Features

Applied Materials to cut 1,750 jobs

The Associated Press
Tuesday November 05, 2002

SAN JOSE — Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials Inc. said Monday it will cut 1,750 jobs, or 11 percent of its work force, as it struggles with the continuing high-tech slump. 

The Santa Clara-based company said about 800 of the jobs will be cut at its Silicon Valley operations and another 200 from its Austin, Texas, facility. The remaining reductions will take place at other locations. Employees will be notified starting Tuesday. 

“This was a painful but necessary decision to make in order to enable the company to align our operations with the current level of business and position for future growth,” said James C. Morgan, Applied Materials’ chief executive. 

The job cuts were necessary despite other cost-cutting measures, Morgan said. 

Applied Materials, the leading supplier of products and services to computer chip makers, said it will post a restructuring charge in its fiscal first-quarter results. It did not specify the amount. 

In September 2001, the company cut 2,000 positions. At the end of the year, it announced it was cutting another 1,700. 

Applied Materials currently has 16,000 employees around the world. 

Before the company announced the cuts, shares of Applied Materials closed up 73 cents to $16.45 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.