A survey of U.S. private equity executives and professionals conducted by advisory firms RSM Bentley Jennison and RSM McGladrey concluded that slashing jobs was the most common approach to cost-cutting among private equity firms.

Nine out of ten respondents said they have cut jobs at their portfolio companies in an attempt to rein in costs during the economic downturn.

Earlier this morning, Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) announced that it will cut 1,700 jobs, along with raising fees for checking luggage. CAL tagged this news along with its quarterly earnings report, in which it reported a loss of $1.72 per share. In the same quarter a year ago CAL lost a nickel per share. Excluding one-time items, CAL lost $1.36 per share compared to estimates for a loss of $1.35 per share. Quarterly revenue slipped 22.7% to $3.13 billion in the quarter, just shy of the consensus estimate.

I would think that all of the diapers the latest FightBaby goes through may have helped Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) a bit, but that was not the case.

The home of Kleenex and Huggies announced yesterday that it will cut 1,600 jobs, roughly 3% of its total workforce. A majority of the cuts will come from salaried and nonproduction workers; the company does not plan to close any plants. The company believes that these cuts will save roughly $150 million a year, or 25 cents per share. These results will be reflected the most in the second quarter, when the company will record $110 million of the costs.

Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) pleasantly surprised the Street with a stronger-than-expected third-quarter profit. This morning, the company reported quarterly net income of $694 million, or $1.25 per share, besting analysts' expectations for a profit of $1.18 per share. Net sales arrived at $3.2 billion, down 11% from the year-ago period.

Additionally, Monsanto said it will create a separate division for its herbicides business, in order to "better align spending and working capital needs." The firm will also undergo a restructuring that will result in 900 lost jobs, or less than 4% of its global workforce. The change will translate to a fourth-quarter charge of roughly $350 million, or 41 cents to 47 cents per share.

Late last Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Defense Department has ordered Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) to cease work on a $13 billion contract to build helicopters for the White House.

The move was widely expected, since the Obama administration has previously pointed to the revamped copters as an example of excessive defense spending. However, the contract's cancellation will no doubt bring fresh job losses to Owego, NY, where the Marine One copter is being designed.

Dow component DuPont (NYSE: DD) said today that it will eliminate another 2,000 jobs as part of its ongoing plan to cut costs. Previously, the blue chip slashed 2,500 employees and 4,000 contractor positions from its payroll back in December.

The company will take a second-quarter pre-tax restructuring charge of $340 million to $390 million as a result of the job cuts, though DuPont said it will save $225 million by the end of 2010.

The news pressured DD to a loss of 3% within the first hour of today's trading. The stock's pullback could potentially find a floor near its 20-day moving average; in collaboration with its 10-day counterpart, this trendline has guided the shares higher since early March.

Back on tax day, my friend and colleague Elizabeth Harrow wondered if Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) would announce job cuts when it reports earnings tomorrow. Ms. Harrow looked at a report in The New York Times about preparations for a "significant round of layoffs" and then took a look at the option activity on the Internet search portal a week ahead of earnings.

Something that Elizabeth noted was the fact that the 15 strike was going to assume the mantle of peak call open interest when the market opens for trading festivities today. This level could be a major sticking point for the stock, as Yahoo hasn't closed atop the $15 level since late 2008.

A Yahoo spokesman declined to comment, but reports indicate that the payroll cuts could be announced next Tuesday, April 21, when the Internet portal is scheduled to release its first-quarter earnings results. Since she first joined the company in January, Ms. Bartz has made it clear that serious restructuring efforts would be necessary to repair Yahoo's struggling business.

There's been no shortage of heartstring-jerking reports from the current economic crisis -- seniors whose retirement accounts have been wiped clean; families relocating from homes to motels; MBAs forced to wear their resumes on sandwich boards.

However, in my humble opinion, today's news might be the most pathetic: Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization that produces the classic Sesame Street TV show, is slashing 20% of its 355-member workforce.

At roughly 7:30 AM EST, National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) released its third-quarter earnings report. The semiconductor company announced earnings of 9 cents per diluted share -- down from 16 cents per share in the second quarter.

In last year's third quarter, NSM reported earnings per diluted share of 29 cents per share. According to MarketWatch, the Street expected NSM to post a loss of 5 cents per share. Quarterly revenue dropped to $292 million, short of the consensus estimate of $296.8 million.