Friday, January 23, 2009

New jobless claims rise more than expected to 589K

The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial jobless benefit claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 589,000 in the week ending Jan. 17, from an upwardly revised figure of 527,000 the previous week. The latest tally was well above Wall Street economists’ expectations of 540,000 new claims, according to AP.

Sun notifies 1,300 people of layoffs

Sun Microsystems Inc. officials confirmed Thursday that the networking and storage company has notified 1,300 employees they would be laid off as part of a previously announced workforce reduction.

The reductions stem from a Nov. 14 announcement of “a series of changes designed to align (Sun’s) cost model with the global economy and accelerate the introduction of compelling open source innovations,” spokeswoman Dana Lengkeek said in an e-mail Thursday.

The reductions were made across “all levels,” including vice presidents and directors, she said.

Texas Instruments to cut up to 30% of it’s workforce

Rumours: “Things are really brewing here at Texas Instruments. We’re expecting a big layoff Jan 27 & 28. Internally we’re hearing as high as 30% (including early retirement).” Also, according to rumors, Texas Instruments expects a second wave of layoffs at their Phillipines office.
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IBM, Infosys in tug-of-war for Fidelity’s IT captive unit

Infosys Technologies and IBM are locked in a battle to acquire the Indian IT captive unit of the world’s largest mutual fund company, Fidelity Investments. The deal may involve $150-180 mn upfront transaction in return for an assured multi-year outsourcing contract, at least two people involved with the matter said.

Fidelity outsources around $50 mn worth of projects to Infosys every year. For IBM, Fidelity is an over $200-million customer.

Mass layoffs hit Skate, Need for Speed dev Black Box

As many as 200 of the 350-plus employees of EA Black Box have been given their walking papers, according to a report on Gamasutra. Joystiq has confirmed with EA public relations that the Vancouver, BC based studio let a number employees go today, although the publisher was unable to provide us with a specific tally of the affected at present.

Intel to Cut up to 6,000 Jobs

According to The New York Times: “Intel said Wednesday that it would lay off at least 5,000 people at some of its older chip manufacturing and test operations, as it grapples with a steep decline in demand for personal and business computers.

The company, based in Santa Clara, Calif., announced the cuts on Wednesday, less than a week after it reported a 90 percent drop in fourth-quarter net income to $234 million and a sharp drop in revenue.”

“Intel will close two test plants in Malaysia and one in the Philippines. It will also halt production at two chip plants in Oregon and California. As a result, 5,000 to 6,000 people will lose their jobs.”

Intel Corp.’s chief executive, Paul Otellini, told employees recently that conditions are uncertain.

At the end of 2008, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) had 84,000 employees
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD) also recently revealed plans to cut nearly 9 percent of its work force.