Sun workers take vacation to cut costs

SAN FRANCISCO: Network computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc. is requiring

employees to take 5 days of paid vacation this calendar year, a new cost cutting

measure by the firm which recently announced it would trim jobs.

The mandatory vacation, common among technology firms during the current

downturn, frees up funds by reducing the amount of money a company has to set

aside against holiday owed, spokeswoman Diane Carlini said.

Employees who do not have any vacation days due will not be penalized, she

added.

Sun expects to shrink by about 300 jobs by the end of the fiscal year in June

2002. It is hiring some new people, but has is asking as many as 2 per cent of

its 43,600 workers to find new jobs within the company or leave.

Sun made its first loss in more than a decade last quarter, as the economic

pinch cooled the appetite for its servers.

(C) Reuters Limited 2001.