IT job losses continue apace

IBM cuts 1,000 at chip plant; Palm axes 250

Streamlining is continuing across the IT industry as the axe fell on more jobs last week.

IBM announced 1,000 cuts at its chip manufacturing plant. Big Blue employs 21,500 staff in its microelectronics division, but the cuts are less than one per cent of the company's total 320,000-stong workforce.

Meanwhile, handheld vendor Palm announced that it will axe 250 jobs. This will be the company's third round of job cuts, bringing the total number of staff lost to about 750, out of a total workforce of 1,300 earlier in the year.

The company said it is still on target to meet its second-quarter earnings estimates.

"Palm is performing better than a few months ago in both of our core businesses," said Eric Benhamou, chairman of the board and chief executive since the departure of Carl Yankowski recently.

"We are now in a position to further reduce our cost structure. Together, these favourable factors will accelerate our return to profitability," he explained.