Atlanta Based Home Depot Cuts 7,000 Jobs

Home Depot, the Atlanta-based home improvement retailer, has announced that it will cut 7,000 jobs nationwide, including 500 at its corporate headquarters.

The company said that most of the jobs cut will come from its 34 Expo Design Centers, which the company is closing.

The retailer is one of many companies across the country cutting jobs in the face of the growing economic slowdown. Caterpillar, an Illinois based manufacturer of heavy equipment, announced it will cut 20,000 jobs, and Sprint Nextel will cut 8,000 jobs by March 31.

Unemployment rates have continued to rise across the country, with rates in Georgia reaching a 26-year high of 8.1 percent last week.

Changes Coming For Bankruptcy Laws

If you are having trouble paying your mortgage and are considering bankruptcy in Atlanta, you may want to hold out a little longer.

Congressional leaders are pushing for a change in bankruptcy law in an attempt to slow foreclosures, which many blame for a glut of houses on the market. The change would allow a bankruptcy judge to modify the amount owed, interest rate and term of mortgages for persons seeking bankruptcy protections.

Democrats in Congress say that the bill will force the hand of banks who have been slow to negotiate loan modifications with homeowners who have fallen on hard times financially. They have been pushing for banks to modify mortgages in an attempt to halt the rise of foreclosures in the United States since September of last year.

In a dramatic about-face Citibank’s chief executive voiced support Thursday for a Senate bill that would allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages for persons seeking Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

In letters to congressional leaders, Vikram Pandit praised the measure, saying that “given today’s exceptional economic environment, we support its swift passage.”

Under terms negotiated with Citibank and other banking interests, a bill under consideration in the United State Senate will apply only to mortgage loans made before the bill is enacted.

Congressional leaders hope to make the law part of an economic stimulus plan touted by President-elect Barack Obama, who has said he supports the allowing bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages.

Critics point to a report issued by the Comptroller of the Currency shows that 37% of homeowners whose mortgages were modified in the first quarter of 2008 were in default again in six months to argue against the plan.

They also say that it will undermine contract law and drive up the cost of borrowing for everyone.

If you can hold on until the bill is passed and signed into law, you could negotiate with your lender for more favorable terms on your mortgage. If you are already behind on your mortgage and your lender is threatening foreclosure, you should speak to an Atlanta bankruptcy attorney today to find out what your options are in the meantime.