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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: advocatedevil who wrote (57329)	12/13/2001 8:05:01 AM
From: Sam Citron	Respond to of 70976

It appears this IS the 3rd round of layoffs this year Voluntary severance is not quite the same as a layoff. Anyway, it is the 3rd RIF this year. Sam@semantics.com (How was that, Jacob?)

To: advocatedevil who wrote (57329)	12/13/2001 8:55:05 AM
From: Dr. Mitchell R. White	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

AD, threaders, Two? Three? How to count, eh? Actually, AMAT has been "laying off" folks for a long time, beginning with a staged reduction in contract personnel that was completed prior to the "voluntary" offering. And now two (for sure) non-voluntary rounds of regular employees. And in answer to an earlier question, yes, a 10% reduction in labor is about 2% savings overall. I'm hearing that this cut here in Austin is releasing more management than previously. In any case, the AMAT factory here, which is their largest production facility, is experiencing a 30% cut this time, from about 2,000 to about 1,400. A clear signal to me that demand will remain weak, and may get even weaker, in the next two quarters or so. This one hurts! I have a lot of good friends, and people who I view as responsible, productive employees of AMAT, who will be released today. And with the next two big employers in the area in a swoon (Dell computers, all semiconductors), there's not much hope they'll find substantial employment here soon. Which means that, when the worm turns and AMAT needs talent, they will have to import it. Just another facet of how "layoffs" (man, I hate that word!) are expensive. FWIW-- Mitch