Motorola to sack 4,000, Dell denies similar moves

Dell Computer CEO Michael Dell has dismissed reports that the company was

planning to lay off 4,000 employees, terming them as rumors. However, Motorola

seemed more forthcoming and announced its decision to cut down 4,000 positions

from its semiconductor payroll.

Rumor mills have been working overtime ever since Dell announced its plans to

cut down expenses by about 8 per cent. Speculations are rife that the cut in

flab might also include 4,000 jobs. But, Dell officials refuted these claims and

said, "I can you tell you it's only a rumor. Our company is definitely

healthy in a competitive environment. Dell is a business that competes to grow

and get market share. But this is a more challenging economy than we had a year

or two ago."

For Motorola, the latest cuts represent the third lay-off in 10 weeks. In

all, some 13,000 employees will receive the dreaded pink slips when the program

is completed. The 4,000 positions to be cut represents 12 per cent of Motorola’s

IC Group.

The cuts will be implemented at major Motorola IC fabs in the United States

across Austin, Texas, Phoenix and Arizona. The cuts will also be carried out at its five fabs in Glasgow, Scotland; Toulouse, France; Hong Kong; Tianjin, China;

Sendai, Japan, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Like Dell, which is reeling under the impact of slower PC sales, Motorola is

also feeling the pinch from a drop in demand for chips by PC makers. "This

does not signal any fundamental problems within Motorola's semiconductor

business. It is literally driven by market weakness," said Motorola spokesman

Ken Phillips.