A major voluntary retirement programme intended to slim down its 125,900 payroll by up to 8,000 is in prospect at Digital Equipment Corp as the company faces up to the real possibility of a loss for its fiscal third quarter to March 31 because of the ravaged state of the US computer market. In the second quarter to December 31, the company saw profits slump 44% to $155m on turnover flat at $3,185m. President and founder Ken Olsen won’t rule out a loss for the period, telling the Wall Street Journal it could happen and noting that the difference between a profit and a loss is a very small shift in a very large number – that number being the $3,000m-plus of business the company does each quarter. And if the company does resort to major incentives to cut its workforce, the associated cosst could lead to the company making a loss for the year.
