Companies as diverse as telecoms equipment group Ericsson, bank ING, steel group Kloeckner and engineering firm Bombardier announced sweeping job cuts on Wednesday as economic worries spread across some of Europe's strongest economies. Even previously safe haven Nordic states like Sweden have had to adjust to lower demand. World number one mobile telecom network equipment maker Ericsson said it was cutting 9 percent of staff there.
Germany's second-biggest lender, Commerzbank, was reported by newspaper Die Zeit to be set to cut 5,000-6,000 jobs and Dutch financial group ING said it aimed to lose more than 2,000 jobs world-wide. That would add to the 10,000 jobs in the financial sector which Swiss giant UBS plans to cut.
The US recovery has also been faltering, overshadowing prospects for business and underlining the problems facing a re-elected President Barack Obama. Others lining up to announce job cuts on Wednesday were wind turbine maker Vestas in Denmark, to lose 3,000 staff, garden equipment maker Husqvarna of Sweden, cutting 600, and German steel distributor Kloeckner & Co, where losses will be equivalent to 16 percent of its workforce.
Canada's Bombardier Inc said it would cut about 1,200 jobs world-wide, including at a plant in Aachen, Germany. US companies have also focussed their cost cutting in Europe. Dow Chemical plans to cut 2,400 positions, Ford Motor Co is firing thousands in Belgium and diaper and tissue maker Kimberley-Clark aims to leave low-profit businesses in Europe.
Ericsson's loss of 1,550 of its 17,786 staff in Sweden showed the problems of the euro zone are spreading and affecting the biggest Nordic economy, which had previously outperformed other countries in Europe. The bluechip firm, with 109,200 staff in more than 180 countries, said the cuts were inevitable after third quarter core profit fell 42 percent due to slower orders and a shift in business mix to less profitable contracts.