NEW YORK, Dec. 4  -- One-day job cuts announced by U. S. companies totaled 20,650 Thursday as four industry leaders said they would meet the recession with staff reductions.

Telecommunications giant AT&T announced a 4 percent payroll reduction, amounting to 12,000 jobs lost. DuPont Co. added to the list by announcing 2,500 job cuts. Viacom Inc. said it would shed 7 percent of its workforce, canceling 850 jobs. And Credit Suisse Group said it would cut 5,300 jobs, 11 percent of its worldwide workforce, CNNMoney reported.

The losses come on the heels of Wednesday's corporate cutbacks of 3,000 jobs announced by State Street Corp., Jefferies Group and The Carlyle Group.

State Street said it would erase 1,600 to 1,800 jobs, CNNMoney said.

The numbers add to an already bleak employment picture. Through first10 months of the year, 1.2 million U. S. jobs have been lost.

"The markets are terrible and we need to adjust accordingly," Carlyle Group spokesman Christopher Ullman said.

"We're making the adjustments to deal with the current realities of the economy," he said. (UPI)