FT.com - China and the EU have agreed to set up a high-level "mechanism" for top officials to discuss economics and trade issues, a move intended to smooth a relationship under increasing strain from the fast-expanding Chinese trade surplus.

Bristol-Myers begins cutting jobs (Reuters)

Reuters - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said on Friday it has begun cutting jobs as part of a previously announced restructuring by the U.S. drugmaker meant to help bolster earnings growth.

Veteran managers know that you will eventually have to terminate a worker. Never lay off an employee out of anger. Your dismissal risk for the older worker will always be at least medium level. The following will typically meet your needs for a lackluster productivity and minor misbehavior cases. To discipline a jobholder properly, you must follow a procedure that gives this person chances to fix his or her behavior. You must develop a policy to document employee problems appropriately. Therefore, a jobholder's dismissal should never surprise him. While some template sample worker termination notices should be specific to your industry or firm, there are several common reasons for termination. To protect company performance, you should fire difficult employees as quickly as possible. Many years ago, the misbehavior definition was general. These negotiations generally occur within a few weeks of the termination.

This is a way to ensure the Ricks and the Marias of the world can't bankrupt your company and damage your career. The exception to all this is if she has gross misbehavior and then you can lay off her right away. o What legitimate company need caused you to cut the job, such as a recession, a merger or a change in business direction? Provide specific rationale for separating the jobholder, their problem behaviors and dates these problems occurred.