Google Slashes About 200 Jobs in Sales and Marketing

Google has slashed about 200 more jobs, this time in sales and marketing. Vice President Omid Kordestani admitted to staffing mistakes as Google grew rapidly by acquiring other companies. In January, Google reassigned engineers and let 100 recruiters go. Since 2001, Google has acquired 53 companies, and continued buying last year.

Google has announced another round of layoffs, this time for about 200 people in sales and marketing. The move comes two months after the search giant said it would scale back hiring of recruiters.

"Just under 200 were affected with about half those working in North America," said Matt Furman, a Google spokesperson. "Everyone affected was told yesterday. Each person will be given a chance to find another job at Google and if they can't or they choose to leave, they will be given severance."

The company also offered the affected employees outplacement support.

By Patricia Resende
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=65598

Hitachi warns of $7.8 billion loss, to restructure

Hitachi Ltd warned of a record $7.8 billion annual loss due to weak sales, a firmer yen and costs to restructure its sprawling operations, joining a growing list of technology companies affected by the deepening recession.

That loss would be the biggest ever by a Japanese manufacturing company.

Hitachi, Japan's largest electronics maker with products ranging from rice cookers to nuclear reactors, said it would exit unprofitable businesses, close plants and take other restructuring steps in a bid to cut 200 billion yen in fixed costs by March 2010.

source: Yahoo News

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090130/tecnology/ctech_us_hitachi_restructuring

SAP says profit down 2 pct in '08, axes 3,000 jobs

Software maker SAP AG said Wednesday it would cut 3,000 jobs worldwide to cut costs as its 2008 net profit fell 2 percent, weighed by a difficult year-end when the financial crisisdeepened.