Layoffs at Internet Firms Soar This Month

A record number of job cuts were announced in the Internet industry in November, surpassing the 5,677 cuts seen in October by 55%, according to a report by recruitment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Since last December, when Challenger began tracking “dot-com” job cuts, about 31,056 jobs have been trimmed in the sector. The total for November was 8,789 jobs. The layoffs occurred at 383 companies, of which 20% have gone out of business. Services such as consulting, financial and information have suffered the most cuts since December with 40%, or 12,551 jobs. Retail was second with 7,863 cuts. John Challenger, chief executive of the firm, said the fallout probably will continue in December and January with more closures and layoffs.