Computer chip maker Advanced Micro Devices announced on Nov. 6 that it was cutting 500 jobs, or 3% of its global workforce. "The headcount reduction is an unfortunate but necessary part of aligning our people with the focused programs that achieve our objectives and allow us to operate more efficiently," said spokesman Drew Prairie.
AMD, which has long battled to wrest market share from leading chip maker Intel, also based in California, last month reported a loss of $67 million in the third quarter of the year on revenue of $1.58 billion.
Prairie said AMD expected revenue to remain about the same in the current quarter and the job reductions should help the company reach the break-even point.
The layoffs are the latest round of job cuts at AMD, which announced in April that it was cutting approximately 1,650 positions.
AMD announced this month that it was splitting into two companies -- one company that designs semiconductors and another which builds them -- after receiving a huge infusion of capital from two Abu Dhabi investment firms.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008
