125,000 Tech Jobs Lost in January

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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.