Hiring freezes cool job market - 01/2001

A weakening economy has more employers giving job seekers a chillier reception.

Think hiring freeze.

The list of companies that have halted hiring is growing fast. Just this month, auto-parts supplier Visteon instituted a companywide hiring freeze. NBC began a freeze in late fall. Xerox has frozen most positions, and the list goes on.

The companies we represent are calling it a timeout, says Charles Chip McCreary, president of Dallas-based executive search firm Austin McGregor International.

Everything has just come to a screeching halt. It affects morale.

The freezes are coming in industries hardest hit by recent economic woes. Auto sales have slowed, for example, and media companies are bracing for advertising slowdowns in TV, newspapers and radio. The result? News Corp., parent of Fox network, implemented a freeze.

To be sure, unemployment is still a low 4%. But the stalled growth is a major shift from last year, when companies were on hiring binges and employees felt so emboldened they were eager to jump jobs.

Now, some fear the freezes could mark the end of the hiring boom.

It's a very competitive world right now, says Susan Skerker of Visteon, which is undergoing a 30-day initiative to streamline costs. The market is looking for companies that make money no matter what the ups and downs.