The latest earnings from chemical giant DuPont are one more signal that U.S. CEOs can no longer maintain profit growth without job cuts – a trend that has worrisome consequences for consumer demand.

On Tuesday, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. posted weaker than expected results. It also announced plans to lay off 1,500 employees, joining AMD, Morgan Stanley, Hewlett Packard, Caterpillar, Google, Cummins, Federal Express and Peabody Coal among companies cutting labour costs this quarter.