It is a favorable sign that retailers have not joined in the job-cutting spree,

The pattern of job cutting that we saw in the third quarter mirrors what we have been seeing almost daily in the various economic and corporate earnings reports, which is to say one report suggests the economy is headed toward recovery while the next seems to hint that we are stuck in recession,

The union has done a good job in negotiating a buyout package that at least seems to me to be unparalleled. At the same time, it's bittersweet. What they are negotiating is an end game.

Job-cut announcements have been on a roller coaster ride this year. The lack of any discernible trend in corporate downsizing is indicative of the uncertainty associated with the current economy.

If job cuts in the auto industry continue and we start to see consistently high job-cut numbers from the top three job cutters in July, it should set off some relatively loud alarm bells about the state of the job market and economy.

Changes at the top are typically followed by changes further down the ladder. However, the high number of job cuts this year could also be leading to CEO changes.