All posts by ChinaJob

What Not to Wear to an Interview

What is the worst outfit ever worn to a job interview? For a career services director at the University of Chicago, it was the applicant who sported a Madras tie as a belt and a patterned cotton hat. Other contenders, according to a CareerBuilder.com survey of hiring managers, include candidates with dirty fingernails, micro-miniskirts, t-shirts with offensive slogans and even bare feet!

No one needs ‘Queer Eye’s’ Carson Kressley to tell them that wearing shoes to an interview is a good idea, but could you be guilty of one of these top 20 fashion faux pas?

1. Carrying a backpack or fannypack instead of a briefcase or portfolio: Some image consultants suggest women ditch their purse, too!

2. Sunglasses on top of your head or headphones around your neck: Be sure to remove all your “transit gear” and tuck it in your briefcase before entering the lobby.

3. Too-short skirts: Forget what some of those gals on ‘The Apprentice’ are wearing. Your skirt should cover your thighs when you are seated.

4. The wrong tie: Ties should be made of silk, no less than three and a quarter inches wide with a conservative pattern. Image consultants say the best colors are red or burgundy.

5. Overly bright or large-patterned clothing: With the possible exception of creative fields like advertising or computer programming, it’s best to stick with navy, black or gray.

6. Heavy makeup on women (or any makeup on a man)

7. Earrings on men: In fact, men should avoid wearing any jewelry unless it is a wedding ring, class ring or metal watch.

8. More than one set of earrings on women

9. Facial piercings, tongue jewelry or visible tattoos

10. Ill-fitting clothes. Few people can wear things straight off the rack. Spending a little extra to have your garments tailored is a worthwhile investment.

11. Long fingernails, especially with bright or specialty polishes. Nails should look clean and be trimmed to a length that doesn’t leave an observer wondering how you keep from stabbing yourself.

12. Unnatural hair colors or styles. Remember, Donald Trump was a billionaire well before he began wearing a comb-over. If you’re balding, try a close-cropped cut like Bruce Willis or Matt Lauer.

13. Short-sleeved shirts, even worse when worn with a tie

14. Fishnets, patterned hosiery or bare legs (no matter how tan you are). Women should stick with neutral color hosiery that complements their suit.

15. Men whose socks don’t match their shoes, or whose socks are too short and leave a gap of flesh when they are seated

16. Rumpled or stained clothing: If interviewing late in the day, try to change to a fresh suit beforehand.

17. Scuffed or inappropriate footwear, including sneakers, stilettos, open-toed shoes and sandals

18. Strong aftershaves, perfumes or colognes: Many people are allergic to certain scents. For a subtle fragrance, use a good quality bath soap.

19. Belts and shoes that don’t match: Shoes and belts should be made of leather or leather-like materials and the best colors for men are black or cordovan.

20. Telltale signs that your wearing a new suit. Remove all tags and extra buttons — and remember to cut off the zigzag thread that keeps pockets and slits closed!

Don’t be a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen. Plan and lay out what you’re going to wear several days before the interview, so you’ll have time to shop or get garments pressed and cleaned.

Save “innovative” or revealing garb for the club (or your couch) and strive for crisp, clean and professional. Remember, you want the interviewer to be listening to what you’re saying, not critiquing what you’re wearing.

Daily economic round-up

The strength in the pipeline of the economy and the growing lack of skills required by employers is seen in the starting salaries for new graduates which are now said to be their best since the tech-boom period that ended in about 2000. The Australian Graduate Employers¡¯ 2007 survey reveals that vacancies have risen nearly 14 per cent compared to last year with median salaries climbing from $43,000 to $45,700 for 2007.

The Graduates Careers Australia research shows that just over 40 per cent of employers wanted to hire more graduates if they were available and just over half of those surveyed reported trouble recruiting in particular fields. About 23 per cent of companies had problems recruiting in the IT sector and about 19 per cent had problems finding graduates in mathematics, statistics and science.

Today Australia will continue talks with China on removing foreign equity restrictions on the legal, banking, insurance and education professions as part of ongoing free-trade talks. While Australia is attempting to protect the clothing, footwear and textiles industries and to improve the situation for the agricultural and services industries, China has called these industries sensitive.

