Microsoft to Layoff Some H-1B Holders

In wake of impending layoffs, Microsoft has released a preliminary response to a U.S. Senator who wants the software giant to cut non-citizens first.

Microsoft’s answer states that it will indeed layoff a significant number of H-1B temporary work visa holders but that their visiting worker status will not be the primary criterion when it comes to deciding who will stay and who will go.

Microsoft officials said they will respond to Senator Grassley’s request for a direct response. However, while the company’s initial response is polite, it doesn’t say it will meet Grassley’s request.

Source: internetnews.com

US senator asks Microsoft about job cuts, H1B visas

According to Reuters: “A U.S. senator has asked Microsoft Corp about its plans to slash up to 5,000 jobs, urging the world’s biggest software company to preserve the jobs of Americans ahead of foreigners working on visas.”

“The letter asked Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer to provide a breakdown of the jobs to be eliminated, and how many of those are individuals with H-1B visas and how many are Americans. Grassley also wants to know what the breakdown will be when the layoffs are complete.”

“I am concerned that Microsoft will be retaining foreign guest workers rather than similarly qualified American employees when it implements its layoff plan […] Microsoft has a moral obligation to protect these American workers by putting them first during these difficult economic times”, said Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican.

Google to Lay Off 100 Recruiters

Google is laying off 100 recruiters and closing some engineering offices, as the downturn continues to take its toll. The layoffs, disclosed Wednesday in company blog posts, are a very rare step for Google, which said in October that it is still hiring, but much more cautiously. The company has also recently let go a significant number of contractors in areas ranging from public relations to engineering, according to Reuters and WSJ

Update 1 (1-14-2009): According to official Google blog: “Our first step to address this was to wind down almost all our contracts with external contractors and vendors providing recruiting services for Google. However, after much consideration, we have with great regret decided that we need to go further and reduce the overall size of our recruiting organization by approximately 100 positions.”

Update 2 (1-14-2009): Google’s Changes to Engineering in 2009

Satyam’s Computer Services Chairman Arrested , Board Sacked, in Fraud Probe

According to Bloomberg: “Satyam Computer Services Ltd. chairman Ramalinga Raju and his brother Rama were arrested and the remaining directors of the software exporter sacked, as India started investigating an alleged $1 billion fraud.”

“Satyam, India’s fourth-largest software exporter, plunged for a second day in Mumbai trading on concern it may run out of money after Raju said he falsified the accounts “for several years.” The scandal, whose scope is being likened to the 2001 bankruptcy of Enron Corp., has shaken confidence in Indian companies and accounting standards.”

“The Satyam case is an aberration,” Prem Chand Gupta, the Corporate Affairs Minister said. “The credibility of the Indian corporate sector in general, and IT sector in particular, should not be allowed to suffer because of this.”, according to BBC

Update (01-10-2009): “The chief financial officer of India’s Satyam Computer Services Ltd. was arrested Saturday, the third person taken into custody in a scandal that began when the company’s chairman admitted inflating profits with “fictitious” assets and non-existent cash.

Company founder B. Ramalinga Raju and his brother, Rama Raju, Satyam’s managing director, were arrested Friday in connection with the scandal. In a letter written to investigators, B. Ramalinga Raju admitted that he and his brother were responsible for cooking the books at Satyam”, according to CNN

Satyam founder B. Ramalinga Raju

Update 2 (01-10-2009): According to Naatmad: “Satyam Computer Services, [..] has said it will take fewer people on board to cut costs due to the unstable global economic environment. The company is planning to hire only 8,000-10,000 people this fiscal as against 15,000 that it had earlier planned to recruit. [..] Around 250 employees were given the pink slip last quarter.”

Update 3 (01-14-2009): According to BusinessStandard (India): Satyam may get full-time directors in a week

~ LayOffBlog.com: Please feel free to comment this info and/or send us your updates regarding scandal at Satyam. ~

Google Layoffs: 6000 Cut – Details Kept Off Web

WebGuild reports: Today, in documents obtain by the Associated Press, Google filed a paper document with the SEC stating that “a substantial number of temporary workers” had been laid off. The company has sought special exemption to keep the document from circulating on the Web.

The document states that Google has 24,400 employees, however on  September 30, 2008 the company reported  to the SEC that it had 20,123 employees when in reality it had 30,000. At that time Google did not report the 10,000 temporary employees to the SEC, because Google wanted the option to lay off employees on demand to meeting earning expectations without reporting to the SEC.

