layoffs

Embattled Panasonic eyes 10,000 layoffs to return to health

Panasonic will reportedly layoff more employees in an attempt to turn its business around.

Speaking to Reuters in an interview published today, Panasonic finance boss Hideaki Kawai said that his company will shed 10,000 more jobs by the end of March. During its last fiscal year, Panasonic axed 36,000 jobs. The layoffs are designed to bring the company's many ailing divisions back to health, according to Reuters.

That might not be so easy. According to Reuters, Kawai said that 20 percent of Panasonic's 88 business units are actually losing money. Half of all of its units … Read more

Groupon revenue rises, but still disappoints Wall Street

Although Groupon's revenue is up 32 percent from last year, it is still getting crushed by investors for not making as much as expected.

The daily-deals company today reported revenue of about $568.6 million in its third quarter, up from $430 million the same time last year. The company narrowed its net loss dramatically, to just under $3 million from $54 million a year earlier, and it broke even on a per share basis. And yet the revenue and profit figures fell short of Wall Street expectations.

Analysts were expecting revenue of $590 million and earnings of 3 … Read more

It's official: PayPal to cut 325 jobs despite strong quarter

Payments giant PayPal will shed about 325 employees as part of a major shakeup of its organization by the firm's new president, David Marcus, exactly seven months after he took office.

The full-time jobs will be cut as PayPal merges nine product-development teams into one, making PayPal a "more agile organization." The company will also shed a further 120 contractors. Most of the cuts will come out of PayPal's product and technology units.

This accounts for about 3 percent of the company's workforce. PayPal had close to 13,000 employees earlier this year, Reuters reported. … Read more

Zynga to lay off 5 percent of workforce

Zynga, the social-gaming company, is laying off 5 percent of its employees and shutting down its Boston office with plans to also close its U.K. and Japan studios.

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus told his staff the news in a memo sent out today. The action affects roughly 140 of Zynga's 2,800 employees.

"We don't take these decisions lightly as we recognize the impact to our colleagues and friends who have been on this journey with us. We appreciate their amazing contributions and will miss them," he wrote. "This is the most painful part … Read more

AMD preps layoffs that could hit 30 percent of its workers

Advanced Micro Devices is prepping for layoffs that could impact a significant percentage of its staff, CNET has learned.

The company, which makes processors for PCs and servers, could let go 20 percent to 30 percent of its employees within coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter, though they added that the number of affected workers might also be lower.

AMD may announce the move -- its second big staff cut in the past year -- as soon as next week. It reports quarterly earnings Thursday. AMD had 11,737 employees as of the end of the second … Read more

Sharp to cut 10,000 jobs, sell factories to Foxconn, report says

Sharp is eyeing steep workforce cuts to become more agile and adapt to its hard times, a new report claims.

The company is currently considering cutting more than 10,000 jobs, representing approximately 18 percent of its workforce, Bloomberg is reporting today, citing sources. The company is also in talks with Foxconn to sell three manufacturing plants, the news outlet's sources say.

At the end of the second quarter, Sharp owed nearly $16 billion in debt and didn't have enough cash on hand to cover its short-term obligations. The company has previously announced that it would lay off … Read more

Kodak to cut 1,000 more jobs to save $330 million

The ailing Eastman Kodak will be required to cut more jobs, the company said today in a statement.

By the end of the year, Kodak expects to reduce its workforce by 1,000 more employees, saving the company about $330 million in salary and benefits. Kodak has already laid off 2,700 employees from its workforce since the beginning of this year.

"We recognize that we must significantly and expeditiously reduce our current cost structure, which is designed for a much larger, more diversified set of businesses," Kodak chairman and CEO Antonio Perez said today in a statement.… Read more

Sony Mobile to move HQ to Tokyo, cut 1,000 workers

Sony Mobile is moving closer to its parent company.

The mobile phone maker announced today that in October, it'll move its headquarters from Lund, Sweden to Tokyo, Japan. And in so doing, it will reduce its global workforce by 1,000 employees, or 15 percent of its staff. Those cuts, which include consultants, should be completed by the end of March 2014.

Sony Mobile's headquarters are in Sweden because the company's former 50 percent owner, Ericsson, is based there. Earlier this year, Sony completed the acquisition of Ericsson's stake in the mobile firm, giving it total … Read more

Apple admits to screwing up retail staffing levels, report says

Apple's VP of retail told store leadership teams that the company "messed up" when it implemented a new way to schedule staff for its retail stores, indirectly spurring layoff rumors, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

The executive, John Browett, told store management to let employees know that corporate had made a mistake with the new system, which cut hours for some employees and left some Apple retail stores understaffed, two unnamed sources told the Journal.

The changes caused panic among employees, leading to news reports of layoffs.

Browett, who took over the position in April, also … Read more