Peter Bell

China might become US’s 3rd largest export market in ’07

Chinanews, Washington, Dec. 11 – Vice Minister of Commerce Ma Xiuhong recently said that if Sino-US trade could maintain the current growing momentum, China is expected to become the third largest export market for the United States next year.

She made the statement when delivering a speech in Washington last Thursday in her visit to the United States.

Since China established diplomatic ties with the United States 27 years ago, bilateral trade between the two countries has undergone fundamental changes and cooperation between the two countries has expanded to every part of the economic field. China and the United States have forged a pattern characterized by economic interdependence and mutual benefit, seeking win-win outcomes and mutual development. Over the past 27 years, Sino-US trade volume has increased 86-fold, with the United States now becoming China¡¯s second largest trade partner and China the third largest trade partner of the US, she said.

Since China joined the World Trade Organization five years ago, US export to China has witnessed the most rapid growth. During this time, US export trade volume to China has grown at an annual rate 4.9 times that of US export growth rates to other countries. In 2005, US export to China increased by 118% compared with 2001, far exceeding its export growth rates to other major export markets. In 2001, China was the ninth biggest export market of the US, whereas in 2005, it already became the fourth largest export market of the US. China has become an important market pushing up the overall export trade volume of the US. During the first ten months of this year, US export to China reached nearly 50 billion US dollars, exceeding the total amount of last year and increasing by 24% from the same period last year, the vice minister noted.

General Manager

Company introduction:
Our client is the leading provider of Real Estate Investment Management Services to investors in Europe and Australia. A company with over 400 clients and assets. It has been offering a turnkey service since 2002. From sourcing the best investment properties and tenants to property management and ultimately final disposal. It means minimal work for investors and the best returns from carefully selected properties that offer the best capital growth opportunities.

Responsibilities:
1.Reporting directly to the company shareholders, the General Manager will accept full responsibility for the daily running of the Shanghai Operation.
2.Ensuring that assets under management are performing, in good condition and are paying rent to investors bank accounts.
3.Recruitment, motivation, prioritisation and people management of the entire Shanghai Operation.
4.Directly managing a management team of 4 direct reports.
5.Reporting the performance of the office in association with the company management team.
6.Reporting investment updates to investors in a 6 monthly cycle.
7.Developing new revenue streams for the organisation after the consolidation of the existing operation.
8.General Office Management and prioritisation.

Requirements:
1.Have a proven track record in people management and project management over 5 years.
2.A good team player that is highly organised, able to multitask as a generalist and able to take on a broad range of responsibilities is what will be required in this role.
3.Experience of people management and negotiation with a wide variety of people on a daily basis will be an advantage.
4.Accounting, MS Office IT skills.
5.A good command of spoken and written English is required for this position.

* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English) to: ‘topjob_eo070sh@dacare.com’

Material Manager

Company:
Top electronic manufacturer, USA

JOB SUMMARY:
To ensure company Logistics operational to meet corporate and Government requirements, and support business requirement. Supporting Logistics Director establishing, reviewing, monitoring, and enforcing logistics management policies and procedures, and follow up the policies and procedures. Set up and strengthen the organization structure of Material function, and supervising/developing material staffs.

Duties&Responsibilities:
1.Supporting to Logistics Director establishing, reviewing, monitoring, and enforcing material management or control policies and procedures in accordance with corporate requirements and lead the execution of regulatory compliance. 2.Follow up the material function policies and procedures to meet business requirement and Government requirements.
3.Managing material operating daily work including Sourcing, Purchasing, Planning, Logistics and WH, proposal for leading the business planning/forecasting process to ensure timely and accurate completion. Collect the material data for inferring business impact and making appropriate decisions or recommendations and identifying key material and business risks to management.
4.Managing and actively participating in the strategic planning process and collect the material data to top management in business risks analyzed.
5.Managing and performing the timely and accurate completion of all material function management reporting and review with logistics, it included cost reduction, supplier deliver, shipping deliver, inventory control, inventory turn, logistics & customs compliance.
6.Managing related government relationships which including Customers, CIQ and Customs.
7.Set up and strengthen the organizational structure of material function, and supervising/developing material staff.
8.Managing material function and managing the relationships with other function or corporation management.
9.Other tasks assigned.
10.Travel is required (domestic 10%, international 10%)

