According to Reuters, Yahoo News: “IBM is in talks to buy Sun Microsystems Inc for at least $6.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported, in a deal that could bolster their computer server products against rivals such as Hewlett-Packard Co.
That would translate into a premium of about 100 percent over Sun’s Nasdaq closing price Tuesday of $4.97 a share, the paper said, citing people familiar with the matter.”
“Sun stock is down 71 percent in the last 52 weeks, a far cry from an all-time high of $258.75 that it touched during the dot-com boom. The company — which is shedding up to 6,000 jobs, or 18 percent of its workforce — reported a net loss of $209 million for its second quarter ended December 28, compared with year-earlier net profit of $260 million. Revenue fell 11 percent to $3.22 billion.”
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, aunion 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”.
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.
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
According to Gizmodo: “Googlers looked forward to cash bonuses that topped $20,000. This year, they’re getting $180 worth of “dogfood” – a T-Mobile G1 cell phone”.
According to ITExaminer: “SAP India has vociferously denied a report in the Financial Chronicle claiming the company plans to lay off over 1,000 company contract workers.”
“No layoffs, as are being reported, have been planned thus far; we are conducting a detailed evaluation on the basis of our business requirements and will realign all our resources to optimize operational efficiencies”.
However, SAP admitted that it had taken a “series of prudent and appropriate steps to assure cost-efficient operations of the company during this period of economic uncertainty”.
~ LayOffBlog.com: Please feel free to comment this info or send us your updates regarding SAP layoffs worldwide. ~
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.”
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.
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. ~
According to InsideHPC: “sources inside SGI has confirmed for insideHPC that layoffs are expected at the company today.”
“Additional word from those in a position to know is that Bo sent out an email last night putting the size of the layoffs at between 10% and 20% of the workforce, and it looks like it might be Friday before we know which 20%. Details on the timing are still sketchy.”
According to Valleywag: “Yahoo’s script for performing the layoff begins when the boss walks up to an employee getting the sack. And then he says, “Thank you, [FIRST NAME HERE], for coming in. I have some information regarding our organization I’d like to tell you in person.” The anodyne managementspeak just gets worse from there: “I appreciate what you have done for Yahoo.””
Rumor (according to insider info): “A Zebra Technologies Company to close their project called Navis, laying off software engineers, including H1B-visa holders. Severance package: 3 month”.
Submitted update from one of our readers Christine: “Zebra Technologies, Vernon Hills, IL eliminates much of industry marketing department and several other positions in US and Europe. Including staff at RFID businesses as well as core barcode scanner businesses. Cost cutting to make the budgets and projects for the year likely to continue…”
According to Reuters: “Private equity firm The Carlyle Group is cutting about 100 jobs – around 10 percent of its staff – a source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.
The reductions are the first significant cuts made by a large U.S. private equity firm since the global economic crisis hit. The industry employed an estimated 76,700 people worldwide at the beginning of 2008 according to research company Preqin.”
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