CONTACTS

James K. Pedderson, Director of Public Relations Office: 312-422-5078 Mobile: 847-567-1463 jamespedderson@challengergray.com Colleen Madden, Media Relations Manager Office: 312-422-5074 colleenmadden@challengergray.com

FOR RELEASE AT 7:30 A.M. EDT, OCTOBER 5, 2011

Layoffs Surge to Highest Total Since April 2009

PLANNED JOB CUTS TOP 115,000 IN SEPTEMBER; DOMINATED BY BANK AND MILITARY CUTBACKS
CHICAGO, October 5, 2011 Employers announced plans to shed 115,730 workers from their payrolls in September, making it the worst jobcut month in over two years. Heavy reductions planned by the military accounted for a large portion of September job cuts, signaling what may lie ahead as the federal government seeks across-the-board cuts in spending. September job cuts were 126 percent higher than the 51,114 announced in August, according to the latest report on monthly job cuts released Wednesday by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. They were 212 percent higher than September 2010, when employers announced just 37,151 job cuts. Last months total is the highest since April 2009, when 132,590 job cuts were announced. The September surge brought the number of job cuts announced in the third quarter to 233,258, the highest quarterly toll since the third quarter of 2009. That figure is up 103 percent from the previous quarter and 105 percent higher than the same quarter a year ago.

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To date, U.S.-based employers have announced 479,064 planned layoffs in 2011, a 16.5 percent jump from the same point last year, when job cuts totaled 411,272. One-third of the layoffs announced this year came from government employers. It is, by far, the largest job-cutting sector, with 159,588 announced job cuts to date. This figure includes 54,182 government-sector cuts in September, 50,000 of which are the result of a five-year troop reduction plan announced by the United States Army. The second largest job-cutting sector to date is the financial sector, which announced 54,013 planned layoffs between January 1 and the end of September. That is up 177 percent from the 19,474 job cuts recorded over the first three quarters of 2010. Of the 54,013 financial job cuts this year, 31,167 occurred in September, with 30,000 resulting from Bank of Americas multi-year workforce reduction plan aimed at saving the struggling bank $5 billion per year. It would be easy to look at the September job-cut figure alongside some of the other less-than-stellar economic news that has been reported lately and draw the conclusion that the economy is indeed headed for a double dip. However, it is important to keep in mind that 80,000 cuts, or nearly 70 percent of last months total, came from just two organizations: Bank of America and the United States Army, said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Neither of these cuts is directly related to recent softness in the economy. The Bank of America cuts are the result of continued fallout from the housing market collapse and restructuring effort to remake the bank into a smaller, more nimble institution. The military cuts are the result of drawing down forces in two wars and cost-cutting efforts in all areas of the federal government, he added.
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That being said, both could definitely be a sign of more cuts to come. Bank of America is not the only bank still struggling in the wake of the housing collapse. And, the military cutbacks are probably just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to federal spending cuts and layoffs, Challenger noted. While the U.S. Army is not a traditional employer, its announcement was very corporate-like in that plans to achieve the reductions using voluntary and involuntary separations and is considering buyouts, reductions in high-year tenure limits and early retirement boards, according to an Army Times article, which quoted Army Service Personnel Chief Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick. Last months Army cuts represent the second such military personnel reduction announced in as many months. In August, 17,500 military personnel cuts were announced by the Army, Air Force and Navy. As officers, soldiers and even civilian personnel get displaced from the military, they face special challenges when making the transition to the traditional job market. Perhaps the biggest challenge is taking the often specialized skills and experience gained in the military and translating it to the private sector, said Challenger. The other big obstacle is the fact that many of these individuals entered the military straight out of high school or college and the entire jobsearch process, from resume writing to interviewing strategy, is completely foreign to them. For these reasons, many former soldiers struggle to find their way in the job market. According to the latest employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10.1 percent of military veterans 18 years and older were unemployed in August. Unemployment among veterans of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan stood at 16.6 percent.

