Job cuts taking their toll

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Some 2.5 million Americans lost their jobs in 2008, and this year three million more are likely to be laid off. "To the Point" looks at the impact of unemployment across the country. What will it take to get the next job in a restructured economy?

Monday, it was 20,000 at Caterpillar, 8,000 at Pfizer and Sprint/Nextel and 7,000 at Home Depot. Yesterday it was 3500 at Corning Glass and today it’s 10,000 at Boeing. In manufacturing and retail, even in Silicon Valley, unemployment is rising fast.

With Congress debating his stimulus plan, President Obama spoke to a roomful of CEO’s today. He said what they do matters more than what happens in Washington: "All we can do, those of us here in Washington is to help create a favorable climate in which workers can prosper, businesses can thrive and our economy can grow. And that is exactly what the recovery plan I proposed is intended to do, and that’s exactly what I plan to achieve soon."

The President says once his plan is passed and implementation begins, Americans can find out where the money is going on a new website: recovery.gov. He says they’ll be able to hold his administration accountable.

In this report, which workers are most likely to be laid off and which companies are trying to hold on to their employees.

Guests:
– Rajeev Dhawan: Director of the Economic Forecasting Center, Georgia State University
– Eric Savitz: Blogger and Columnist, "Barron’s"
– Charles Heckscher: Director of the Center for Workplace Transformation, Rutgers University
– Kate Wendleton: President, Five O’Clock Club

Hosted by award-winning journalist Warren Olney, "To the Point" presents informative and thought-provoking discussion of major news stories — front-page issues that attract a savvy and serious news audience.

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