Economic dominoes fueling U.S. job losses

NEW YORK — This is the point in the recession where one round of job cuts leads to another.

Employers announced a total of nearly 40,000 job cuts Friday, almost all of them related to problems in other parts of the economy.

Utah was not spared. Rio Tinto said it would cut 241 positions — 66 current employees and 175 contractors — in Utah, with Kennecott Utah Copper, Kennecott Land, Kennecott Exploration and Rio Tinto business functions being affected.

Circuit City Stores Inc. said it is liquidating, closing all its U.S. stores and cutting 30,000 jobs after being hobbled in part by declining consumer spending.

Rental car company Hertz Global Holdings Inc. is eliminating 4,000 jobs worldwide as families and business travelers forgo trips.

Insurer WellPoint Inc. is cutting about 1,500 jobs, with rising unemployment leading to fewer people with health insurance.

ConocoPhillips, the third-largest U.S. oil company, said Friday it's cutting 4 percent of its overall work

force, or about 1,300 jobs, as the oil giant adjusts to tumbling crude prices and a dismal global economy. In addition to the estimated 1,300 employee cuts, ConocoPhillips said it also planned to reduce its contractor head count, but the company didn't provide specifics.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. announced its third round of layoffs in a year Friday and will slash pay for top managers by 15 percent, other salaried workers by 10 percent and hourly workers' salaries by 5 percent. The company plans to cut 1,100 jobs, 9 percent of its global staff. The company, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., said Friday that 900 workers will have their positions cut. The rest of the reductions are coming from attrition and the previously announced sale of a business unit.

Drug giant Pfizer Inc. reportedly plans to lay off nearly a third of its 8,000 salespeople. Company officials declined to comment Friday on a Wall Street Journal report that New York-based Pfizer will cut as many as 2,400 sales representatives.

General Electric Co. said Friday its finance business has informed employees of layoffs, following up on previous statements that it would restructure the battered financial unit. GE spokesman Russell Wilkerson said GE Capital is informing workers of the job cuts, though he would not say how many employees will lose their jobs. GE Capital employs 75,000 workers.