A Round of Layoffs at Palm
PalmInfocenter has received a couple of unconfirmed reports that Palm Inc. has had a round of layoffs this week. One report from a reliable source claims as many as 200 people were let go from the US team on Thursday. Most of the cuts are claimed to be in the sales and marketing departments. Sources also postulate that Palm will be closing some offices in Europe and Asia as well.
The news comes during a rather rough week for Palm's stock and the US stock market in general. Shares in Palm closed at a new all time low over continued uncertainly about the general economy and Palm's long planned turnaround. The last major round of layoffs came around this time last year when around 250 people were cut. Palm's last reported head count in August was around 1,050 employees.
The company just recently reported its fifth consecutive quarterly loss back in September. At the time Palm CEO Ed Colligan stressed that the company was "still solidly in the midst of its transformation with some significant hurdles yet to come." Palm is due to report the results of the current quarter on December 18th.
Update:
PalmInfocenter has confirmed the layoffs with a Palm spokesperson today. The Palm rep remarked in a statement:
As a result of significant challenges facing our company and industry, Palm is restructuring its worldwide operations to better position the company for achieving profitability and long-term growth. The global economic downturn continues to dampen demand for consumer goods around the world, and the impact on the economic environment is worsened by our maturing Centro line and the length of time it is taking to ramp our new Windows Mobile products. The restructuring will result in company reductions in the U.S. and internationally, and our goal is to consolidate resources behind fewer programs to focus our efforts more effectively.
source
The news comes during a rather rough week for Palm's stock and the US stock market in general. Shares in Palm closed at a new all time low over continued uncertainly about the general economy and Palm's long planned turnaround. The last major round of layoffs came around this time last year when around 250 people were cut. Palm's last reported head count in August was around 1,050 employees.
The company just recently reported its fifth consecutive quarterly loss back in September. At the time Palm CEO Ed Colligan stressed that the company was "still solidly in the midst of its transformation with some significant hurdles yet to come." Palm is due to report the results of the current quarter on December 18th.
Update:
PalmInfocenter has confirmed the layoffs with a Palm spokesperson today. The Palm rep remarked in a statement:
As a result of significant challenges facing our company and industry, Palm is restructuring its worldwide operations to better position the company for achieving profitability and long-term growth. The global economic downturn continues to dampen demand for consumer goods around the world, and the impact on the economic environment is worsened by our maturing Centro line and the length of time it is taking to ramp our new Windows Mobile products. The restructuring will result in company reductions in the U.S. and internationally, and our goal is to consolidate resources behind fewer programs to focus our efforts more effectively.
source
Posts
No comments: