Chip maker Advanced Micro Devices will shed 1,100 more jobs and cut salaries as it tries to reduce costs in a tough economic environment.
The company will lay off 900 at all levels of its product business, and will shed a further 200 positions through attrition and by divesting its handheld business, according to spokeswoman Hollis Krym. The cuts affect 9 per cent of AMD’s work force of 12,000, and come on top of hundreds of job cuts the company announced last year.
None of the 3,000 workers within AMD’s foundry operations, which were spun off in October into a separate company, will be affected, Krym said.
AMD will take a goodwill impairment charge of US$622 million relating to its October 2006 acquisition of graphics card maker ATI Technologies for $5.4 billion when it announces its results for the quarter ended Dec. 27.
The company also plans a deep round of salary cuts. CEO Dirk Meyer’s base salary will be temporarily reduced by 20 per cent, subject to approval by AMD’s board of directors’ compensation committee.
Salaries of vice presidents across AMD will be slashed by 15 per cent, with employees not eligible for overtime taking a 10 per cent cut and overtime-eligible employees taking a five per cent cut.
AMD employees outside North America will also see pay cuts consistent with local policies and regulations, AMD said.
Also suspended are matching contributions for U.S. employees’ 401k retirement investment funds.
For Canadian workers, AMD will delay implementing the Registered Retirement Savings Plans matching program.