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Given the opportunity, former military typically prove themselves to be ideal employees. They tend to be more loyal, more disciplined and are better at most when it comes to thinking on their feet. President Obama is definitely taking a step in the right direction by providing tax incentives to employers that open their recruiting doors a little wider for veterans, said Challenger. Other steps that could be taken include increased education for both employers as well as job-seeking veterans on how the skills and experience gained in service translate to the non-military workforce. It may also be necessary to retrain those exiting military service for occupations that are in demand. Lastly, military personnel impacted by separations could be provided with some basic job-search training on such areas as preparing a resume, networking strategies, interviewing techniques, etc., he said. The heavy cuts announced by the Army and Bank of America were, at least, partially offset last month by heavy seasonal hiring plans announced by several retailers. It was reported last month that retailers Halloween City and Party City would hire 12,000 and 14,000 workers, respectively, to handle the flood of Halloween costume and decoration shoppers. Meanwhile, toy retailer Toys R Us said it would be hiring about the same number of holiday workers as last year, which was around 40,000. In all, employers announced plans to hire 76,551 workers during September. October is the prime month for seasonal worker hiring. Those hoping to take advantage of the hiring surge should be out there seeing employers now. Job seekers should not overlook smaller mom-and-pop stores, restaurants, movie theaters and other entertainment venues. We expect seasonal hiring to be about the same as last year, when more than 600,000 holiday workers were added to retail payrolls between October and December, said Challenger. ###

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CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC.

JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT

TOP FIVE INDUSTRIES Year To Date
2011 159,588 54,013 41,789 30,122 20,341 2010 123,469 19,474 31,246 13,584 20,912

Government/Non-Profit* Financial Retail Aerospace/Defense Health Care/Products

MONTH BY MONTH TOTALS

2011 38,519 50,702 41,528 36,490 37,135 41,432 66,414 51,114 115,730 2010 71,482 42,090 67,611 38,326 38,810 39,358 41,676 34,768 37,151 37,986 48,711 32,004 529,973

January February March April May June July August September October November December TOTAL

479,064

Some reductions are identified by employers as workers who will take early retirement offers or other special considerations to leave the company.

LAYOFF LOCATION Year to Date

District of Columbia North Carolina California New Jersey Michigan 83,494 52,199 48,995 28,352 24,189

Listings are identified by the location of the layoff or corporate headquarters as stated in announcement.

Copyright 2011 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

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CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC. JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT JOB CUTS BY INDUSTRY SEPTEMBER Year-To-Date Government* 54,182 159,588 Financial 31,167 54,013 Education 6,462 8,724 Energy 4,771 11,798 Transportation 3,920 11,639 Industrial Goods 2,227 15,506 Health Care/Products 2,115 20,341 Aerospace/Defense 1,691 30,122 Retail 1,616 41,789 Electronics 1,133 5,942 Entertainment/Leisure 852 11,288 Telecommunications 725 8,440 Computer 690 11,987 Pharmaceutical 690 19,076 Utility 675 3,442 Services 668 9,809 Consumer Products 611 11,366 Construction 549 6,526 Non-Profit 509 953 Media 268 5,868 Automotive 95 7,999 Insurance 90 2,760 Food 24 12,392 Apparel 1,276 Chemical 2,447 Legal 2,729 Real Estate 1,244 TOTAL 115,730 479,064
*Through June, education and non-profit job cuts were included in the category Government/Non-Profit. In July, Challenger separated those categories. They will remain separate from this point forward. Historically, job cuts in those industries will remain tallied together. Copyright 2011 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

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CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC. JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT

JOB CUTS BY REGION, STATE East Dist. of Columbia New York Pennsylvania New Jersey Maryland Maine New Hampshire Connecticut Massachusetts Midwest Illinois Wisconsin Ohio Missouri Michigan Indiana Kansas Minnesota Iowa 53,548 50,013 805 680 646 523 370 219 183 109 7,525 3,835 1,109 1,022 567 462 375 125 17 13