Now the company says 4,300 of the 24,400 employees are temporary. So why report temporary employees now and not then? Why get an exemption to keep the documents private?

Further the company reported 30,000 employees on November 24, 2008 and 24,400 on Dec 15, 2008. Where did 6,000 employees disappear to in 3 weeks?

EMC Will Reduce Work Force by 7 percent

Data-storage firm EMC Corp. (NYSE:EMC) will cut 2,400 positions (7% of its work force) as part of an effort to reduce costs by about $350 million in 2009 and $500 million in 2010.
The restructuring plan will streamline costs to its information infrastructure business and doesn’t include VMware Inc. VMware’s parent company, EMC, owns 85% of the company’s stock, according to WSJ

By rumors, the most job cuts are planned in the company’s IT sector

European investors unfazed by “India’s Enron” in IT

According to Reuters: “European investors remain upbeat about India despite an accounting scandal at IT company Satyam Computer Services (SATY.BO) that sent Indian markets tumbling on Wednesday.

Shares in the IT group fell almost 80 percent after founder and chairman Ramalinga Raju admitted inflating the company’s reported cash and bank balances by over 50 billion rupees ($1 billion).

While shaken by what has been dubbed “India’s Enron”, some investors say they will wait for signs of widespread malfeasance among Indian companies before deciding whether to change their investment policy on India.”

• Satyam is the fourth largest of the Indian IT outsourcing firms
• Satyam serves more than a third of the Fortune 500 companies
• Satyam’s clients include multinationals such as Nestlé, General Motors (GM), and General Electric (GE)
• Satyam’s auditor is PricewaterhouseCoopers, who endorsed the company’s accounts

Update: Ramalingam Raju, the chairman of troubled Indian IT outsourcing company Satyam Computer Services, resigned on Jan. 7, 2009, admitting the firm had falsified accounts and assets and inflated its profits over several years.

Union tries to organize IBM workers

According to Yahoo Tech: “One message states that IBM will announce 16,000 layoffs on Jan. 23, affecting workers worldwide. Similar predictions are made in other recent posts on the site, which is run by the Alliance@IBM/Communications Workers of America Local 1701, a union that is trying to organize IBM workers.”

“The union, while still in an organizing phase and not yet recognized by IBM, has about 6,000 members, including IBM employees and retirees, according to national coordinator Lee Conrad. But because the union has not reached an employment contract with IBM, there is “not an awful lot” it can do except raise awareness of the issue”.

LayoffBlog.com: Stay tuned for more info.

Rumor: Massive layoffs are coming to IBM later this month

An unofficial online employee Web site, IBMemployee.com, says massive layoffs are coming to Big Blue later this month, according to Times Herald-Record.

“All divisions in IBM will be affected,” says one entry, adding the majority of those cuts will be announced Jan. 23.

“Several more posts say approximately 16,000 employees, mostly in the U.S., will be affected.”

• IBM has more than 386,000 employees worldwide, according to its Web site. If the rumored 16,000 figure proves accurate, then, it would equal roughly a 4% reduction in headcount.

IBM’s been cutting people every couple of weeks, but they’re small, silent cuts. What we’re concerned about is a massive one, according to various insider sources.

Update: Union tries to organize IBM workers

Update 1 (Jan 06, 2008): IBM Employees Buzzing About Layoff Rumors

Update 2 (Jan 11, 2009): IBM approves Obama’s IT stimulus package; $30bn will create 900,000 jobs, healthy IBM

Rumor (Jan 19, 2009): Massive layoff packages offered on 1/27

Update 3 (Jan 19, 2009): Stress levels rise at IBM as word of job cuts swirls

Update 4 (Jan 20, 2009):

• Several sources warn of imminent job cuts announcement.
• IBM Profit Tops Forecast; Outlook Better than Expected, according to CNBC: “The guidance of $9.20 is awesome… looks like their outsourcing, packaging, cost containment strategy is working. They executed really well..”

