Sun Micro to cut up to 6,000 jobs

[Niels Bohr 72]

The computer hardware maker Sun Microsystems has announced it will shed up to 6,000 jobs in a bid to cut costs.

The move is part of a restructuring plan, which is set to save up to $800m (£540m) annually, and will cost up to $600m over the next year.

The cuts represent 18% of its workforce - the firm is facing slowing demand for its high-end computers.

Sun Microsystems warned in October it would report a wider-than-expected loss in the final quarter of the year.

Falling shares

"The magnitude of the work force reduction is certainly overdue," said analyst Brent Bracelin at Pacific Crest Securities.

The company's shares have fallen 77% this year. They are down 98% since 2000, when the internet bubble burst.

As most industries suffer from the global squeeze on credit and a consumer slowdown, so many technology firms are feeling the effects from a drop in demand.

Sun said it expected to report a net loss for the final three months of 2008 of 25-35 cents a share, surprising analysts who had expected the firm to post a net loss of 16 cents a share.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/7730135.stm

[mawilson 2,133]

This makes me sad, because technologically Sun is way ahead of their competitors.

Solaris is a fantastic OS, yet people are too blind to see it.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

This makes me sad, because technologically Sun is way ahead of their competitors.

Solaris is a fantastic OS, yet people are too blind to see it.

People are?

About half our servers run on Solaris.

The move is part of a restructuring plan, which is set to save up to $800m (£540m) annually, and will cost up to $600m over the next year.

Here's another good article on it. A page worth of talk of restructuring and not a mention of anyoffshore hiring or anything remotely offshore. I am saddened to see these people lose their jobs, but the absence of any offshore mention in this report pleases me greatly.

[mawilson 2,133]

This makes me sad, because technologically Sun is way ahead of their competitors.

Solaris is a fantastic OS, yet people are too blind to see it.

People are?

About half our servers run on Solaris.

They've been losing their market share to Linux for a while now.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

This makes me sad, because technologically Sun is way ahead of their competitors.

Solaris is a fantastic OS, yet people are too blind to see it.

People are?

About half our servers run on Solaris.

They've been losing their market share to Linux for a while now.

Aah, I see.

Linux is nowhere to be found where I work.

Our non-US branches are fvcking around with Linux though, much to corporate's chagrin.

[mawilson 2,133]

Aah, I see.

Linux is nowhere to be found where I work.

Thank God for that.

Linux is not suitable for production use - it's a fast moving target.

Today's version will become obsolete in 6 months, and in 2 years will be impossible

to even patch without a full reinstall.

Their ABI compatibility is dismal - a binary compiled 5 years ago will not run today.

Yecchhh. All I can say about Linux.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Many of the retailers giants prefer Linux because it lowers their overall operational costs. Lowes Home Improvement have their own home brew Linux called Lowes Linux running nationwide across their registers, and servers.

[mawilson 2,133]

Many of the retailers giants prefer Linux because it lowers their overall operational costs. Lowes Home Improvement have their own home brew Linux called Lowes Linux running nationwide across their registers, and servers.

How does it lower operational costs?

Solaris is free as well as open-source. You only pay for support (if you want it.)

[IAMX 3,055]

Many of the retailers giants prefer Linux because it lowers their overall operational costs. Lowes Home Improvement have their own home brew Linux called Lowes Linux running nationwide across their registers, and servers.

How does it lower operational costs?

Solaris is free as well as open-source. You only pay for support (if you want it.)

Probably means versus Windows server licenses + support.

Edited November 14, 2008 by SRVT

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Windows isn't even a competitor in this space.

[IAMX 3,055]

Windows isn't even a competitor in this space.

They are pretty much everywhere else I guess. Just read an article not long ago this year stating they had over like 65% marketshare. Kinda hard not to notice that.

[Niels Bohr 72]

I think it was based on the decision at the time of company conception. The majority of the vote was Linux.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Windows isn't even a competitor in this space.

They are pretty much everywhere else I guess. Just read an article not long ago this year stating they had over like 65% marketshare. Kinda hard not to notice that.

Not in the space I'm talking about. We have Windows servers running our intranet but any internet-facing content where reliability and performance are non-negotiable we have either Solaris or AIX.

[IAMX 3,055]

I think it was based on the decision at the time of company conception. The majority of the vote was Linux.

Ahh. It makes me wonder how people can be business savvy yet go with Windows Server.

Must be small business.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Most electronic retailers uses Windows. Such as Best Buy, Staples, Inc., OfficeMax...etc...

LOL