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layoffs posts

i-mate CEO says company isn't dead yet, just dealing with 'major fraud'

by Donald Melanson posted Sep 24th 2009 @ 10:54AM

Well, it looks like the reports of i-mate's demise may have been slightly exaggerated. Of course, most of its employees are still laid off, its offices are still closed, and no one's answering the phones, but i-mate CEO Jim Morrison assures us that "everything about i-mate will continue." It turns out the company is just dealing with some "major fraud" that was discovered at the end of August as it was beginning to introduce a new line of devices, which led to some problems with little things like "paying employees." Those employees are also now said to be considering taking things up with the local authorities in Dubai, which Morrison admits would make things "difficult," although he insists that the company still has those new products ready to go, that it's "looking for more funding," and that "there is a lot of good stuff happening."

[Thanks, Brendan]

Nokia slashes 1,700 jobs due to "pruned" demand

by Laura June posted Mar 17th 2009 @ 11:34AM

Finland-based Nokia has just announced that they will cut 1,700 jobs in the corporate development and global functions departments. These cuts will equal about 1 percent of Nokia's entire workforce, and are more than double in number than earlier reports suggested. The company says that the cuts are being driven by "pruned" worldwide demand for its products. Shares of its stock fell 2.6 percent in Helsinki trading after the announcement, while our hopes and dreams fell just 1 percent. Onward and upward, dear Nokia!

Vodafone to slash hundreds of jobs in Britain

by Darren Murph posted Feb 25th 2009 @ 4:23AM

Yet another company has succumbed to making tough choices in the face of a rough economy, as Vodafone is reportedly preparing to lay off "hundreds" of workers in Britain. The report stated that the cuts could come as soon as this week, and while there was no definite number given as to how many of its 10,000 employees would be asked to leave, we do know that the operator is aiming to "boost free cash flow by cutting one billion pounds of costs." Predictably, Voda declined to comment on the report, but it'll probably have to talk soon whether it wants to or not.

Sprint lays off all in-store greeters and hosts?

by Chris Ziegler posted Feb 13th 2009 @ 5:40PM

We're hearing rumors today that Sprint has laid off greeters and hosts from its stores -- a likely scenario considering the company's ongoing financial struggles and the fact that Verizon appears to be making similar moves. By the same token, it'd seem like these cats would want to be ramping up in preparation for the Pre, not down, so this doesn't bode too well -- making room for more straight-up sales reps, perhaps?

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Motorola hacks a thousand from China-based R&D team

by Darren Murph posted Feb 13th 2009 @ 10:42AM

Details are starting to flow in regarding those 4,000 job cuts that Motorola announced in January, and evidently a thousand of 'em are coming from a single Chinese facility. According to the People's Daily Online, 1,000 Moto workers are being dismissed, and every last one of 'em are from the research and development team of the mobile phone department. We're told that the software platform project team suffered the most, and all told, there's just 100 staffers that remain at the plant. For whatever it's worth, Motorola has affirmed that its commitment to growth in the Chinese market remains the same -- apparently it thinks it can still succeed with far fewer heads doing the work.

[Via mocoNews]

Nokia to close Jyv�skyl� plant, scale down Salo facility in Finland

by Darren Murph posted Feb 13th 2009 @ 5:58AM

As with most other cellphone makers (and companies in general), Nokia managed to lose a bit of cash, market share and dignity in the completely brutal past quarter. That said, it's still doing leaps and bounds better than most, but that glimmer isn't stopping it from shutting down its Jyväskylä site and scaling back at its Salo production facility (pictured). According to Nokia, this is all part of its ongoing plan to "increase cost-efficiency and adapt to the market situation," and with the closings, it'll concentrate mobile devices R&D in Finland at Tampere, Oulu, Salo (though to a lesser extent) and the Helsinki metropolitan area. It's expected that all of the 320 employees at Jyväskylä will be sent packing by the end of this year, while temporary layoffs will be issued on a "rotational basis" (sounds thrilling, no?) at Salo. More details are stored away in the read link, but we'd avoid the depression that's lurking unless your day has just been entirely too awesome.

Verizon laying off sales reps around the country

by Chris Ziegler posted Feb 10th 2009 @ 9:29AM

So, you guys hear about this recession thing? We've now been relayed two distinct stories of layoffs inside Verizon's sales ranks within the last 24 hours, though it's not clear whether the recent Alltel acquisition has anything to do with 'em. First off, we're told that virtually all -- 90 percent or more -- of Circuit City-based reps have lost their jobs. Though the move might seem make sense in light of Circuit City's failure, it's important to note that these folks were not Circuit City employees -- indeed, they were employed directly by Big Red, but only a very small number have been transferred to other positions. Secondly, we're hearing stories of major layoffs in the Gulf Coast region, with Verizon allegedly targeting higher-paid senior reps for the axe.