Update 5 (Jan 21, 2009):

• According to rumor, IBM started to cut sales and engineering positions in US.
• The arguably more-important indicator of IBM’s performance — its top line — fell 6.4%, according to WSJ

Update  6 (Jan 22, 2008):

• IBM confirms job layoffs: “28 out of 45 cut,” according to a another entry, from Austin, Texas. “Young and old, top and bottom performers. Never show me great 4Q numbers again.”, according to Betanews
• IBM employees reported yesterday that the layoffs are already happening in IBM software and distribution divisions in the US and Canada, according to multiple news sources

Update 7 (March 11, 2009): Scattered layoffs in IBM can touch 4,600

Update 8 (March 25, 2009): IBM to Cut 5,000 U.S. Jobs, Shifting Work to India

~ LayOffBlog.com: Please feel free to comment this info and/or send us your updates regarding IBM layoffs. ~

Microsoft asked to lay off over 9,000 employees

According to Yahoo News, India: “The world’s top software firm Microsoft has been asked to cut its workforce by 10%, or about 9,100 employees, to tell the market that profits are more important than revenue growth in difficult times.”
“Earlier in October, Microsoft had put in place a hiring freeze on some of its divisions, such as entertainment and devices businesses that make products like X-Box and Zune.”

• The software giant had close to 91,000 employees on its payrolls at the end of July-September quarter.
• Microsoft is scheduled to release its second-quarter results for the fiscal year 2008-09 on January 22.
• Brokerage firm Oppenheimer and Co’s analyst Brad Reback has said in a report on Microsoft that such layoff exercise “would be a healthy move for the company.“

AMD reports more job cuts, higher restructuring costs

According to BizJournals: “AMD said in a regulatory filing on Monday that it cut about 100 more jobs than it originally targeted, resulting in higher than expected restructuring costs in the fourth quarter.

The Sunnyvale chip maker (NYSE:AMD) said it reduced its work force by 600 and will see $70 million in costs related to that move, instead of the 500-worker cut with $50 million in costs originally announced in November.”

AMD also said it isn’t through, saying in the filing that “further cost reduction actions will result in additional charges in the first half of fiscal 2009, which the company cannot estimate at this time”, according to New Mexico Business Weekly

Update: So the rumor we published earlier regarding possible additional layoffs at AMD is confirmed.

Unisys slashes 1,300 jobs

According to Reuters: “IT services company Unisys Corp said Monday it will slash 1,300 jobs, or more than 4 percent of its work force, and suspend matching contributions to its U.S. 401(k) plan as it moves to cut $225 million in costs.

In addition, Unisys said it will forgo salary increases in most of its markets next year.

A company spokesperson said the job cuts would be worldwide but did not give further detail. The headcount reductions have already begun and will continue into 2009. Unisys also plans to consolidate facilities.”

WARN: Layoff announcements in January – February 2009 in California Hi-Tech

According to California EDD WARN statistics, the following layoffs are scheduled for January – February 2009 in hi-tech companies with number of employees greater than 50:

ADOBE SYSTEMS INCORPORATED, Location: SAN FRANCISCO, Layoff date: 2/3/09, Employees affected: 75

CADENCE DESIGN SYSTEMS, INC, Location: SAN JOSE, Layoff date: 1/4/09, Employees affected: 245

NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION, Location: SANTA CLARA, Layoff date: 1/13/09, Employees affected: 151

PALM, INC, Location: SUNNYVALE, Layoff date: 1/19/09, Employees affected: 107

SANDISK CORPORATION, Location: MILPITAS, Layoff date: 1/11/09, Employees affected: 96

SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY LLC, Location: MILPITAS, Layoff date: 1/3/09, Employees affected: 48
SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY LLC, Location: MILPITAS, Layoff date: 4/3/09, Employees affected: 43

SHUTTERFLY, INC, Location: HAYWARD, Layoff date: 1/16/09, Employees affected: 70

SIEMENS, Location: LOS ANGELES, Layoff date: 1/30/09, Employees affected: 6

SIEMENS MEDICAL SOLUTIONS, Location: MOUNTAIN VIEW, Layoff date: 1/5/09, Employees affected: 2

SUN MICROSYSTEMS, INC:
Location: SACRAMENTO, Layoff date: 1/5/09, Employees affected: 3
Location: SACRAMENTO, Layoff date: 1/18/09, Employees affected: 2
Location: EL SEGUNDO, Layoff date: 1/5/09, Employees affected: 1
Location: EL SEGUNDO, Layoff date: 1/18/09, Employees affected: 1
Location: IRVINE, Layoff date: 1/5/09, Employees affected: 4
Location: IRVINE, Layoff date: 1/18/09, Employees affected: 3
Location: MENLO PARK, Layoff date: 1/5/09, Employees affected: 19
Location: MENLO PARK, Layoff date: 1/18/09, Employees affected: 6
Location: PLEASANTON, Layoff date: 1/5/09, Employees affected: 5
Location: PLEASANTON, Layoff date: 1/18/09, Employees affected: 7
Location: SAN DIEGO, Layoff date: 1/5/09, Employees affected: 2
Location: SAN DIEGO, Layoff date: 1/18/09, Employees affected: 2
Location: SAN FRANCISCO, Layoff date: 1/18/09, Employees affected: 4
Location: UNIVERSAL CITY, Layoff date: 1/18/09, Employees affected: 1