Qualifications:
1.Education/Knowledge: A degree in either logistics or management, A MBA would be plus.
2.10+ years of experience in logistics or material position for manufacturing operations, 5 years of experiences in management leadership for material.
3.External & Internal Contacts: both

Special Skills or Qualifications that are helpful:
1.Solid knowledge and understanding in supplier management, business planning, business forecasting, inventory control, cost reduction, customers deliver and Customs policies.
2.High standard of loyalty and integrity is mandatory.
3.Preferably with experience for integrated system, such as SAP.
Having a mature approach to work, and good interpersonal, leadership and team building skills.
4.Good interpersonal skills for both external & internal communications.
5.Good command of English in writing, speech and listening.
6.Good moral and be responsible and teamwork. 

Career Development:
Along with company’s expansion, can be Division Manager or Director

* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English) to: ‘topjob_ic052sh@dacare.com’

Pre-Employment Background Checks

Executing pre-employment background checks can save your company time, money and its reputation.

It is a company¡¯s worst nightmare. A star employee gets caught funneling money from the company coffers. This was not the first business she¡¯d robbed. In another instance, a security guard unjustly detains a customer whom he suspects of shoplifting. The customer was injured during the restraining and sues the company for negligent hiring / training of the guard, and excessive use of force. The court case reveals that the guard has a history of domestic violence and alcohol abuse, and rules in favor of the plaintiff: $100,000 in damages payable by the guard¡¯s employer.

Each of these incidents could have been avoided if the employer had performed a simple background check before making an official offer to the employees. With negligent hiring lawsuits on the rise, companies must take every precaution in looking into an applicant¡¯s background. One bad decision can wreak havoc on a company’s budget and reputation; and ruin the career of the hiring executive.

What type of information is included in a pre-employment background check?

Employment background checks can vary depending on the nature of the position for which the company is hiring. Here is some of the information that might appear in a background check:

* Driving records
* Vehicle registration
* Credit records
* Criminal records
* Social Security no.
* Education records
* Court records
* Workers’ compensation
* Bankruptcy
* Character references
* Neighbor interviews
* Medical records
* Property ownership
* Military records
* State licensing records
* Drug test records
* Past employers
* Personal references
* Incarceration records
* Sex offender lists

Employers who are actively recruiting may be able to find some of these documents on their own via the Internet, however this task could be quite time-consuming, and has the potential to uncover second-hand information. Legal experts agree: the most accurate, efficient option is to hire a company that specializes in employment screening.

What to look for in an employment background check firm?

There are thousands of background check companies ranging from private investigators, to firms that do nothing but employment screening, to online data brokers. A corporation with many employees may use a third-party background checking company on a retainer basis, or may even use an affiliated company for employment screening. Other background checking firms work on a less formal basis with their clients.

In choosing an employment screening firm, look for a professional partner as opposed to just an information vendor selling data at the lowest price. Use the same criteria that you would use in selecting any other provider of critical professional services. For example, if your company needed a business development consultant, you would not make your selection based on the lowest price, but would instead choose a firm that was experienced, reputable and fairly priced.

An employment background check firm should have an understanding of the legal implications of background checks, particularly the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. Avoid companies that claim to be able to uncover everything about everyone. Such companies run the risk of breaking federal and state laws, particularly provisions that require accuracy of employment background check reports.

Doing this type of ¡°due diligence¡± will confirm your decision to hire the best candidate for the job, and potentially save your company millions of dollars in damages in a negligent hiring or retention lawsuit.

Vote for this story on recruiting.com

GLOBAL INVESTMENT UPDATE: China Career Builder Corp. Announces Completion of Reverse Merger

VANCOUVER, BC — (MARKET WIRE) — December 07, 2006 — Global Developments, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: GBDP), a publicly traded venture capital company, is pleased to provide the following update with respect to China Career Builder Corp., a human resources services company headquartered in Hong Kong, in which Global holds an equity stake.

China Career Builder Corp. (PINKSHEETS: CCBX) announced today that it has completed its reverse merger with Crescott Inc., a publicly traded company incorporated in the state of Delaware, and trading on the over-the-counter Pink Sheets. As a result of the reverse merger, the company changed its name from Crescott Inc. to China Career Builder Corp. and was issued a new trading symbol.

