AMD puts a number on job cuts

Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices said Thursday that it will cut 2,000 jobs, or 15 percent of its staff, by the second quarter of next year.

The cuts, which had been anticipated, are part of the company's plan to reduce expenses by $350 million next year in an effort to reach profitability on lower sales.

About 1,000 workers whose jobs are being cut were notified Thursday. As previously announced, the company will take a restructuring charge of several hundred million dollars in the fourth quarter.

The move comes as AMD has been losing market share to larger rival Intel amid a generally sluggish PC market.

Earlier in the year, the company closed two older factories and cut 2,300 jobs, or 15 percent of its work force.

"While painful and unfortunate, today's action will help to position AMD so that we can take full advantage of the eventual market recovery," CEO Hector Ruiz said in a statement. "Over the next 180 days, we are unleashing a number of intensely competitive products and solutions to the marketplace that will enable us to compete in segments of the market where we have not yet been before."

The chipmaker plans to announce next week that a Fortune 500 company is adopting computers using its chips. AMD, which has struggled to get into large businesses, has said that winning corporate customers is a key focus for next year.

AMD said the job cuts will be across various company operations in the United States, Europe and Asia.