Heard on the Beat

Big layoff due at Applied?

Hit hard by the IC downturn, Applied Materials Inc. is reportedly gearing up for another round of layoffs, possibly between 1,500 to 3,000 employees, according to a report from Reuters on Friday.

Since September of last year, Applied has announced 3,700 job cuts. Now, however, analysts believes the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company will shortly announce that it could slash up to 20% of its workforce, according to the report. During its last conference call in August, the company said it had about 16,000 employees.

"I can tell you they've been laying people off with two months (notice)," said Banc of America Securities chip equipment analyst Mark FitzGerald told Reuters. "We're hearing that they're putting together a list of employees at this point for a sort of full-blown layoff."