Western
Digital firm has trimmed its revenue forecast for the ongoing quarter, and
it plans to "realign its cost structure" by closing fabs and firing 5% of its
workforce (approximately 2,500 people), among other steps. WD originally
expected revenue between $2.03 billion and $2.15 billion for its second fiscal
quarter, which ends on December 26. Because of reduced demand and "significantly
more competitive" pricing across the industry, however, the hard drive maker now
expects to make only $1.7-1.8 billion-a 22-26% year-over-year drop, if my math
is right. All of these changes should happen by the end of March next year, WD
predicts. The company will shoulder a resulting charge of around $150 million
across this fiscal quarter and the next, but it expects to save $150 million
annually from then on. In related news,
TweakTown is reporting that ABIT will be closing down the company on
December 31st. Awww, Abit made good boards. Sad to see them go.