41.   Even teams under the salary cap were looking for ways to trim the payroll to get more flexibility.

42.   He tried, however, to ease fears of layoffs by pledging to trim payroll by attrition and other means.

43.   Many top-flight Japanese companies fighting to regain competitiveness are trimming payrolls, selling off subsidiaries and closing offices.

44.   Others seek more moderate steps such as trimming bloated payrolls by getting rid of unneeded workers.

45.   Some companies have struggled to cope with the weakening economy by trimming payrolls.

46.   Some companies have struggled to deal with the weakening economy by trimming payrolls.

47.   The jobless rate stands to rise if state companies keep trimming their payrolls.

48.   The numbers reflect an anemic Japanese economy which has forced companies to restructure by trimming payrolls.

49.   Those moves may carry symbolic weight, but many experts say the real solution is trimming the payroll, privatizing state companies and casting off unproductive enterprises.

50.   They were talking about trimming payroll.