Chipmaker GE Core begins to lay off staff and freeze hiring

CTOnews.com, Nov. 12 (Xinhua)-- GlobalFoundries, a fab foundry, has announced layoffs and a hiring freeze, with the goal of reducing annual operating expenses by about $200 million, according to a report by Taiwanese media giant Heng, citing Bloomberg.

On Friday, local time, GE Core informed employees that layoffs were coming, but did not say when the layoffs would be made or which departments would be affected. GE Core said on an earnings call on Tuesday that the company was working on a plan to reduce annual operating expenses by $200 million.

A spokesman for GE Core confirmed the layoffs and hiring freeze, but declined to specify the number of job cuts, adding that GE Core reported strong results in the third quarter and a sound forecast in the fourth quarter, but was seeking to control costs based on the current overall economic environment.

According to the financial report, GE core's third-quarter revenue was $2.1 billion (about 15.204 billion yuan), up 22% from a year earlier; gross profit margin was 29.4%, adjusted gross profit margin was 29.9%; operating profit margin was 17.2%, adjusted operating margin was 18.8%.

CTOnews.com learned that Thomas Caulfield, CEO of GE Core, had previously said that 300mm equivalent wafers shipped 637 million pieces, a record increase of 5% year-on-year, and that the company "achieved record gross profit, operating profit and net profit". "We are still on track to achieve strong growth and profits this year."