[Berita ini masih belum disahkan. Tetapi besar kemungkinan amat tepat. Kemelesetan ekonomi Amerika bakal menggugat beberapa kilang mereka di sini. Bukan kilang sahaja, malah syarikat yang menyokong mereka selama ini di sini - termasuklah IKS dan wakil pengedar akan tergugat sama.

Seperti yang kita sedia maklum, dunia IT amat kompetetif. Kilang-kilang ini perlu menghasilkan produk semurah mungkin dan iklim pelaburan di Malaysia kurang menyakinkan akibat kawalan matawang dan mulut Mahathir yang sukar diam. Akibatnya ramai akan kehilangan kerja khususnya golongan operator dan jurutera. Jangan lupa mereka ini pengundi juga.... dan kilang ini kebanyakkannya terletak di kawasan yang kuat Umno dan BNnya...
- Editor]

From: Imran Daud

Ekonomi merudum - pelabur lari kerana Mahathir ???????

Latest Info on retrenchment :

1. COMPAQ - already faced with precarious global mkts, falling PC price and stock price decline, Compaq on Mar/15 cuts its outlook for the current first quarter and said it would lay off some 5,000 workers.
   

2. MOTOROLA -PHONE, the world's no.2 mobile phone maker said on Mar/13,it will cut another 7,000 jobs as it struggles to strengthen its cellphone unit amid an industry-wide slowdown in sales.
   

3. MOTOROLA-SEMICONDUCTOR, announced that it would cut up to 4,000jobs from the global semiconductor mfg business.
   

4. NORTEL -the world's no. 1 telecommunications equipment mfg ordered employees in an internal memo dated Mar/8 and obtained by Reuters to elimate costs in the face of gloomy growth prospects. The company said it would cut 10,000 jobs.
   
   

5. CISCO - the US internet giant announced recently it was laying off up to 5,000 permanent employees and cut 3,000 contract workers.
   

6. ORACLE - the world's second software maker said on Thursday that it was controlling costs to cushion the effects of the economicdownturn and would continue to reduce the size of its staff.
   

7. CREATIVE- the computer peripheral maker has announced an aggressive cost cutting exercise that include slashing staff by 10% ww 5,000 and closing a US mfg facility. Meaning about 500 people affected.
   

8. Solectron -the worls's largest CM is cutting 10% of the global jobs. Solectron chairman Koichi Nishimura siad 8,200 of the 79,000 employees were laid off.
   
   

9. INTEL - Announced on mar/15 that it would cut 5000....about 6 percent of its work force over the next 9 months.

FYI, some new info received this few days to share with you guys.

1. Anyway everyone is aware of the downturn situation faced by the US technology companies. Many said that it has not yet touch rock bottom and perhaps for Malaysia the effect will only be felt in the next 3-6 mths. Let's hope that there will be a bouncing effect within the predicted period.
   
   

2. Seagate top management held their meeting in Bangkok 3 week ago, at first, they are only focus on 4 Asia hard disk plant which is 2 in China, 1 in Singapore and 1 in Prai, finally, the decision announced are 1 China plant and also Prai plant shut down (total 2 plant close down, it may due to mainly top management higher post are Singaporean, even though locate the mfg plant compare with Prai are higher, they try to..........protect Singaporean). Estimate to happen in June 2001.
   

   Seagate is closing the Prai factory only....and moving the operation to S'pore. The plant is producing too few hard-drives to make it feasible to exist.
   
   

3. Motorola plant at P.J will be closed down , 4,000 employees suffer.
   

4. Acer consider to locate more order back to M'sia, however,they short of a lot Engineer's and cause the plan to be cancelled.
   

5. Solectron and Jabil has a big order cancelled from Cisco...due to slow-down and inventory problem. Solectron has plant no. 2 built up (about 25-30% of their floor space just for Cisco and Jabil has built a hugh extention for this customer too. Cisco is relooking at the figures again.
   

6. Claim that the cost of producing here is not much of a savings compared to US. Dell is laying off in US only, while expanding in Penang and China.
   

7. Komag - is very badly hit. They produce hard-disk media. Due to technology advancement, hard-disk now come in just only platter (20G for PC)instead of 3 to 4 platters - meaning a drop of 75% of biz. They should have retrenched 6to 9 mths ago.
   
   

8. Celestica Kulim - they are living on OEM PCB biz from solely Maxtor. Now that hard-disk biz is still in the duldrum, they find it hard to operate. Unless they can find other customers otherwise they would have to consolidate back to their bigger operation in Thailand.