Job Cuts Reach Through The IT SpectrumJob Cuts Reach Through The IT Spectrum

Software, hardware, chips, and telecom--none escaped the job-cutter's ax Thursday.

Supply-chain management vendor i2 Technologies, chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, and wireless carrier Sprint PCS all revealed new job cuts Thursday as they trimmed expenses in a continuing technology slump. Sun Microsystems said it's letting go of 350 Colorado employees as part of previously announced layoffs.

I2 will cut its workforce by 15%--about 500 of its 3,350-member staff, CFO Bill Beecher says. The company aims to cut quarterly operating costs to less than $100 million by March, down from about $120 million today. Most of the actions will come in the fourth quarter, the company says, and are necessary to achieve its goal of eliminating losses from operations in the first half of next year.

I2 has laid off thousands of workers and twice changed its CEO in the last two years as it struggles to adapt to an environment of smaller deals. The company had a net loss of $199 million, which included restructuring charges, on revenue of $115 million in its most recent quarter.

AMD will reduce its global workforce by about 2,000, or 15%, by the second quarter of next year as part of an ongoing effort to reduce its breakeven point and slash expenses by $350 million. About 1,000 of the affected employees in the United States, Europe, and Asia got the bad word, the company said.

In a statement released by the company, execs said the move will help AMD take advantage of the market recovery when it comes. AMD says it's planning the release of multiple new products during the next six months.

Sprint PCS, the wireless division of telco Sprint Corp., will lay off about 1,600 workers, 6% of the division's workforce, and release about 500 contractors. President Len Lauer says the cuts are part of the company's efforts to reorganize by shedding management and cutting costs.

The layoffs were to begin Thursday and are scheduled to be completed by year's end, the company says. About 660 of the job cuts will be in the Kansas City, Mo., area, while the rest will be spread across the country. The company says most of the affected employees work in marketing, IT, network operations, and finance.

Sun said last month that it will lay off 4,400 workers, 11% of its workforce. About 350 of those workers at the company's Broomfield, Colo., were cut Thursday, a company spokesman says. Sun has 3,200 employees in Colorado, mostly in Broomfield.