Government officials report that as of the end of January, 215,000 Israelis are registered for unemployment benefits. That number is expected to reach at least 260,000 during 2009.

Following is a list of some of the more prominent names in the business sectors pertaining to layoffs.

Amdocs (1,500 employees), Flextronics (200), Texas Instruments (20), Israel Aircraft Aerospace Industries (10s), Texas Instruments (40), Cellcom (10s), Polycom (50), Blue Square (20), Kodak (50), X Mobile (30), and Gilat (40).

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)