Agere Systems Inc. , which supplies components for communications and optical applications, said it will trim an additional 950 workers from its payroll as it reduces its cost structure and lower its quarterly breakeven level.
On top of the 6,000 employees Agere earlier this year said it would lay off (full story), the 950 new job cuts would primarily come from management positions within Agere’s product groups, worldwide sales organization, and corporate support functions. The majority of employees included in today’s announcement are located in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and are expected to leave Agere’s payroll over the next several months.
Besides cutting costs, Agere said it wants to reduce its quarterly break-even level to $700 million from $900 million, company officials said in a statement. Agere also said it is implementing the cuts to “align its business with current market conditions, to sharpen its strategic focus and leverage its expertise in systems integration.”
Agere blamed the earlier 6,000 job cuts as the result of a significant downturn in industry demand for semiconductors.
After all of the announced job cuts are taken, Agere said it will have a work force of approximately 11,300 employees.