SYMANTEC:
Location: CUPERTINO, Layoff date: 1/19/09, Employees affected: 55
Location: MOUNTAIN VIEW, Layoff date: 1/13/09, Employees affected: 38

VISHAY SILICONIX, Location: SANTA CLARA, Layoff date: 2/6/09, Employees affected: 97

VIRGIN MOBILE USA, Location: WALNUT CREEK, Layoff date: 1/1/09, Employees affected: 192

THE BOEING COMPANY:
Location: ANAHEIM, Layoff date: 1/1/09, Employees affected: 5
Location: ANAHEIM, Layoff date: 1/22/09, Employees affected: 2
Location: EL SEGUNDO, Layoff date: 1/1/09, Employees affected: 8
Location: EL SEGUNDO, Layoff date: 1/22/09, Employees affected: 3
Location: HUNTINGTON BEACH, Layoff date: 1/1/09, Employees affected: 19
Location: HUNTINGTON BEACH, Layoff date: 1/22/09, Employees affected: 42
Location: LONG BEACH, Layoff date: 1/1/09, Employees affected: 50

Source: California EDD WARN

(Rumor) Oracle: Major layoffs are to come in January 2009

According to rumors from different sources: “There were several layoffs reported between November – December, 2008 in Oracle’s North America consulting unit. The reduction in force included 140 IT consultants specializing in Siebel, E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, J.D. Edwards, and Hyperion products.”

Rumor: “A bunch of people were laid off from Oracle’s business units including utility and retail. Major layoffs are to come in Jan 2009”.

Rumor: “at least 2 people were laid off from PeopleSoft/Oracle unit with no warning.”

Rumor: “20% of the Education staff was let go”.

Update: According to Dow Jones and CNNMoney: “Oracle Corp.’s (NASDAQ: ORCL) fiscal second-quarter net income fell slightly, with the stronger dollar dragging on revenue and profitability.
Revenue for the quarter was lower than Wall Street expected, reflecting both the currency impact and weaker information-technology expenditure, but cost control and a strong flow of maintenance support revenue helped Oracle hit its quarterly earnings per share guidance.”

Update 2 (1-09-2009): According to rumors:

• SAP layoffs: “A source reports that SAP is making some deep cuts in SAP’s Strategic Growth Enterprise (SGE) unit (focused on the SMB space). A 300 sales-related positions were affected in North America.”
• Infor layoffs: A source reports that “Infor just laid off a staggering 85% of their senior managers and executives across UK and Europe.”

Update 3 (1-11-2009):

• India’s Oracle office in Bangalore lays off 40 people, according to The Time of India.
• Oracle India has an extensive network of more than 400 channel and alliance partners in India, which includes Infosys, Satyam, Sonata, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro.

Update 4 (1-12-2009):

• Reports said that after the acquisition of i-Flex, Oracle was planning to lay off almost all employees of that company, though the decision was scrapped after intervention of Oracle’s management, as the layoff of all i-Flex employees could project a failure of the acquisition, according to rumor

Update 5 (1-13-2009):

• An anonymous report suggests that termination packages were sent out to folks on 1/9/2009 in the US.
• PCWorld mentioned LayoffBlog.com in their Oracle layoff-related article.
• ComputerWorld also mentioned LayoffBlog.com.

Update 6 (1-13-2009):

• Oracle cut around 500 positions in its North American sales and consulting businesses last Friday (January 9, 2009), according to WSJ and other sources.
• Investors had anticipated a larger scale of the job cuts thanks to the rumors last week that the company was aiming to eliminate thousands of its employees, according to Yahoo Finance
• Oracle  employed 86,657 globally at the end of November.

~ LayOffBlog.com: Please feel free to comment this info and/or send us your updates regarding Oracle layoffs. ~

Motorola To Freeze Salaries, US Pension Plan

According to Dow Jones and CNNMoney: “Motorola Inc. (MOT) said most employees won’t get pay raises next year and announced cuts to retirement plans in the latest sign of the company’s struggles to remain competitive without a product ready to compete with other high-end handsets.

The moves follow $800 million in cuts announced two months ago that include 3, 000 job cuts and putting on hold Motorola’s plans to break up the company.”