Last year, even before dot-coms started to splat all over Silicon Valley sidewalks, wise watchers of the Internet liked to say that the real action was elsewhere -- in the hundreds of millions of dollars that old-economy companies were spending to improve their efficiency. These transformations, while less than glamorous, would allow them to grow faster than ever.

But growth is not a word heard often in any context these days, and companies are reassessing their Web strategies in light of the sudden economic slowdown. Some are pulling back, while others are speeding up spending, hoping to find even greater savings in everything from purchasing to training workers. And some companies are acting on this discovery: a technology that lets you do more with the same number of people also lets you do the same amount of business with fewer people.

In other words, Americans who have become used to getting mail, books and even cars online may now be receiving pink slips as a result of the Internet.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/28/te...gy/28SCHW.html


AND:

On Sale at Walmart.com: Pink Slips
The company says a 10% layoff signals a shift in marketing strategies, not a loss of faith in the business
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/...010228_419.htm

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 02-28-2001).]