Sun to axe further 1,500 jobs

Sun Microsystems has confirmed it plans to cut a further 1,500 jobs, on top of the 6,000 announced last November.

In a statement Sun said: "We can confirm that today additional notifications were given to approximately 1,500 employees. Reductions were made across all levels, including vice presidents and directors."

However, Sun would not be drawn on the impact of the cuts on its UK and India operations.

Sun's November 2008 restructuring plan involved the loss of between 5,000 to 6,000 employees in an effort to shave up to $800m off its annual running costs.

Recent weeks have seen rumours of a sale to IBM, but neither IBM nor Sun has commented on the speculation.