More cost cutting ahead, Sun CEO warns in internal memo
By Stephen Shankland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
December 20, 2000, 11:45 a.m. PT
Sun Microsystems chief executive Scott McNealy has told employees that the slowing economy will lead to continued cost-cutting and more circumspect hiring, but that the company will weather the current tech-sector storm.
In an internal memo sent Tuesday and obtained by CNET News.com, McNealy boasted of growing market share, praised Sun's "stunning" revenue growth and denied reports of delays of upcoming systems based on its new UltraSparc III chip.
But he also cautioned that an era of fiscal austerity has arrived for the Palo Alto, Calif.-based server maker.
"We will have to adjust. We will have to respond to changing economic situations in our spending and hiring decisions. As the market sorts out its economic uncertainty, we will need to continue the cost controls we put in place this quarter," McNealy said. "Please don't let the wild market rides let us lose our focus."
Cost-cutting memos are quickly becoming a holiday tradition in the high-tech world. Earlier this week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer wrote a memo of his own calling for a more "cost-conscious culture."
Though the often-colorful executive didn't have a Top 10 list handy, McNealy did pull out some of his trademark humor to defuse rumors behind Sun's stock plunge. One of Wall Street's perennial favorites, the stock recently hit a 52-week low.
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