AMD to trim 1,100 jobs, initiate temporary pay cuts

Updated at 10:12 a.m. PST, with more information about AMD's financial performance.

Advanced Micro Devices announced Friday it would slash its workforce by 9 percent and institute temporary salary cuts, from its executive chairman on down to hourly workers.

AMD will cut 1,100 positions in the first quarter through attrition and layoffs, as one of its measures to cut costs during these recessionary times.

The chipmaker will also institute temporary salary cuts, with its CEO Dirk Meyer and Executive Chairman Hector Ruiz both taking a 20 percent cut. In the U.S. and Canada, executives that hold a rank of vice president or higher will receive a 15 percent pay cut and salaried workers a 10 percent cut. Hourly workers, meanwhile, will face a 5 percent wage reduction.

Voluntary pay cuts will be sought at AMD's offices outside the U.S. and Canada, as allowed by local governments there.

AMD will also halt its company 401(k) match.

AMD is the latest tech titan to announce a round of job cuts. Earlier this month Motorola announced a 6 percent cut of 4,000 workers, drafting and design software maker Autodesk a 10 percent cut affecting 750 employees, and even search giant Google announced cuts of 100 workers.

AMD's financial performance is under pressure. Last month, the chipmaker warned Wall Street its fourth-quarter revenue would come in significantly lower than previously expected.

AMD is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results on Thursday.

[Zandora777]

The slaughter rolls on. My heart goes out to those still there. I wish I had been given an option for a paycut rather than just being let go. They already got rid of sabbaticals and their stock purchase plan a year ago, supposedly as a temporary measure. Those types of temporary things have a way of becoming permanent. Nice to see management setting an example at least. I have little hope for them, unfortunately. They have no answer to Atom, no roadmaps that even have a chance for them to catch up, and Intel is about to cut prices again.

[Dan7637]

AMD makes decent chips that are just as good as intel's but get slammed

[Zandora777]

No, their chips are *not* just as good as Intel's anymore. They used to be ahead on features, with better power efficiency and a better interconnect technology as well as other design advantages but were a process behind. Now, Intel has caught up on every major feature, has surpassed AMD in power efficiency, and is still ahead in process technology. Intel's wealth of fabs and better yields allows them to put much larger caches on their chips as well. AMD is simply no longer competitive. If they were, I would be the first to sing their praises. Thier only hope is Fusion, which if they can survive long enough to get it out, could be their savior, as Larrabee appears to be a joke.