One more shibboleth of conventional economics, that of the "stickiness of wages downwards," increasingly challenged by the terrible reality of the crisis. The article is subscriber-only accessible, but this excerpt gives a reasonable indication of what's there. From TheWall Street Journal:
Big Firms Deepen Job, Wage Cuts
Strapped U.S. companies, while continuing to slash their work forces, are deploying a once-rare tool to trim labor costs -- pay cuts.
On Friday, microchip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. in Sunnyvale, Calif., said it would temporarily cut pay between 5% and 20% for workers and executives. The chip maker also said it would eliminate 1,100 positions.
That news was part of yet another round of large job cuts by big-name businesses.