[Thanks, Mike and verizon rep]

Sprint trimming 14 percent of workforce pre-Pre

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 26th 2009 @ 2:16PM

"Lean and mean" is one thing -- but Sprint's really swinging the axe at full force today, announcing that it'll eliminate some 8,000 more jobs from its arsenal of 60,000 mostly by the end of the first quarter on March 31. The move is expected to save the States' number three carrier about $1.2 billion a year in labor costs, and furthermore, the company will be suspending its retirement plan match, tuition reimbursement, and extending its salary increase suspension for another year. With any luck, the Pre will help turn Sprint's fortunes around -- but on the flipside, don't you need a healthy company to launch such a revolutionary (and likely overwhelmingly popular) device?

[Via mocoNews]

Motorola axing 77 in Windows Mobile development facility

by Darren Murph posted Jan 26th 2009 @ 7:21AM

We'd already heard that Motorola would be focusing on Android alone for its future smartphones, and this here report certainly gives a good bit of credence to that notion. The flagging handset maker has just announced that 77 employees at its Plantation, Florida facility would be axed effective March 27th. Now, we knew thousands in its handset division were being laid off, but this sect is different than most -- with these departures, Moto will reportedly stop conducting new Windows Mobile development at the plant. We can't say we're totally against an all-Android approach, but it's a shame these 77 couldn't have been given new job descriptions with "Google" replacing "Microsoft" in the fine print.

[Via wmpoweruser]

Ericsson slashes 5,000 jobs, blames Sony partnership

by Thomas Ricker posted Jan 21st 2009 @ 3:59AM

With profits tumbling 31%, Ericsson just announced its intent to shed 5,000 jobs across the globe (1,000 in Stockholm). The loss resulting from a "dramatic drop" in contributions from its Sony Ericsson joint venture. The 5k figure represents about 6% of Ericsson's 79,000 employees.

Motorola to lay off 4,000 starting immediately

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 14th 2009 @ 5:32PM

It's official: Moto's pulling out the axe. The beleaguered manufacturer is no stranger to financial struggles at this point -- nor layoffs, for that matter -- but the latest round cuts some 6 percent of employees from Moto's global operations, and 3,000 of the 4,000 will come directly from the handset division. The news comes along with a preliminary fourth quarter earnings estimate of a 7 to 8 cent per share loss (which isn't really "earnings" when you think about it), so yeah, it's business as usual out in Schaumburg: get lean and start making awesome products. Soon, Moto. Please.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Motorola laying off throngs, focusing on Android alone for smartphones

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 11th 2009 @ 8:48PM

Phone Scoop is reporting that doomsday is imminent for Motorola, possibly as soon as this week. First off, up to half of employees from the company's handset division will be shown the door, though the other divisions -- Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Home & Networks Mobility -- will be unaffected. Fewer employees inevitably leads to fewer phones, and it's being said that Moto will produce just twelve models per year; among smartphones, only Android will be considered. What's more, the company is pulling out of April's CTIA show -- the largest mobile event in the States -- so it looks like that Android gear won't be coming until later on. We'll have more on this as soon as we know what's up.

Motorola hastens layoff plans, axes 400 earlier than anticipated

by Darren Murph posted Dec 31st 2008 @ 3:22PM

The words "job security" and "Motorola" haven't coexisted in a non-sarcastic manner for quite some time, and things just seem to be deteriorating by the day. Not even two full months after the flagging company announced that 3,000 employees would be sent packing, a new Reuters report has it that the axing process in Q4 will be accelerated. Specifically, some 1,900 (versus 1,500 as originally predicted) will be cut in an attempt to save $800 million in 2009, though there's no word on how damaging the inevitable productivity losses will be given the markedly low morale. To no one's surprise, most of the Q4 cuts will be in the mobile devices segment; we're beginning to think Sad Moto Face™ here will never, ever vanish.

[Via UnwiredView]

Alcatel-Lucent cuts 1,000 jobs

by Chris Ziegler posted Dec 12th 2008 @ 3:16AM

It's not an easy time to be a provider of wired and wireless network infrastructure. Actually, let's be honest -- it's not an easy time to be in most any line of work -- but the infrastructure guys are having a particularly tough time right now, and it's definitely showing in Alcatel-Lucent's latest unfortunate move. The Paris-based company is trimming a grand worth of heads out of its 75,000-plus workforce and culling some 5,000 contractors, a move that it hopes will stop a cash hemorrhage that's been persistent since Alcatel's purchase of Lucent in 2006. The embattled CEO already stepped down earlier this year in a quest for profitability in a desperately brutal economy, so it stands to reason that there'll be some belt-tightening down below until they can right the ship -- but it's always sad to see the parent company of what remains of Bell Labs struggle to keep its head above water.

Analyst predicts "significant" job cuts in January, possible price drops for Sprint

by Darren Murph posted Dec 9th 2008 @ 4:59PM

Not even a month after Sprint began offering voluntary buyout packages to an unspecified number of employees and just weeks after John Garcia decided it best to extend his Thanksgiving holiday into forever, in flies an analyst report asserting that sweeping layoffs are just around the bend. Pali Research's Walter Piecyk also expects the carrier to reduce prices to pick up lost ground to rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless. A company spokesman proclaimed that "nothing was off of the table" and that "every option" would be scrutinized, but as of now, no decisions have been nailed down around the 2009 budget plan. Better get on that, wouldn't you say?

[Via CellPhonesMarket]