60% of CEOs expect to trim workforces

By Barbara Hagenbaugh, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The majority of U.S. CEOs say they expect to cut workers in the next six months, according to a survey out Thursday that showed a rapid deterioration in the economic outlook from the nation's top executives.

The Business Roundtable said its CEO economic outlook index, which shows how CEOs believe the economy will perform in the six months ahead, plunged to 16.5 in the fourth quarter, down from 78.8 in the prior quarter. It was the lowest since the private group began doing the survey six years ago.

The survey of 101 CEOs was conducted Nov. 3-17. CEOs in the Business Roundtable represent many of the nation's largest companies, with a combined workforce of 10 million employees.

Sixty percent of the CEOs said they plan to cut workers in the next six months. That was up from 32% in the third quarter.

Nearly one-third of the CEOs said they plan to keep their workforce steady while 9% said they expect to add workers.

The CEOs also became gloomier about capital investments and sales. Fifty-two percent said they plan to cut capital expenditures in the next six months, up from 10% in the third quarter, while 45% said they expect their sales to drop, up from 7%.

The news comes as other data also point to a rapidly deteriorating economy. Earlier this week, reports showed big drops in activity in the manufacturing and services sector.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2 ... titialskip