Berkshire Loses Jobs, Last AAA Rating

(Berkshire Hathaway article updated with news of Berkshire's loss of its AAA credit rating.)

OMAHA, Neb. (TheStreet) -- Thursday has been a tough day for Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway(BRK.B), beyond Berkshire shares selling off along with the whole markets on the unexpectedly weak job data.

Berkshire revealed that it has cut approximately 3,000 jobs since December, and on Thursday, lost its last-remaining AAA rating, a point of pride for Warren Buffett.

In an SEC filing on Thursday related to the issuance of $8 billion in senior notes to help finance the Berkshire Hathaway acquisition of Burlington Northern(BNI), Berkshire noted that it and its subsidiaries employ about 222,000 people.

The 222,000 employee level is 1.3% less than the figure that Berkshire Hathaway reported six weeks ago , and almost 10% below the 246,083 disclosed in the company's 2008 annual report, according to Bloomberg.

Many of the Berkshire operating subsidiaries, such as housing company Clayton Homes and carpet maker Shaw Industries, are intricately linked in performance to a cyclical rebound in housing and a sustained recovery in the U.S. economy. Buffett has recently made comments to the effect that operating subsidiaries that are tied to a broad and sustained recovery in the U.S. economy and consumer spending continue to see lower order volume.

Berkshire has more than 70 wholly owned operating subsidiaries, and in addition to the home and carpet industry stocks, Berkshire owns brick-maker Acme Building Brands as well as insulation and roofing materials company Johns Manville.

There was no indication from Berkshire that further staff reductions came specifically from these U.S. cyclical stocks.