Having got rid of 200 staff in April, Silicon Valley Group Inc has announced a further round of cuts which will result in over 700 more job losses. The wafer processing equipment company will take a $3m pre-tax charge in its fourth quarter, ending September 30 as a result of the job losses, which represent 21% of its workforce. The San Jose, California company has released only sketchy details about its plans, but has said it has been forced to make cuts because of the slump in the international semiconductor business and the weak Asian economy. The company will report its financial results today, Monday; and while it hasn’t given any clues to exact numbers, such cuts can only signal bad news. In addition to the job losses, SVG has also said it has scheduled a 15-day shut down in its second half of the year to reduce costs further, according to Reuters, and has already imposed a hiring freeze on some jobs, and discretionary spending cuts. SGV shares closed down 1.6% at $15.50 on Friday, having fallen consistently since a year high of $38.37 last September. The company’s share price reached a year’s low of $15.00 on Thursday.
