layoffs

It looks like AOL has stuck a fork in AOL Instant Messenger.

The Internet pioneer effectively gutted the unit Friday when it sent layoff notices to 40 employees in the company's West Coast offices, The New York Times reported today, confirming earlier rumors. A former AOL employee told the newspaper that the IM unit was "eviscerated and now only consists of support staff."

Eric van Miltenburg, senior vice president of operations, and Jason Shellen, who was overseeing AIM, are leaving the company as well, as AllThingsD reported a few days ago.

AOL reportedly rakes in $50 million … Read more

AOL plans to layoff as many as 40 employees, and the cuts will come mostly from the company's instant-messaging and e-mail units, according to a published report.

Eric van Miltenburg, senior vice president of operations, and Jason Shellen, who was overseeing AIM, are also leaving, according to AllThingsD, which broke the story.

Tim Armstrong, AOL's chief, is supposed to be leading a turnaround of the company. In the past year, however, revenue has continued to fall as top executives shuffle in and out.

A company representative wasn't immediately available to comment.

AOL is now facing a challenge … Read more

Yahoo is planning layoffs that could number in the thousands, according to AllThingsD.

Kara Swisher reports that new CEO Scott Thompson is planning to lay off workers in public relations, marketing, research, and "marginal businesses."

The goal for Yahoo is relatively simple. Cut spending in some areas and then aim that investment at businesses that can generate revenue growth. Swisher noted that Thompson is pushing for quick changes that can appease shareholders.

Indeed, Thompson's cuts---if as deep as indicated---will be a dramatic move for Yahoo. However, Thompson needs to outline those key growth objectives shortly after those … Read more

There's sour news out of Irvine, Calif., today, as Activision Blizzard subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment announced that it will reduce its global workforce by 600 employees.

The company noted that 10 percent of its staff cuts--or about 60 people--were actively involved in game development.

Blizzard was quick to point out that the World of Warcraft development team will not be impacted by the staff reductions.

The company's massively popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game has struggled in the past year, slipping from 10.3 million to 10.2 million subscribers through the end of December.

Read more of "Blizzard laying off 600" at GameSpot. … Read more

Hewlett-Packard cut 270 employees from its troubled webOS division today, a move aimed at cutting costs, but which calls into question the company's recent statements that it is committed to the platform.

According to The Verge, HP slashed the positions because "it no longer needs many of the engineering and other related positions that it required before."

The company's decision comes not long after it said it would open source the webOS platform and after the recent departure of former WebOS chief Jon Rubinstein.

The Verge published a statement from HP about the layoffs this afternoon … Read more

Nokia plans to cut 4,000 jobs as it moves manufacturing to Asia, the ailing mobile-phone company said today.

The cuts will take place this year at factories in Komarom, Hungary, Reynosa, Mexico and Salo, Finland, though the factories will continue some work.

"Shifting device assembly to Asia is targeted at improving our time to market. By working more closely with our suppliers, we believe that we will be able to introduce innovations into the market more quickly and ultimately be more competitive," Niklas Savander, Nokia's executive vice president of markets, said in a statement.

Asian countries … Read more

Yahoo has frozen new hiring and may be forced to lay off existing employees, according to AllThingsD.

Word has reportedly come down not to fill the hundreds of job openings currently available as a first step toward cutting costs. As second step, layoffs of current support staff are expected to be "small and selective," though details are still being worked out.

After a year marked by weak quarterly revenue, takeover talk, and the ouster of former CEO Carol Bartz, Yahoo managed to deliver third-quarter results higher than forecast.

But Wall Street is once again anticipating shaky results when … Read more

Adobe Systems said today it would cut 750 positions and take a $94 million charge as part of a restructuring to focus on digital media and marketing.

Adobe shares fell nearly 9 percent, or $2.67, to $27.75 in after-hours trading as the company also lowered its earnings-per-share target for its fiscal fourth quarter. Based on the restructuring charge, Adobe expects fiscal fourth-quarter GAAP-diluted earnings per share to be in the range 30 cents to 38 cents a share, compared with a previous target of 41 cents to 50 cents a share.

"We expect to report record revenue … Read more

Advanced Micro Devices unveiled a restructuring plan today that will reduce its global workforce by 10 percent, or about 1,400 jobs, by 2012.

The layoffs, which are expected to save the company $200 million, represent the first major action by new CEO Rory Read, who took the helm of the chipmaker in August.

"Reducing our cost structure and focusing our global workforce on key growth opportunities will strengthen AMD's competitiveness and allow us to aggressively pursue a balanced set of strategic activities designed to accelerate future growth," Read said in a statement. "The actions we … Read more