Kelly Cestari/ASP/GettyNobody likes to hear news like this.

Bobbing around in the water with a friend last week we got on the subject of the health of our industry. He asked if I thought things were turning around, if we'd finally seen the bottom. Based on nothing but gut, I told him I thought the worst was probably behind us. Admittedly, I'm not much of a numbers man, so I explained the sense that at least it didn't feel like we were going headlong off a cliff anymore. It seemed like some budgets were opening up, and finally the end of 2009 was in sight.

Then yesterday I'm checking the headlines and come to find that Quiksilver just cut another 200 jobs. I guess I should start paying a little more attention to the numbers.

All told, 125 employees of Quiksilver and DC Shoes lost their jobs, while 75 vacant positions were clipped. "Earlier this year, Quiksilver cut 200 jobs. The latest cuts bring Quiksilver's layoffs to more than 700 in the past two years as it deals with the worst retail downturn in recent memory and its own financial issues," reported Michael Lyster for the Orange County Business Journal.

And then topping the industry news this morning, in wake of Quik's latest Black Friday, after being with the company for the better part of 20 years, senior vice president of DC apparel Vicki Redding announced her resignation "over a difference of opinion."

All told, according to Tiffany Montgomery at Eat-Shop-Surf.com, this latest round of layoffs is an effort to cut $40 million to $60 million in excess spending.

At this point I haven't spoken with any of my friends at Quik. I'm in the midst of packing for the North Shore for six weeks. I hope they still have jobs. I'll keep you posted as I touch down in the Islands and get a better sense of what all this means. In the meantime, don't take any stock tips from me.