Sun Microsystems is cut its headcount by 300 people over the next year as part of a plan to ask some people to find different jobs within the server giant, or accept a redundancy package.

Sun's redeployment programme will involve around two per cent of its 43,600 - or around 872 employees - mostly within its software and system business units. Workers will have between a month and six months to find new positions.

The job cuts at Sun are minor compared to competitors such as Hewlett-Packard and Compaq, where thousands of workers have lost their jobs during the current slowdown in the tech economy.

Last month Sun announced a loss of $88 million for its fourth quarter on sales of $3.65 billion compared with earnings of $720 million for the same period last year. ®

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