Firms to Cut Up to 210,000 Jobs in 4th Quarter, Report Says

U.S. companies will cut as many as 210,000 jobs in the fourth quarter, fewer than in last year’s fourth quarter, as they size up prospects for 2000, outplacement services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said.

Last year, U.S. companies fired nearly 678,000 workers as part of restructurings, including 250,000 in the fourth quarter. Through last Sept. 30, job cuts rose 29% to 557,000 compared with the same nine-month period of 1998.

Though the 1999 total is expected to exceed last year’s, the pace of layoffs is stable, said John A. Challenger, chief executive of the Chicago-based firm. Companies are letting go 55,000 to 70,000 workers monthly, a rate “that’s probably going to continue” through December, he said. Companies once made their deepest payroll cuts in the fourth quarter, he said.

Although the economy remains strong, companies “are urged on” to fire people and consolidate operations, he said. Retail and computer industries have cut the most jobs this year, followed by health care and financial services, Challenger said. Retailers facing the holiday rush probably will wait until January to cut payrolls, he said.