The National Association of Security Dealers (NASD), the regulatory organization responsible for the operation and regulation of the NASDAQ and OTC stock markets, published on November 16, 2006, the name change to China Career Builder Corp. and that it had issued CCBX as its trading symbol.

About China Career Builder Corp.

China Career Builder Corp. is a human resource services company, focused on various industries in Hong Kong and Mainland China. The company provides recruitment services focusing on the professional, management, clerical, administrative, and industrial market in Greater China. Its services include screening, recruiting, training, workforce deployment, loss prevention and safety training, pre-employment testing and assessment, background searches, compensation program design, customized personnel management reports, job profiling, description, application, turnover tracking and analysis, opinion surveys and follow-up analysis, exit interviews and follow-up analysis, and management development skills workshops. The company markets its recruitment services through a combination of direct sales, telemarketing, trade shows, and advertising.

About Global Developments

Global Developments, Inc. is a publicly traded venture capital company. It was formed to create a unique investment vehicle representing a growing portfolio of innovative and emerging growth-oriented companies. Global acquires its portfolio companies either as wholly or partially owned subsidiaries, or as an investment where Global is the lead investor. As a result, Global maintains substantial management and operational control, thereby giving it the ability to provide significant oversight and guidance in building value and creating liquidity events for its shareholders. Global invests in companies with solid management, operational excellence, and the potential to grow substantial revenue streams.

Please visit http://www.globaldevelopmentsinc.com for more information.

Forward-Looking Statements

You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements in this press release. This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Words such as “will,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “plans,” “goal,” “expects,” “future,” “intends,” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements for many reasons, including the risks we face as described in this press release. For further information about Global Developments, Inc. please refer to its Web site at http://www.globaldevelopmentsinc.com.

Growing Into Applicant Tracking Systems

An applicant tracking system only works when all parties¡ªapplicants, hiring managers, recruiters and executives¡ªuse the system. Ease of use remains an issue for smaller firms while midsize companies are adding functions to existing systems, and large companies are moving toward full integration of applicant tracking and talent management systems.
By Fay Hansen
——————————————————————————–
asty turnover rates, high recruiting volume, deep cyclical volatility, a difficult mix of low-end and high-end positions, and a heavy emphasis on customer service have always marked the hospitality industry. It’s not a pretty place for recruiters or applicants.

“The problem today is to fill open positions with speed because of the impact on customer service at each property,” says Jonathan Kubo, director of recruiting and relocation for Interstate Hotels & Resorts, a hotel management company with more than 280 properties and 26,000 employees. “Open positions, or positions filled with less than optimal candidates, can have a negative effect.”

With most companies in the industry hiring on an ongoing basis, inefficiencies in the recruiting process generate additional problems.

“For both hourly and nonhourly employees, any delay in hiring caused by an untimely process or compliance issues means that you lose candidates to your competitors,” Kubo says. Constant hiring can burden staff and pump up costs.

Jeff Wade, vice president of human resources at Hersha Hospitality Management in Philadelphia, feels the same pain.

“Recruiting in the hospitality industry is always a challenge because many of the positions are lower-wage jobs, and front-office positions are often filled by college students who want to move on with their careers,” Wade says. “We can find bodies, but it’s difficult to find people with the right attitude toward guests, and it’s hard to train people to be hospitable and guest-focused.”

Kubo reduced the hiring workload at Interstate by installing a customized applicant tracking system that allows direct comparisons of candidates and fully automates compliance monitoring. In an average 30-day period, 3,400 applications come in through Interstate’s ATS and the company closes out 400 positions.

Wade followed the same path at Hersha to meet the company’s growth surge as it expanded from 15 hotels to 54, with a dramatic surge in hiring. Hersha’s new ATS launched on September 1.

But applicant tracking systems only work when all parties¡ªapplicants, hiring managers, recruiters and executives¡ªuse the system. Ease of use remains an issue at smaller firms, which are still in the early phase of ATS adoption. Midsize companies are adding functions to existing systems, while large companies are moving toward the full integration of ATS and broader talent management systems.

ATS initiation
Rapid growth and high turnover in the hospitality industry provide a fertile field for testing quick and effective automation.

Hersha personifies the smaller-company trend toward ATS adoption, while Interstate is following the ATS developmental pattern for midsize firms that are now adding functionalities.

