San Francisco, US - A report by TechCrunch, the United States online magazine has named Microsoft Corp, Intel, Cisco, IBM, Ericsson and HP as the six big technology companies laying off thousands of staff globally. TechCrunch said Microsoft will axe "thousands" of members of its global salesforce soon as it refocuses on sales of cloud software. The cuts come after Microsoft laid off 4,700 employees in 2016, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Microsoft shares were down slightly in late-morning trading. In April 2016, Intel Corp. laid off 12,000 employees — 11% of its workforce — as it switched its focus from selling PCs to cloud computing and the internet of things. Intel said the layoffs would save the company $750 million in 2016, and $1.4 billion per year after that. In May, Cisco Systems Inc. announced that it would lay off 1,100 people in addition to the 5,500 people, which accounted for 7% of its employees, it said it was letting go in August 2016. The company said it was expecting fourth-quarter revenue to fall 4% to 6%. IBM instituted a cut of 5,000 employees in March 2016, after four years of declining revenues. The company laid off more employees in May 2016, but that amount was undisclosed, according to Fortune. In June 2016, Bloomberg reported LM Ericsson Telephone Co. was planning to lay off 3,000 to 4,000 employees over that summer but that the number could reach up to 25,000, about 20% of its workforce, over time. The cuts came in the midst of increased competition and decreasing sales. HP Inc. announced in October that it was planning to lay off 3,000 to 4,000 people over three years, approximately 6% of its employees, according to an SEC filing. The company expected the plan would save $200 to $300 million per year beginning in 2020.(FA)
