layoffs

Google ready to cut 20 percent of Motorola Mobility's staff

Motorola Mobility reportedly began notifying employees today that it planned to cut 20 percent of its workforce, the first step in Google's attempt to reinvent the ailing cell phone maker.

More than a third of the 4,000 job cuts will occur in the United States and a third of the company's 94 offices will close, according to The New York Times. The company reportedly plans a wireless strategy revamp that includes exiting unprofitable markets and trimming the number of handsets it produces.

CNET contacted Google, which bought Motorola Mobility for $12.4 billion in May, for comment … Read more

Cisco to lay off another 1,300 employees

Cisco Systems plans to reduce its global workforce by about 2 percent, or 1,300 positions, as part of the company's continuing restructuring to cut costs and increase profits.

The layoffs are "part of our plan to drive simplicity, speed of decisions and agility across Cisco," spokesperson Karen Tillman said in a statement today. "We routinely review our business to determine where we need to align investment based on growth opportunities."

Cisco had 65,223 employees at the end of its third quarter.

The new round of layoffs comes a year after the networking-equipment maker … Read more

Tech layoffs hit 3-year high of 51,529 in first half of 2012

Though there's talk of the economy slowly but surely making a comeback, layoffs in the tech sector hit their highest level in three years during the first half of 2012, according to a report released today by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

During the first half of the year, 51,529 planned job cuts were announced across the tech sector, representing a 260 percent increase over the 14,308 layoffs planned during the first half of 2011. Things are so bad so far this year that the figure is 39 percent higher than all the job cuts recorded … Read more

Best Buy to cut 650 Geek Squad employees

Best Buy has decided to cut down the number of employees working in its Geek Squad division.

The company confirmed to Minneapolis-St. Paul news station KARE 11 last night that it will lay off 650 Geek Squad workers nationwide. The company told the news outlet that it will offer the affected employees severance, and will aid them in finding new jobs.

Some of those jobs might be within Best Buy itself. KARE 11 says that the last day for Geek Squad employees will be August 1, assuming they don't find another job outside or even inside the company before … Read more

RIM reportedly cutting jobs in small batches

Research In Motion has quietly begun its much-anticipated layoffs as part of a cost-cutting restructuring.

The struggling BlackBerry maker has been laying off employees in batches of at least 10 for the past several weeks, people familiar with the situation told The Wall Street Journal. Employees in RIM's quality control, operations, and parts departments have been targeted so far, according to the report.

RIM, which has announced a broad restructuring in an effort to save $1 billion by the end of the fiscal year, confirmed to CNET that it has begun cutting jobs as part of that restructuring.

"… Read more

For Nokia, tick-tock goes the comeback clock

Nokia has issued yet another profit warning and restructuring amid promises that it will lure customers with one-of-a-kind mobile experiences. The big question is whether it has the time and cash to rebound.

The company's latest restructuring effort rhymes with the last handful executed by Nokia. Nokia said it will:

Invest in developing new smartphones and feature phones; Cut costs; Lay off another 10,000 workers by the end of 2013; Return its devices and services unit to an operating profit "as soon as possible"; Close plans, consolidate functions and ditch non-core businesses such as Vertu; … Read more

Olympus confirms 7 percent reduction in workforce

As expected, Olympus has confirmed that it'll be reducing its workforce by 7 percent, as the company tries to regain its footing in the wake of its crippling scandal.

According to Olympus, the company will cut 2,700 employees from its global workforce between now and March 31, 2014. The move is part of a broader restructuring that could see major changes across the company's subsidiaries, global production sites, and other divisions.

The cuts Olympus plans to make are actually a bit deeper than expected. Last week, Japanese news outlet Nikkei Business Daily reported that the company would cut approximately 2,500 jobs from its payroll. … Read more

Olympus eyes layoffs, equity stake sale in wake of scandal

After a massive scandal left the company in shambles, Olympus is trying to pull itself out with layoffs and a possible equity sale, according to a new report.

According to Japanese news outlet Nikkei Business Daily, Olympus plans to cut 2,500 jobs from its payroll, representing about 7 percent of its total workforce. In addition, it hopes to sell a portion of its business to fellow Japanese giants Panasonic or Sony to raise some cash, Japanese papers are reporting today, according to Reuters. Olympus is reportedly ready to hand over about 10 percent of equity for hundreds of millions … Read more

Panasonic eyes major layoffs at headquarters

Panasonic's troubles have been well-documented over the last several quarters, but now the company could be planning to lay off employees at its headquarters in Osaka, Japan, according to a report.

Panasonic currently employs about 7,000 people at its headquarters, but if recent claims are true, that figure could soon drop to 3,500, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing sources. The Journal's sources say that the layoffs will include early retirement, and some employees might be moved to other divisions.

Last month, Panasonic outlined plans to reorganize its operation by cutting down its current five … Read more

HP plans to cut 27,000 jobs, plow savings into R&D

Hewlett-Packard said today it would eliminate 27,000 jobs as part of CEO Meg Whitman's plan to restructure the bellwether technology giant and cut costs.

The job cuts represent 8 percent of HP's work force, and would be completed by the end of fiscal 2014, the company said today.

In addition, HP will reduce expenses by streamlining its supply chain, narrowing its product portfolio, simplifying its market strategy, and improving its standard business practices. The cuts are expected to generate savings of $3 billion to $3.5 billion after fiscal 2014. The savings will be reinvested in the … Read more