Channel Insider content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

Since the beginning of the year, technology vendors have eliminated
more than 124,000 jobs as weak earnings and dismal revenue forecasts
force companies into conservative, constricted postures. This makes
January the worst month of job losses since the recession began.

In the four months Channel Insider has been tracking technology job
losses, nearly 205,000 technology jobs have been eliminated under the
weight of the contracting economy.

Hitachi—a Japan-based company—announced its expectations to post a
full-year net loss of $7.8 billion (700 billion yen), compared with a
previous forecast of 15 billion yen. Hitachi, which makes everything
from flat-screen televisions to high-end storage systems to power
systems, said it will cut 7,000 jobs, reduce costs and freeze capital
expenses.

NEC Corp., a computer-system and chip maker, is forecasting a net
loss for the fiscal year ending March, stated it will cut 20,000 jobs
over the next 12 months.  In a press conference announcing the
work force reduction, NEC President Kaoru Yano said the company will
"consider any possible measures" to restore its ailing semiconductor
operations to health.

Showing pressure from the weak economy and migration of customers to
cloud-based application services, Microsoft revealed plans to eliminate
more than 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months. CEO Steve Ballmer said
most of the reductions will come from eliminating redundant positions.
Though a painful move, Ballmer and other Microsoft officials said the
job cuts are necessary to align the company for future opportunities.

January has been the single largest month for layoff announcements
globally, with technology jobs representing 16 percent of the total
numbers.

The largest source of tech job cuts comes from electronics retailer
and service provider Circuit City, which is liquidating and going out
of business after failing to restructure its debt. As a result, 34,000
full- and part-time employees will lose their jobs when the company’s
remaining 567 stores close.

Even some of the strongest brands in the technology market are
cutting jobs either after reporting losses or adjusting to anticipated
market pressures. Ericsson, Google, Intel, Philips and Sprint/Nextel
will each cut 5,000 or more full-time and contractor positions.

The global technology cuts are going deeper than in previous
recessions.  Japanese technology companies are reporting earnings
with expectations to lose more than 1.5 trillion yen in the fiscal year
ending March 31, 2009. These companies have announced plans to cut a
total of nearly 50,000 full-time and temporary jobs in locations around
the world.

Technology manufacturers are hitting the brakes hard. Previously,
the Japanese government announced that preliminary industrial
production fell 9.6 percent in December from a month ago and further
stated it expects sharp declines to continue into 2009. Exports reports
show a record 35 percent reduction year over year in December.

The following is a list of technology companies that have either
eliminated jobs or slated jobs for elimination, as tracked by Channel
Insider.

 

Company

Layoffs

January AMD 1,100
Month Total AOL 700
124,320 Attachmate 120
  Autodesk 750
  BlueArc 21
  Bose 1,000
  Circuit City 34,000
  Citrix 460
  Coremetrics 29
  Dell 1,900
  Electronic Arts 600
  EMC 2,400
  Ericsson 5,000
  Google 100
  Google (contractors) 5,000
  Hitachi 7,000
  IBM 2,850
  Intel 6,000
  Kronos 260
  Lenovo 2,500
  Lexmark 375
  Logitech 500
  Microsoft 5,000
  Motorola 4,000
  NEC 20,000
  Nokia 1,000
  Oracle 500
  Philips 6,000
  SAP 300
  Seagate 800
  Sprint/Nextel 8,000
  Sun 1,300
  Texas Instruments 3,400
  Unisys 1,300
  WatchGuard 55
     
December Intrinsyc 95
Month Total Adobe Systems 600
13,095 Sage North America 150
  AT&T 12,000
  Windstream 170
  Lexmark International 80
     
November Kodak 150
Month Total Spot Runner 115
21,433 Nortel Networks 1,300
  Motorola 3,000
  Nokia 600
  Tektronix 150
  Cadence 625
  AMD 500
  SanDisk 450
  BitTorrent 18
  Insight 240
  Circuit City 3,400
  Imation 200
  Applied Materials 1,800
  National Semiconductor 330
  Sun Microsystems 6,000
  Epicor 300
  KLA-Tencor 900
  Pillar Data Systems 150
  Lawson Software 200
  Lam Research 600
  Akamai 110
  Palm 105
  Quantum 180
  Fring 10
     
October Micron 353
Month Total Qimonda 3,000
46,281 Jive Software 40
  Actel 60
  Sony Ericsson 2,000
  MPC Computers 200
  Lenovo 50
  Jaxtr 13
  Texas Instruments 300
  Softchoice 65
  Manhattan Associates 150
  HP 24,600
  Dell 8,900
  Xerox 3,000
  ADC Telecoms 325
  BroadSoft 12
  Symantec 788
  Freescale 2,400
  Aliph 25