Will Cisco layoff another 600+ jobs?

Another round of employees at Cisco Systems reportedly got pink slips Thursday, as the company laid off several hundred employees as part of its plan to cut costs and realign its business.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that between 600 and 700 Cisco employees were laid off at the company's headquarters in San Jose, Calif. The company also cut jobs at branch offices in other parts of the U.S. The Wall Street Journal cited sources close to the company.

A spokesman for the company told the Wall Street Journal that Cisco was "doing everything possible to minimize the impact on employees affected by the limited restructuring."

Like all companies, Cisco, which makes networking equipment that runs the Internet and provides communications for large companies, has seen sales slump as a result of the global recession. The company said earlier this year that it would likely cut between 1,500 and 2,000 jobs as it realigned its business to focus on newer more profitable business segments. The cuts were expected to be completed at the end of the company's fiscal year, which ends this month.

In February, Cisco said it cut about 250 jobs at its San Jose headquarters. Cisco had 66,558 employees at the end of April. Despite the cuts, Cisco's CEO John Chambers has said publicly that he believes the worst of the recession is over. But he noted that it could take some time before spending returns to high levels. Wall Street will be watching the company's next earnings call very carefully to see signs that the bottom has been reached. Cisco will report fiscal fourth quarter and end of year earnings on August 5 after the market closes.

CNet.com

Recession hit Adobe, shuts US operations down for one-week

Adobe Inc, the world’s biggest maker of graphic-design software, shut down North American operations this week, part of a plan to cut operating costs as the recession crimps sales.

Adobe told employees in March it would impose one-week closures in the second, third and fourth quarters, and asked staff to take paid vacation time, the company said today.

“These are in addition to the normal holiday shutdown” between Christmas and New Year’s Day, San Jose, California-based Adobe said in an e-mail.

The company has frozen salaries, trimmed bonuses and variable compensation plans, and curbed travel expenses, Chief Executive Officer Mark Garrett said in an April interview. In December, the company fired about 8 percent of the workforce to help rein in costs during the economic slump.

Second-quarter sales fell 21 percent as customers held off upgrading to the latest version of Adobe’s Creative Suite programs, which account for about 60 percent of revenue. Sales in Europe trailed expectations, the company said on a June 16 conference call.

Adobe advanced 62 cents to $28.62 at 4 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have gained 34 percent this year.

Worldwide spending on information-technology products will shrink 9 percent this year as the economy contracts, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Agencies

Has recession hits jobs in Silicon Valley?

Young professionals and recent graduates have struggled to find work in a sliding economy, but one area — Silicon Valley — has been relatively immune. Until now. Silicon Valley companies that initially resisted the swooning of the economy are looking to cut costs and shed entry-level positions, and people in their 20’s are finding a college degree is no longer their golden ticket to a dream job in high tech.

“I feel like I put in all the work (in school) to not have a job,’’ said Jillian Crawford, 25, who’s been looking for a marketing job with a tech company since she graduated with honors from San Jose State University in June. Crawford has applied to about 25 marketing jobs without receiving much of a response from employers. She remains committed to finding a job in Silicon Valley and would be dismayed if she had to look elsewhere.

That may not be easy

Silicon Valley has been hit hard by the global economic crisis as tech companies, including Hewlett Packard, Yahoo, Sun Microsystems and Applied Materials have shed 140,000 jobs in the last few months, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas, a consulting group.

Instead, employers are putting an increased value on experience and tenure, something recent graduates lack. And many companies are moving seasoned employees around to fill open positions rather than add another person to the payroll, according to Kerry Kiley, Bay Area regional manager for employment firm Adecco.

“Things out there are very, very tough right now and seem to be getting tougher before they’re getting better — even for the educated,’’ she said. Only engineers buck the trend. It has been tough for Crawford. She moved back home with her parents a little over a month ago to save money while searching for a job.“I was thinking (it would take) maybe a couple weeks, maybe three weeks, before finding a job I was really interested in,’’ said Crawford. “I am completely still shocked at how long it’s taken.’’

Source; Agencies