Berkshire Hathaway Cuts 3,000 Jobs

Declining sales of building-related materials has led Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to cut about 3,000 jobs. The cuts were revealed in a regulatory filing made Thursday.

According to Businessweek, Berkshire and its subsidiaries employ about 222,000 people, which is 1.3 percent less than six weeks ago and 10 percent less than the 246,083 jobs the company had in 2008.

“If you look at our carpet business, our brick business, our insulation business, all of those businesses have had significant reductions in employment,” owner Warren Buffett told Businessweek. “The day the orders come in, we hire back. But there’s no reason to hire people if they don’t have anything to do.”

Berkshire Hathaway has more than 70 subsidiaries. The company has axed workers in several departments, including those that make pre-fabricated homes, provide flight time on private jets and make paint, furniture and jewelry.