From the point of view of the company, they are rigth, after all, specially if they keeping having profits. From the point of view of the whole economy, companies are digging their own grave. The jobs they are cutting are the jobs that sustain the economy. The perfect company would be one with no employees, aparently, but then, who would buy goods and services? That's the question that's not being made.

So, profit increase yet they want to screw with the country by further increasing unemployment? Are you guys ready for a rebellion?

edit: nevermind

Well, it'd have to be a world-wide rebellion because this isn't just America. The situation isn't as obvious as it seems.

Also, how the heck would one rebel?  You want to use the governments to nationalize industry or pass laws that will cause them to move elsewhere?  If you want change, you need to get together in sufficient numbers, coordinate efforts, and free yourself from the current system.  Short of that, exactly how does one rebel?

One could end up being consumers as a block and then let a company know you won't shop at places that downsize workers like they do.  Explain how rebellion is supposed to work.

Trust me I know very well for a rebellion to take place it would have to be worldly, but yep probably will not happen.

They're exiting markets they're struggling with, how do you propose they do that without reducing employees?

What's more, they also said that they'd be hiring people in other areas, so the actual net reduction will be lower.

Not my problem.  I am not the one who has to deal with telling them how to be more competent so they don't reduce their workforce.  

30,000 employees are going to get laid? Anybody know how I can get a job interview?

Its seems a case of cutting staff in the places that didn't land in the black and may have cost them even larger profits, so even though they made a lot of profit it may well have been generated away from where the cuts took place, also we don't know their expectations, maybe they targeted say 16% and only achieved 10% or some such thing, because to you and me its good sustainable profits, but to many execs it's I get bonuses from growing profit and in some cases they don't care how it's made just as long as it happens.