Job losses have continued to affect industries as diverse as aviation, electronics, media and motoring this week.
Virgin Atlantic announced a potential 600 positions could be cut from its UK flight operations and is currently in consultation with staff. This followed news that budget airline Ryanair was to cut 200 jobs at its Dublin airport base.
The banking sector continued to be one of the worst hit, with Barclays announcing up to 2,300 jobs would have to go.
Elsewhere, General Motors announced plans to cut 10,000 white-collar jobs across the world, including UK positions, as well as make cutbacks on pay for executives and other staff. A drop in demand in the car industry has also prompted luxury car manufacturer Bentley to cut more than 200 jobs at its Crewe headquarters.
In the communications industry, Cable & Wireless reported that 600 job would go, with the bulk of these from its operations in Scotland. It was reported the telecommunications firm had originally planed to cut 800 jobs north of the border, though this figure is now down to less than 350.
Japanese electronics firm Pioneer, has reported that 10,000 jobs are to go worldwide, and that its flat-screen television business is to close due to a fall in consumer spending.
Meanwhile, staff at News International have been sent a memo with details about editorial job cuts across the Times, Sunday Times, the Sun and the News of the World.
Bucking the trend is supermarket chain Tesco, which has announced a plan to create 250 new posts in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, following the local council giving approval to a development project. Short-term construction jobs will also be created during the development period, the retailer said.
