This article is more than 1 year old

EMC slashes 2,400 jobs

Sales slump due to 'blanket of hesitation'

EMC is to axe 10 per cent of its workforce due to a slump in sales of storage kit.

The firm, best known for its high-end, proprietary Symmetrix boxes, is to show 2,400 people the door, bringing its employee headcount down from 23,400 to 21,000 in its second round of job cuts this year.

Joe Tucci, EMC's president and chief executive, blamed the overall slowdown in IT spending for the job cuts. He didn't hold out too much prospect of an early recovery either.

"The business world is simply covered in a blanket of hesitation," said Tucci, who added EMC was "highly unlikely" to reach the $1.8 billion in revenue it needs to break even this quarter.

That means the loss "highly qualified, dedicated people" from EMC and Tucci tries to sweeten this bitter pill by suggesting that it "hopes to be able to welcome some of the people who leave back into EMC with open arms" when things improve.

Any one for a big corporate hug before they get sacked?

There was no mention in EMC's statement of the keener competition form the likes of IBM, Sun and Compaq that has seen EMC come under intense pricing pressures of late. Industry watchers see this as the main reason for EMC's declining market position. ®

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EMC's statement

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