Labor: IBM to cut 4,000 jobs
International Business Machines Corp, the world's biggest computer maker, will likely cut about 4,000 jobs as it completes its purchase of Pricewater-houseCoopers LLC's consulting unit, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. It hasn't been decided yet how many job cuts will come from Pricewaterhouse and how many from IBM's internal consulting division, known as Business Innovation Services, the Journal said. The Pricewaterhouse unit has about 30,000 workers and the IBM arm has 50,000 employees. A majority of the cuts are expected to occur in the support-staff area and IBM plans to keep employees with direct client relationships, the paper said.
Trucking: Consolidated to close
Consolidated Freightways Corp, the third-biggest US trucker, said it's shutting down operations and plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today, resulting in the loss of about 15,500 jobs. More than 80 percent of those workers will be fired immediately, and the remainder will be "phased out," the company said in a statement distributed by Business Wire. Consolidated Freightways, which has had losses for seven straight quarters, named management consultant John Brincko Chief Executive Officer in May, replacing Patrick Blake. Consolidated lost US$104.3 million last year, while larger rivals Yellow Corp and Roadway Corp were profitable.
PC processors: AMD to move headquarters
Advanced Micro Devices Inc, the world's second-biggest maker of personal-computer processors, will relocate its South Asia Pacific headquarters to Shanghai, the latest in a string of companies moving offices to China from Hong Kong. The Sunnyvale, California-based company, which competes with Intel Corp, said the move will become effective Oct. 1, according to a statement distributed by Business Wire. AMD officials couldn't be reached for comment.
Electronics: Samsung keeps spending
Samsung Electronics Co said it will maintain spending on new plants and equipment, pegged at US$4 billion this year, even as the world's biggest memory-chip maker estimates demand for chips, cell phones and consumer electronics may not recover until next year. Samsung is the only company in the US$11 billion memory-chip market that's able to earn a profit from making dynamic random-access memory chips. The company has retained its lead over rivals such as Micron Technology Inc by outspending them on research and new facilities, locking up the market for chips and flat-panel screens that others cannot mass produce.
Economy: Australia starts to slow
Australia's racing economy has finally been reined in by global stock market turmoil and a domestic drought, virtually eliminating the prospect of an immediate interest rate hike, analysts said yesterday. Economic growth dipped to 3.8 percent after remaining above 4 percent this year as the central bank tried applying the brakes to prevent overheating. Analysts said the figures were a clear indication that the Australian economy was feeling the impact of a slump in sharemarkets around the world and the worst domestic drought in almost a decade.
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