This is an indicaton when Applied announces, they MAY mention the "Asian" factor. I wonder if this is going to get the "Asia" train rolling? Maybe for this industry only? A lot of tech companies did not use the Asian excuse much during the past 21 days of earnings announcements. I guess it remains to be seen if it starts cropping up in pre-announcement warnings, that usually come, in about the next 40 days.
Note: This has been shortened..and CAPS added by me.:
>>May 8, Applied Materials Cuts Costs Via Shutdowns
Applied Materials Inc., the world's largest maker of semiconductor equipment, is using intermittent company-wide shutdown days to cut costs amid an industry slowdown, and industry sources said..."The hope is they lose some upfront due to this package... Then if they don't reach the goals, they might go to layoffs."
Applied officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Most of the company was closed Friday for a company-wide shutdown. The company reports its second quarter earnings on Tuesday and details on cost cuts are expected..."Up until March, Applied was quite adamant that they did not want to lay anybody off," said another industry source. "They wanted to shorten the work week because when the upturn came, they would have everybody in place. In 1996, they made a mistake of laying people off and the turnaround came and they were caught short-handed." But March turned out to be worse for the semiconductor industry than Applied and others had predicted, with chip customers CANCELLING ORDERS AS THEY CUT CAPITAL SPENDING....Applied, like many other semiconductor equipment companies, has seen a slowdown in the ASIA PACIFIC region, particularly in KOREA, where the world's biggest memory chip makers are battling...an ECONOMICS CRISIS...<<
MikeM(From Florida) |
