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Technology Stocks : EMC How high can it go? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JDN who wrote (12132)	2/12/2001 6:56:35 AM
From: John Carragher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17183

todays's wsj. EMC Says Cuts of Less Than 3% of Jobs Don't Reflect Any Downturn in Business By JERRY GUIDERA Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EMC Corp. quietly fired several hundred employees last week, in one of the data-storage company's biggest across-the-board cuts in years. The layoffs, which the company didn't announce publicly, amount to less than 3% of EMC's 24,000 employees, said company officials. The move comes as several other high-technology concerns are reducing their work forces in cost-cutting efforts. But EMC, of Hopkinton, Mass., said its reductions were part of a tough annual-review process by department heads and were based solely on individual performance. EMC cut about 10% of its work force in 1995 as part of the same review system. The company said the firings weren't a reflection of a business downturn. "We've let people go who are not what we need now," said EMC spokesman Mark Fredrickson. "It's not being done to reduce costs or head count." He added that EMC still intends to add 7,000 to its work force this year and reiterated the company's prediction that 2001 revenue will rise 35% to $12 billion. "There's no change at all in the tone of demand or the strength of our business," said Mr. Fredrickson. Word of the firings spread quickly on investor bulletin boards late last week, reaching jittery investors and weighing on the company's stock. At 4 p.m. Friday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, EMC shares were down $3.10 to $56.40.