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.