When Wade joined Hersha in April 2006, there was no HR function or recruiting infrastructure. A general manager handled hiring for all hourly positions; a half-dozen outside recruiting agencies filled management positions.

The company signed on 1,000 employees in 2005 with no uniform process for applicant tracking and no systematic practice for interviewing. With 1,000 additional new employees needed for 2006, Wade had to install an HR function, build a recruiting process and hire more than a hundred new employees a month.

Although Wade faced urgent hiring needs, he rejected the idea of outsourcing.

“We have a unique founder-led culture, built on a foundation of taking care of our associates who, in turn, take care of our guests,” he explains. “My fear was that outsourcing providers might look for candidates and pass them on to us too quickly, and not take the time to tell our story effectively. Outsourcing recruiting would be like outsourcing sales.”

Instead, Wade hired HR and recruiting personnel and installed an ATS system, all within a matter of months. He now works with a staff of seven, including a director of talent acquisition.

“The recruiting process is no different from any sales position,” he says. “When I looked for a director of talent management, I did not look for someone with a HR background. I hired a director of sales from a hotel.”

Wade also structured the director’s compensation so that 30 percent of it is contingent on meeting recruiting goals and preset metrics.

“Part of her performance will be measured from the feedback we get from both successful and unsuccessful candidates through our ATS,” he notes.

Hersha surveyed its 3,000 employees, who reported that they searched and applied for employment online, confirming Wade’s sense that the company could automate recruiting for all positions, from hourly associates in hotels to senior leaders at corporate headquarters.

“All candidates want to be able to go online and to be kept in the loop,” he notes. “Automating the system allows recruiters to focus on speaking with the candidates.”

Wade tapped ERC Dataplus Inc. to provide an ATS.

“We began the process in April 2006, signed an agreement in June and had a complete customized system in place by September 1, which is really fast,” Wade notes.

The customized system takes employees all the way from prehire to three-month and six-month reviews to exit interviews and everything in between.

New hires go through an initial hour-long orientation online from anywhere they chose, which speeds up onboarding and gives them a better sense of the company.

“No one, from senior vice presidents to hourly workers, can go on payroll without being in the system,” Wade says. “It’s our first step in moving to a paperless HR function.”

Evolutionary process
Interstate implemented its current ATS in September 2005.

“I like our system because we have the option to post positions on job boards and community organization sites though a one-step process for posting on multiple sites, but then all applications are brought in to a single point,” Kubo reports. “We can track the status of the application and manage online all the data related to selection and interviewing.”

With ATS up and running, Kubo is now considering adding a prehire assessment function that can sort applicants by their probability of success on the job. The function uses prescreening questions for basic information and specific questions designed for each position, and then remove applicants that don’t meet minimal requirements.

Kubo is now meeting with ERC, Interstate’s ATS provider, to determine which assessment tools are most appropriate.

“We want tools that are customized for the industry and the company,” Kubo says. “One of the big advantages is that all the tools will all be incorporated into the system. My role is to evaluate if the assessment tools make sense.”

“Now, we are seeing modifications of the technology at the larger companies, including a significant increase in using validated assessments to get better hires and reduce time and costs,” says Paul L. Rathblott, president and CEO of ERC.

He also reports significant improvement in the integration of other add-on components.

“At one end of the spectrum, you have PeopleSoft HRIS systems, which store a lot data but do not have extensive capabilities or functionalities,” Rathblott notes. “At the other end, you have systems that have a lot of functionalities such as performance assessments.”

The goal is to integrate data storage and functionalities and fold all the components into one process that links all information for new hires and existing employees.

Intuitive systems
“Recruiting technology must be redesigned so that it is as intuitive as Travelocity or Orbitz, which we use as a model for truly intuitive systems,” Rathblott notes. “The point is to have a system that someone can use even if they’ve never used it before.”

Employers commonly underestimate the extent to which applicants are able and willing to use a fully automated system, but ERC and other ATS providers report that the flow of applicants actually increases when companies move to an Internet-only application process.

“The higher flow occurs because candidates are attracted by the flexibility of the Internet,” Rathblott explains. “It allows them to learn more about the company and the job and provides them with a quicker response.”

Access to the ATS is critical for hiring managers, but the system may go unused if it is not intuitive.

