14 DAY TRIAL // AMD did say it was going to lay off about 10% of its global workforce and, true enough, this really is happening rapidly, with two departments getting a particularly thorough thinning.
The two departments of Advanced Micro Devices that saw the biggest workforce reductions are PR and Marketing.
This may not have become a widely known fact so quickly, if not for the publishing of the new CEO's e-mailed letter.
“This action was necessary to rebalance our skillsets, drive to a more competitive cost structure and enable us to fund our key growth areas... Our industry is at an inflection point as new trends emerge around the consumer experience, the breakdown of traditional control points and technology convergence,” CEO Rory P. Read supposedly wrote.
“It’s clear we have to take aggressive steps to create distinct value for our customers, and must optimize our existing business today while enabling the company to capture future growth. If we do not take action now, we will miss these opportunities and be squeezed out.”
Perhaps the most radical of the layoffs was that of Director of Product Planning, Carell Killebrew, who played a big role in the recovery and evolution of the GPU division.
Also, it bears noting that the job cuts practically mean that a large number of those people who worked with publications will no longer be maintaining the links to the press.
This will, in turn, cause some global uncertainty, the same way so many layoffs near the holiday season, and in such a difficult economy, will stir some apprehension.
Still, there are those, like Read himself, who feel that AMD's situation really does demand something as radical as this. Hopefully things will turn out for the best.
“To strengthen our market position, we have to rebalance our skillsets to better align with these market shifts and implement a more competitive cost structure. Our competitors are serious and significant, and we will take the required actions to beat them... a lower cost base allows us to be more competitive today and to invest back into the business to fuel our “attack” strategies in— low power, emerging markets and the cloud.”
More things will be made public on November 9 (2011), when Read will hold a Worldcast.