Copyright 2011 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

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CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC. JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT

JOB CUTS BY REGION, STATE West /Southwest California Washington Texas Nevada Montana Oklahoma Oregon Colorado New Mexico Hawaii Utah South Dakota 8,431 3,890 1,705 1,063 881 294 246 98 93 92 28 23 18

South North Carolina Georgia Tennessee Florida Arkansas Virginia South Carolina Kentucky Louisiana West Virginia

46,226 37,981 3,016 1,875 1,638 895 310 185 185 129 12

Copyright 2011 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

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CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC. JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT JOB CUT REASONS SEPTEMBER YEAR-TO-DATE
Restructuring Economic Conditions Cost-Cutting Closing Merger/Acquisition Voluntary Severance Relocation Loss of Contract New Focus Demand Downturn Government Regulation Outsourcing Reorganization/Consolidation Firing Labor Dispute Bankruptcy Competition Flooding Funding Loss Legal Trouble Natural Disaster Order Cancellation/Reduction Rising Costs Technological Update 54,178 32,718 13,123 6,566 3,913 2,030 662 594 525 505 500 216 165 28 7 130,141 57,290 111,276 86,883 12,900 19,120 3,715 7,218 525 13,601 2,946 3,095 340 28 1,349 8,982 13,150 245 2,992 1,340 139 1,335 300 154

TOTAL

115,730

479,064

Copyright 2011 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

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CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC. JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT QUARTER-BY-QUARTER

1989 1990 1991 1992* 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 AVG Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 9,850 10,100 24,085 67,250 107,052 87,686 49,104 72,205 110,056 76,622 147,507 221,107 110,815 85,486 151,849 151,850 170,615 84,263 194,486 165,822 192,572 107,421 117,706 98,370 97,716 114,583 89,718 137,865 168,695 101,818 91,784 114,850 134,257 51,309 95,930 152,854 139,140 131,303 161,013 246,339 210,521 173,027 173,181 118,403 141,853 81,568 168,875 221,664 406,806 370,556 594,326 585,188 478,905 292,393 269,090 426,435 355,795 274,737 241,548 364,346 262,840 209,895 251,585 315,415 287,134 251,140 245,378 288,402 255,878 180,580 202,771 200,593 195,986 197,513 194,095 180,670 200,656 275,292 287,142 460,903 578,510 318,165 240,233 151,122 181,183 116,494 113,595 118,701 130,749 115,057 233,258 214,243 163,205 192,030 229,527 TOTAL 111,285 316,047 555,292 500,000 615,186 516,069 439,882 477,147 434,350 677,795 675,132 613,960 1,956,876 1,466,823 1,236,426 1,039,735 1,072,054 839,822 768,264 1,223,993 1,288,030 529,973 479,064

*Estimate based on half-year total. Challenger began tracking job-cut data in 1993. Before that, it was tabulated by an independent newsletter no longer published.

Copyright 2011 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

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CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC. JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT

ANNOUNCED HIRING* PLANS

Industry Jobs Retail 70,912 Financial 939 Automotive 850 Services 850 Consumer Products 700 Industrial Goods 561 Healthcare/Products 515 Food 400 Insurance 307 Government 226 Entertainment/Leisure 100 Transportation 91 Construction 75 Education 25 TOTAL 76,551

*71,600 of the jobs reported are temporary, seasonal positions.

Copyright 2011 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

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CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC. JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT

ANNOUNCED HIRING PLANS MONTHLY TOTALS

2011 2010 29,492 31,381 January 72,581 8,300 February 10,869 13,994 March 59,648 15,654 April 10,248 14,922 May 15,498 11,732 June 10,706 8,151 July 15,201 14,075 August September 76,551 123,076 124,766 October 26,012 November 10,575 December 300,794 402,638 TOTAL

Copyright 2011 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.