Advanced Micros Devices Inc has given 200 of its US employees 60-day notice pink slips, blaming weak memory demand and the shift away from manufacturing at its Sunnyvale, California operation. The chip manufacturer, which employees about 7,100 in the US, will take an up to $6m charge in its current, third quarter to cover the cost of severance payments. Advanced Micro Devices said some of the layoffs are due its decision to revert its Sunnyvale development center back to research and development only, after using the facility for microprocessor and flash device manufacturing last year. Those functions have reverted to its Fab 25 plant in Austin, Texas. Some of the 200 may be re-hired to fill about 240 jobs the company has open. The firm said yesterday, We’re going to save some money here, but in the large scheme, this action isn’t going to return the company to profitability. Advanced Micro Devices hasn’t released a profits warning for this quarter, but was forced to send one out last quarter, when it reported net losses of $34.7m which included a one-time gain of $16.3m from the sale of securities (CI No 2,954).
