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January 26, 2009 9:49 AM PST
Philips to cut 6,000 jobs
Yet another electronics maker is recording a rare quarterly loss.
Sony and Samsung last week reported their first ever losses. Now, it is Philips' turn for some bad news. The European company said Monday it lost $1.9 billion during the last quarter of 2008, with sales decreasing by 9 percent from the same quarter the previous year. As a result, Philips said it plans to cut 6,000 jobs this year. The company last reported a loss in 2003.
"What is quite amazing is not so much the depth of slowdown, it's the lack of visibility there is," Philips Electronics Chief Financial Officer Pierre-Jean Sivignon told MarketWatch.
And as bad as the fourth quarter was, he said, the first quarter of this year has been even harder.
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica. 
