Students have been driven away from petroleum engineering and geology studies by the oil industry's history of big layoffs, analysts said.

With those job cuts, Amazon's biggest layoffs ever, the company said it expected to show an operating profit in the fourth quarter of this year.

Some big companies have been making big layoffs.

After the big layoffs, there were lots of empty businesses, vacant storefronts in town.

Mergers in Japan do not necessarily result in big layoffs.

The rally was the first job action since the Aug. 5 notice of the biggest layoff in state history: 2,376 workers, including 1,546 union members.

She said the sharp drop in corporate profits this year probably meant more big layoffs to come as companies try to reduce costs.

Mr. Clopet said there had not yet been big layoffs.

Unemployment is at record postwar levels, with big corporate layoffs announced almost weekly.

In May, 52 employees were dismissed in what had been the biggest layoffs since 1983.