“For example, hiring managers cannot use the requisition system in PeopleSoft,” Rathblott says. “They end up filling out a requisition form and faxing it to HR.”

“With the exception of very heavy employee-based industries such as call centers, the typical span of control for a manager is eight to 10 employees, which means that even with very high turnover, the manager will interface with the recruiting technology no more than eight times a year,” Rathblott notes.

An ATS must be designed to accommodate this very infrequent user. The ERC system is supported by a wizard process like Orbitz uses, with a step-by-step process for requisitions and audio support.

“Recruiters may be interfacing with the system on a daily basis, so it must be not only user-friendly but also user-pleasing¡ªpleasant to work on,” Rathblott says. He believes that resistance to ATS adoption in small and midsize companies will disappear as cost and ease of use improve.

At Hersha, Wade is already approaching his goal to cut by half the fees that the company hands over to outside recruiting firms. Time-to-hire for hourly associate positions is now down to five days.

“Salaried positions take 30 days, but we will cut that in half,” Wade says. “You have to get recruiting right.”
——————————————————————————–
Fay Hansen is a Workforce Management contributing editor based in Cresskill, New Jersey. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.

US initial jobless claims decline from 13-month high

THE number of US workers filing first-time applications for state unemployment benefits fell last week from a 13-month high that was inflated by end-of-year seasonal adjustments, the Labor Department said yesterday.

Initial jobless claims fell by 34,000 to 324,000 in the week that ended on December 2 from 358,000 the prior week, the department said in Washington, according to Bloomberg News. The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 328,750, the highest since May, from 325,250.

Claims from the prior week, which included Thanksgiving Day, were distorted by seasonal adjustments that cause wide fluctuations in weekly figures at this time of year, a department spokesman said. Attention will now turn to today’s report on November payrolls, which may show job growth remained below the average for the year, according to a Bloomberg survey.

“Most of the jump in claims in the prior week was due to a seasonal adjustment problem around the Thanksgiving holiday,” Mike Englund, chief US economist at Action Economics LLC in Boulder, Colorado, said before the report. “Most of that gain was reversed this week. Data suggest some downside risk for payrolls.”

A Bloomberg survey of 40 economists forecast claims would decline to 325,000 from an originally reported 357,000. Economist estimates ranged from 300,000 to 350,000.

The number of people continuing to collect state jobless benefits rose to 2.524 million in the week that ended on November 25, the highest since January, from 2.467 million in the prior week. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits, which tends to track the US jobless rate, held at 1.9 percent.

Forty states and territories reported a decrease in new claims, while 12 reported an increase and one had no change, the department said. Those numbers are reported with a one-week lag.

Initial jobless claims, which reflect firings, usually increase with slowing job growth, which is measured by the US government’s monthly report on non-farm payrolls.

Still, as fewer women seek jobs and the population ages, the labor market remains tight. The unemployment rate was 4.4 percent in October, a five-year low, and workers’ average hourly earnings rose 3.9 percent from October 2005, close to September’s five-year high of 4.1 percent.

Some companies continue to hire to boost output or introduce new products.

Electric Boat Corp, a unit of General Dynamics Corp and the primary contractor on the US Navy’s Virginia-class nuclear submarine, plans to hire about 200 engineers this year to work on advanced submarine concepts, said Robert Hamilton, spokesman for the Connecticut-based manufacturer of nuclear submarines .

PepsiAmericas to cut jobs

SOFT drink bottler PepsiAmericas Inc said it plans to reorganize its field sales and delivery network in the United States as part of a realignment estimated to result in charges of US$18 million.

Sara Zawoyski, vice president of investor relations, said most of that money would go toward relocations, and some field operations will be centralized in Schaumburg, Illinois, where the company’s operating headquarters are based. While PepsiAmericas is officially based in Minneapolis, its executive office is small.

PepsiAmericas is the world’s second-biggest producer, seller and distributor of PepsiCo beverages. It has operations in 19 US states, Central Europe and the Caribbean.

While Zawoyski declined to give a head count on the job reductions, she said it would be less than one percent of the company’s US work force, she said which is now around 12,000 to 13,000, and that they would be scattered across the country. Worldwide, PepsiAmericas employs about 16,000 people, she said.

The US$18 million charge will consist of severance and other employee-related costs. About US$12 million of the charge will be recorded during the fourth quarter