming to the realization that they can no longer drag their heels on hiring decisions. If they do, it is increasingly likely that the candidate will be off the market before the offer is made.

Obviously, everyone has his or her own ideas about what makes a good boss, but there are certain characteristics that most good bosses possess,

No company or boss can promise you the company will remain the same (forever). You have to realize you may be back in the job market at any time.

I don't know what company would announce cuts and then not take them all, ... Not only would Wall Street be breathing down their neck, but it would leave workers under a cloud that more cuts must be coming. I don't think they go into these announcements very lightly.

Businesses give a higher priority to profitability and earnings.

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.

Business owners have been burned by the recession in the past, so they'll take on some temporary staff and then convert them to full time when they know the recovery is for real.

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

get it done ahead of time and then request new assignments or projects.

Frankly, the September decline was somewhat surprising, considering that the last four months of the year historically have been the heaviest, as employers finalize budgets and business plans for the coming year,

For months, it appeared that the U.S. might remain relatively untouched by the financial crises abroad. However it most certainly seems that the impact is starting to ripple through our economy.

We're optimistic about the job picture for the next year.

With M&A activity up, we're seeing more condensing of things like duplicate headquarters, banks on adjacent corners, duplicate warehouses, ... It's definitely something that's going to fuel more downsizing in 2004.

Going through the front door is a lot better than e-mailing your resume and waiting for them to call.

We may well have reached the peak of the economic cycle earlier in the year.

We may now have moved into the second half of a slowdown, ... because these big layoffs have begun to appear more regularly.

Human resource executives and low-tech industries are at their wits' ends trying to find skilled personnel.

Job opportunities are described on the front pages daily as new emphasis is put on several industries, including security, communications, defense, medical equipment and supplies, as well as continuing significant opportunities in health care,

Job cuts are likely to continue in the telecommunications industry, which is still not able to see the light at the end of the tunnel,

Job-cut announcements have been on a roller coaster ride this year. The lack of any discernible trend in corporate downsizing is indicative of the uncertainty associated with the current economy.

It can't hurt to talk with an attorney if you feel your severance program is wanting, or if you feel you've been wronged, ... That attorney can then address those issues with the company and act as your agent.

It becomes a question of, 'How do you create a culture with a sense of openness for everybody?'

I think it's likely to get worse before it gets better.

It is a favorable sign that retailers have not joined in the job-cutting spree,

It is clearly a seller's market. There has probably never been a better time to be looking for a job, especially for those seeking positions in industries that require highly specialized knowledge and skills.

It is clearly a seller's market, ... There has probably never been a better time to be looking for a job, especially for those seeking positions in industries that require highly specialized knowledge and skills.

It is probably too early to break out the champagne,

It is no wonder that workplace dating is taking off, with more than 28 million young people, some of whom spend more time together in the office than they do outside of work. Employers almost have no choice but to permit interoffice dating,

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 that the social compact hammered out in the mid-20th century has been superseded by a new compact that is different and doesn't promise the potential for lifetime tenure. Workers are free agents.

large number of lower-middle class and middle-class Americans struggling to make it paycheck-to-paycheck will be short of discretionary income during the holiday shopping season.

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,

People are moving to where the jobs and the growth are occurring. That means a lot more turbulence in people's lives.

Overall, job cuts are down from last year and significantly lower than the record numbers we saw in 2002 and 2001, but there are still some worrisome trends,

Retailers, restaurants, real estate, home improvement stores... will all see business decline.

Retailers are being forced to turn into discounters at all levels, and that early transformation to a discounting posture is putting great pressure on profits. Retailers make a good percentage of their profitability in the last two months of the year. This year those earnings are going to be under real pressure. They'll be fighting to keep costs down.

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

Pay raises have been paltry since 2001. Since 2001, wage growth has been muted because productivity has been so strong.

Some of those people might be crowded out, particularly around the Southeast and West.

Some job seekers may do this because they feel that they should be a vice president and earning six figures, but their employers have not acknowledged such capabilities. However, prospective employers ... only care about what position you actually held,

It does seem like retailers are really stepping up and taking care of their employees, trying to provide services in the area and rallying behind the crisis,

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.

I think they re going to have to offer a stipend to help their employees with the costs so much for gas. They are going to have to encourage use of mass transportation or look for workers that are closer in.

