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Intel may announce layoffs

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CIOL Bureau
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NEW YORK: Intel Corporation, the world's No. 1 chipmaker, may be on the verge of announcing massive layoffs or other cuts amid a slow market for personal computers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.



Intel's chief executive officer Craig Barrett is scheduled to speak to employees after stock markets close, and about the same time as the chipmaker discusses its second-quarter results in a conference call with analysts, the paper said. Intel declined to comment on what Barrett will discuss, nor on the possibility of any work-force reduction, though word of the speech spread on Monday after a published research note from Jonathan Joseph, an analyst at Salomon Smith Barney.



Joseph and other analysts said they had no direct knowledge of Intel's plans, but said they would not be surprised by a substantial belt-tightening move, according to the Journal. Joseph noted the last time Barrett addressed the company, shortly after the September 11 attacks, the CEO observed that Intel's headcount was about 20,000 higher than it was three years ago -- when revenues were about the same level as last fall. The implication, Joseph said, was the company's work force would have to shrink if revenues didn't rise. At the end of the first quarter, Intel had about 83,000 employees, down from 86,000 at the end of 2000.



(C) Reuters Ltd.

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