The Week: Rising Redundancies, Falling Pounds, "The City of London is Finished" but Guy and Madge still at it. So Ski Yourself Happy!
It has been a grim week with yet more redundancies creeping out of the woodwork in the last day or two and ‘confirmation’?! that Britain is now officially in recession . In light of the need for a second bank bailout, a collapsing pound and Jim Rogers’ comments , is there anything that can lift the mood? Reports that many redundant professionals are now packing up and heading to Europe to become ski-bums seems like a good idea when …
It has been a grim week with yet more redundancies creeping out of the woodwork in the last day or two and ‘confirmation’?! that Britain is now officially in recession . In light of the need for a second bank bailout, a collapsing pound and Jim Rogers’ comments , is there anything that can lift the mood? Reports that many redundant professionals are now packing up and heading to Europe to become ski-bums seems like a good idea when you look at the latest exchange rate. Perhaps chalet girls and ski instructors earn more in Euros than associates get in Pounds these days. Failing that at least they can block out the news with a combination of apres-ski and white-outs for a few months.
The latest misery…
Mishcon de Reya is trimming 17 from its staff base following a redundancy consultation launched last December. According to The Lawyer , the firm confirmed that it was dropping a salaried partner from its real estate practice and one from its corporate practice as part of the diet.
SJ Berwin has launched a redundancy consultation putting up to 40 jobs on the block. In addition it is closing its Media team entirely, raising the potential cull to 50 in total.
For more…
US firm, Chadbourne & Parke has launched a global review of staffing levels and is thought to be axing up to six staff members from its London office.
Finally another US firm Cooley Godward Kronish has axed 52 lawyers and 62 staff, a toatl of 114 across its US offices.
Meanwhile, according to Roll on Friday , Simmon & Simmons has asked its March 2009 trainees to consider deferring their arrival by a year.
Well at least that won’t affect Guy and Madge who, having settled their money worries, are apparently now arguing over the children . Guy favours education in the UK, Madge favours education in the US. Perhaps they should both take Jim Rogers’ advice and move to Asia.
January 23, 2009
Jim Rogers is probably right in the long term. We will probably recover from this to some extent in the medium term but uk is a nation in decline. The exporting of legal services by the likes of Eversheds shows where we are headed.
January 23, 2009
if the pound sinks any lower we might have to reopen the mines and send some ex-lawyers and bankers down there to really work at the coal face
January 23, 2009
i quite fancy learning to drive a tractor if they start downsizing this corporate wasteland
skiing sounds more appealing tho
January 23, 2009
what you mean like jim beresford
January 23, 2009
who actually cares about Madonna these days, most people have bigger worries
January 23, 2009
Can someone say something cheerful pleeeeease………………………….