Advantest slashes 1,200 jobs
Thursday, 26 February 2009
TOKYO, Feb 25, (AFP): Japanese chip equipment maker Advantest Corporation said Wednesday that it was slashing 1,200 jobs, or more than a quarter of its workforce, as it braces to fall into the red in the year to March.
Advantest said chip makers were curbing their investment, hitting demand for the company's semiconductor testing equipment.
The group plans to reduce its workforce to 3,400 by the end of March, a decline of 26 per cent from a year earlier. It said it
had already begun shedding temporary jobs and offering voluntary retirements.
The company will also freeze management bonuses and slash executive pay by up to 60 per cent to cope with the downturn in the memory chip market.
Advantest said chip makers were curbing their investment, hitting demand for the company's semiconductor testing equipment.
The group plans to reduce its workforce to 3,400 by the end of March, a decline of 26 per cent from a year earlier. It said it
had already begun shedding temporary jobs and offering voluntary retirements.
The company will also freeze management bonuses and slash executive pay by up to 60 per cent to cope with the downturn in the memory chip market.