It is difficult to attract new businesses to a city if there are not enough skilled workers to employ. It is much more difficult to attract new people if there are no jobs immediately available, ... What smaller cities are accomplishing in this economy is truly amazing.

It is far smarter to maximize productivity by paying overtime wages rather than hiring new workers, who will be slow until they become familiar with the new job.

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 2006 March Madness just might be remembered for the 'boss button' that gives workers a way to quickly hide their basketball indiscretions.

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.

Merger/acquisition activity was the second leading cause of job cuts (in January), behind cost-cutting. It will continue to be among the top job-cut reasons this year as an improving economy and increased competition force industry consolidation.

You'll see more tuition reimbursement programs, more schedule flexibility.

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.

We've lost 2.5 million manufacturing jobs since the recession hit,

We have already seen a couple of large deals announced this year, one of which expected as many as 10,000 job cuts to take place as redundant positions are eliminated, ... This could be a big year for such transactions.

We never concentrate on one task anymore. You take a little chip out of it, and then you're on to the next thing. It's harder to feel like you're accomplishing something.

Those are two areas of the economy that should be perking up right now if we were in a recovery mode, ... Normally, businesses hire temp workers and work their employees longer -- this drop is of real concern and raises the specter of a double-dip recession.

Those graduating with degrees in business, engineering, computer science, education and health care should find a relatively welcoming job market.

Those who fail to deliver will be asked to tender their resignation or risk being forced out in a shareholder revolt.

We are seeing more job cuts from well-known, brand-name companies. The mom-and-pop category seemed to dominate the earlier waves of dot.com cuts.

The pattern of job cutting that we saw in the third quarter mirrors what we have been seeing almost daily in the various economic and corporate earnings reports, which is to say one report suggests the economy is headed toward recovery while the next seems to hint that we are stuck in recession,

We are definitely going to see downsizing. There just isn't going to be a need for people to the degree that was required in the boon years.

We are definitely going to see downsizing, ... There just isn't going to be a need for people to the degree that was required in the boon years.

When you're out for three or four years, you've got book knowledge and the market doesn't want that,

The question for the economy at large is to what extent will it absorb these people and these businesses.

Today's CEO is under fire from a number of sectors, ... Not only are shareholders demanding higher and higher returns, directors are far more active and government agencies are increasingly putting them under the microscope.

We are no longer seeing the blockbuster cuts in the tens of thousands that cause big headlines, ... Instead, we are seeing cuts of 2,500 (to) 5,000. While most announcements of that size do not get a lot of media coverage, those are the ones that give us (big) figures such as those in March.

The decline in job cuts is certainly welcome news, but it is difficult to get too excited about a year in which more than 1.2 million people fell victim to downsizing, ... That is more than double the 553,044 job cuts averaged annually during the six-year period before the recession.

When there aren't a lot of alternative routes to take, it means more late meetings, people miss meetings altogether, more stress from people when they get in - just less ability to be productive,

We should not get euphoric over the May drop in job-cut announcements,

We personally heard desperation in the voices of callers to our firm, ... On an average, callers thought it would take at least five and a half months to become re-employed.

While some forecast the economy to be strong this year, some areas hit with heavy downsizing could struggle.

We were seeing daily announcements of the demise of CEOs in a way that seemed to stand out.

We ask all of our job seekers in the out- placement program to only look at the web after 6:30 at night or before maybe 6:00 in the morning, ... It is a soaker up of time and in a job search, you've got to get out and see people. You can't sit behind a desk and tinker with your resume.

There has been a remarkable reversal since last fall and winter, when we saw several consecutive months in which departures numbered over 100.

Trust your instincts, and talk with people in the organization and people in the industry,

The question will be how do you share resources?

There are lots of job losses, yet at the same time there is really extraordinary job creation,

When you look at countries like India, you see that there's a strong focus there on ramping up the technical education of its labor force,

The good news for workers is that job cuts during the summer months typically decline from the beginning of the year. If that occurs this year, we could see job-cut figures fall to their lowest level in several years.

We see the same thing with job titles. People feel like the company didn't appreciate them or the job they did deserved a higher title, so they change the title.

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.

What's emerging in this era where men and women are working together as colleagues and peers . . . are relationships that form between men and women that are really strong.

You have to have as many balls up in the air as possible, ... In this day and age, you have to be more of a free agent than an indentured servant.

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

With job-cut figures surging, you would expect to see long lines at the unemployment offices and at every location looking to hire,