Crisis spreads to tech, Sun to cut 6K jobs
Joining a rapidly growing list of technology firms reeling from the turmoil, Sun Microsystems, which sells server computers, has started a broad restructuring that could see up to 6,000 employees lose their jobs. Before the stock market opened Friday, Sun disclosed that it will layoff 5,000-6,000 workers or 15-18% of its work force. Sun, already dealing with layoffs announced in May, looks to save $700-800 million from the moves, while also taking up to $600 million in charges in the next 12 months. "The focus here is to eliminate some of the inefficiencies that have made it hard to do business with Sun,'' said Jonathan I Schwartz, CEO at Sun, adding that a "new economic reality'' had taken hold in the market. Sun shares rose 12.7% Friday, to $4.07. In the last two weeks, several of the technology industry's biggest names have issued dire forecasts for the coming quarters. Last week, Cisco Systems, the largest provider of network equipment, warned that sales in its current quarter could drop 10%. Intel, the world's largest producer of chips used in PCs and servers, added to the gloom this week saying its sales for the current quarter could plummet as much as 19% as both consumer and corporate customers had pulled back on technology spending. In addition, other Silicon Valley companies tied to the chip industry, including Applied Materials and National Semiconductor, have started layoffs. While many companies focus on corporate sales, others closer to consumer markets are suffering as well. NYT NEWS SERVICE --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""GLOBAL SPECULATORS"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/globalspeculators?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
