Update: Layoffs Reach 62,000 Today Alone

We reported earlier on the many layoffs sweeping the country. The New York Times did the tally and calls it at 62,000 for today alone, in the U.S. and around the globe. Most decidedly, today marks a certain inflection point. Let’s hope we don’t see this kind of single-day figure again. Ever.

Screwed: 20,000 at Caterpillar

Today in layoffs, bulldozer/excavator maker Caterpillar is getting crushed and plans to shed 20,000 jobs, about 20 percent of its workforce. … Home Depot is expected to lay off 7,000 workers. … European bank ING is to shed 7,000 of its 130,000 employees after $1.29 billion in losses mainly related to toxic mortgage assets. … The ongoing secret layoffs at IBM are rumored to include an upcoming 3,000 on top of the 1,400 already said to have been let go. … Fourteen hundred workers will be cut at Williams-Sonoma. … Starbucks will let 1,000 workers go in the coming weeks. … Fannie Mae will put hundreds of its 5,500 employees out of work. … Vermont may cut 660 state jobs. … Digg.com is expected to reduce its 75-person staff by 10 percent (we wonder, who is that .5 percent staffer?). … Two states hit unemployment record highs: 9.3 percent in California and 6.9 percent in Massachusetts.

Is America Throwing in the Towel?

Slate’s Daniel Gross ponders the closing of a Circuit City store on Broadway as a sign of the times. Once, in happier days, a company the size of Circuit City would have filed for Chapter 11 and launched a new game plan. But dire predictions about the length of the recession may be putting the kibosh on optimism, despite the enthusiasm for the new president. Could our “Yes We Can” president be facing a “No We Can’t” economy?

Recession Briefing: 1.26

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

News
Recession Warrior?
Tim Geithner is expected to be confirmed today as Treasury Secretary — and architect of the way out of the downturn. [CNN Money]

The Quitter Economy
Slate says the waning of American confidence will be a mighty hurdle in President Obama’s aim to fix the economy. [Slate]

U.S. Bank?
Obama needs to fix the banking system, which remains broken despite infusions of cash. One sensitive option being considered: nationalization, which might be the only way to return any benefits of the bailouts to citizens. [NYTimes]