The 17 Biggest Mass Layoff Announcements Of The Past Year

The January U.S. jobs report just came out, and it showed that the unemployment rate climbed to 7.9 percent and companies added just 157k jobs.

Despite beginning its recovery in early 2009, the labor market recovery continues to be painfully slow.

Part of the problem is that companies continue to layoff employees in their efforts to control costs.

With the help of Bloomberg, we compiled a list of the 17 biggest layoff announcements of the past year.

The companies include banks, airlines, and consumer goods companies. But the tech companies dominate the rankings.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Earlier, we wrote that USG Corp had announced 4,700 layoffs in the past year. USG actually laid off 30 employees in 2012. Accumulated layoffs from 2006 to 2012 add up to 4,700. As such, USG has been removed from the ranking.