Chipmaker AMD expected to cut 30% of jobs

PanARMENIAN.Net - Last year, chip designer AMD announced that it would cut 10% of its workers by the end of 2012′s first quarter. Now, 11 months later, it seems Advanced Micro Devices is about to announce a workforce reduction of up to 30%. This news comes after AMD’s announcement earlier this week that it expected sales to decrease approximately 10% from the last quarter, SlashGear reports.

An unidentified source “familiar with the company’s plans” told AllThingsD that AMD plans to announce workforce cuts between 20% and 30% next week, which would total about 2,200 to 3,300 jobs. The jobs in danger involve sales and engineering, and the anticipated cuts may result in AMD reducing its overall offerings. The first round of cuts at the beginning of the year reduced AMD’s operating expenses by $118 million, yet a bad economy and poor sales have prevented it from rebounding.

Sources say that the official announcement could come on Oct 18, when AMD announces its quarterly data, or it could be on Oct 25. According to one of the sources, the cuts may be completed, or close to completion, by the 25th. The exact time frame for the announcement is unknown, but is expected to be in the next two weeks.

According to the sources providing this info, AMD employees have been expecting the cuts to happen for quite awhile now, presumably since the end of last year when the first round of cuts were announced, and then as sales continued to flounder throughout 2012. The Q1 workforce reduction totaled 1,400 jobs. Said one source, “There are a lot of nervous people, and not a lot is getting done right now.”