Posted 10/22/08 at 08:41:10 AM by Pulkit Chandna

Circuit City Stores Inc. might close 150 stores and opt for job cuts to stall its march towards bankruptcy, according to a WSJ report. Thousands of people might receive their termination letters, if there is any truth in this report. The retailer’s shares shot up by 20% on the back of this report.

Although the company’s spokesman Jim Babb refused to comment on the report, he admitted that the company was “assessing the productivity of our asset base.” With no signs of the ongoing financial storm relenting in the near future, the holiday season might not bring any relief for Circuit City – and its competitors. Apparently, the mess it is currently ensconced in has left Circuit City few choices.

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retail, job cuts, circuit city, stores

Posted 10/21/08 at 03:42:59 PM by Paul Lilly

Maximum PC readers (and anyone with an internet connection) are undoubtedly familiar with Wikipedia, the free online community-based encyclopedia with topics ranging from modern art to the history of vomiting. But what you may not realize is that a for-profit spin-off exists that continues to try and strike gold on the coattails of Wikipedia. But instead of being a cash cow, founder Jimmy Wale's is scrambling to save what might be a sinking ship.

Citing an un-named tipster, ValleyWag.com reports the 43-person company has laid off 30 percent of its staff, or almost a third of its employees. Word on the web is that Wikia is suffering significant losses in cash, in part because of offices located in San Francisco, New York, and Poland. It also doesn't help that potential cash makers like Wikia Search have proved unpopular, and without another $14 million cash infusion from investors like Bessemer Venture Partners and Amazon.com, Wikia might not be long for the web.

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wikipedia, job cuts, layoffs, wikia

Posted 10/20/08 at 11:09:08 AM by Paul Lilly

It's been a tough year for Yahoo, and it's Yahoo's employees who have been hit the hardest. Earlier this year the struggling search company had cut about 10 percent of its workforce, and now it appears another sizable chunk will be receiving pink slips.

The exact number of the impending cuts has yet to be decided, but according to The Wall Street Journal, it will be more than the 1,000 jobs the company announced it was cutting in January. Yahoo is expected to announce just how many it will be letting go during its earnings conference call tomorrow.

Jobs aren't the only thing being slashed at Yahoo. As part of its downsizing effort, operating budgets across the board are expected to be cut 15 percent. Meanwhile, Yahoo's share price has dropped more than 40 percent over the past three months, meaning this could be just the beginning.

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Yahoo, job cuts, lay offs

Posted 10/10/08 at 09:41:59 AM by Paul Lilly

Cheap memory prices are taking a toll on chip manufacturers, with Micron last week reporting a $344 million fourth quarter loss, the seventh quarter in a row the company has been in the red. The fallout of another quarterly loss was to fall on the shoulders of executives, who Micron said would see a 20 percent pay cut. Now it appears it won't be enough.

In addition to the high level pay cuts, Micron now says it plans to reduce its global workforce by about 15 percent. The job reduction is part of a restructuring plan and will be rolled out over the next two years with most of the cuts taking place in Boise, Idaho.

"The combination of declining customer demand and product oversupply in the marketplace has driven selling prices for NAND flash memory significantly below manufacturing costs," Micron said in a statement.

Because of this, IM Flash Technologies (IMFT), which is a joint venture between Micron and Intel, will stop producing NAND flash memory from Micron's Boise facility, a move that will reduce IMFT's flash production by about 35,000 wafers per month.

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flash, Memory, nand, job cuts, micron, workforce

Posted 09/19/08 at 10:13:54 AM by Paul Lilly

Perhaps the price war with a recently competitive ATI has taken a toll on Nvidia, or maybe the ongoing mobile GPU fiasco is to blame, but whatever the reason, it will come as little consolation to the 360 employees soon to receive a pink slip. The graphics chip maker said the job cuts will take place by the end of October, which will represent a work force reduction of more than 6 percent.

"Our action today is difficult, but necessary considering current business realities," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of Nvidia. "Despite our reduction, we will continue to invest in selective high-growth opportunities like our revolutionary CUDA parallel computing technology and our Tegra mobile single-chip computer"

Huang went on to say the company will take "fast action" to restore its financial performance. In the meantime, Nvidia is expected to record $7 to $10 million in restructuring related chargers, comprised of severance and other expenses.

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graphics, videocard, nvidia, gpu, job cuts

Posted 07/18/08 at 10:39:37 PM by Paul Lilly

If Sony Ericsson were capable of self-fulfilling prophecies, it would wish it could take back its ominous profit warning issued in late June. The company said it would break even in the second quarter due to disappointing European sales of its mid and high-end mobile phones, but even that turned out to be wishful thinking as Sony Ericsson on Friday posted a staggering 97 percent drop in Q2 profits. To help weather the financial storm and reduce operational costs, the mobile phone maker plans to cut 2,000 jobs "within the next 12 months."

Sony Ericsson only shipped 24.4 million units in Q2, compared to Nokia's 122 million handsets in the same period, who on Thursday announced better-than-expected earnings. Relief doesn't appear to be in sight either, as SE indicated "challenging market conditions" would remain through the rest of the year.

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mobile, sony, cell phone, Nokia, consumer electronics, Profits, ericsson, job cuts