With so much in the news about job cuts and closures of well-known dot com companies, we at SearchtheWeb.com thought we would track these companies and Internet related sites and provide you with updated short news announcements on their status.
12/12/02
General Magic Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, nearly three months after ceasing business operations and being delisted from the Nasdaq National Market. The formerly high-profile technology company said Thursday that the bankruptcy filing will allow it to continue marketing its assets and winding down its affairs to maximize return to creditors.
12/12/02
Cable & Wireless PLC has told employees that 65% of jobs in continental Europe will be cut as part of its restructuring. Cable & Wireless has around 1,200 employees in continental Europe, working in the company's C&W Global division.
12/11/02
America Online, AOL Time Warner Inc.'s popular but troubled Internet-services unit, laid off 300 employees Wednesday. The cuts, which were spread across company functions, mostly affected America Online's Northern Virginia and California offices.
12/11/02
Health insurer Aetna will cut another 690 jobs, or 2.4% of its work force, in a bid to cut costs and remain competitive.
12/11/02
Sprint Corp. plans to cut 2,100 jobs, or about 2.8% of its remaining work force, as part of continuing efforts to eliminate redundancies and cut costs. Sprint, which provides local voice and data services in 18 states and operates a digital, nationwide wireless network, had about 75,000 employees world-wide before the announced cuts.
12/10/02
CommScope Inc. plans to reduce its 2,800-person work force by 6% to 7%. The broadband coaxial-cable maker said the continuing economic slowdown led to the layoffs, primarily at its Claremont and Newton, N.C., plants and will affect salaried and hourly personnel. CommScope, Hickory, N.C., expects to implement the layoffs next month.
12/10/02
Yahoo is laying off an unspecified number of employees in its Dallas and Atlanta offices in an effort to streamline its enterprise services business.
12/10/02
Charter Communications Inc. will make "significant" work-force reductions as it reorganizes its operating structure into five geographically clustered divisions. The job cuts among the 18,000 employees will be companywide.
12/10/02
Merrill Lynch gave layoff notices to more than 100 members, or about 10%, of its investment-banking staff, in another sign the sector's outlook remains dim despite a recent stock market rebound.
12/10/02
Schlumberger Ltd. said it would take $3.17 billion in charges, mostly related to a technology unit, and lay off 3,300 workers, or about 4% of its work force world-wide. Schlumberger has about 80,000 workers world-wide.
12/9/02
BrightCom Technologies (Israel), developer of software- and hardware-based Bluetooth wireless comms solutions, recently made a decision to shed most of its staff, in order to reduce costs and protect its future. Before the job cuts, the firm had 40 staff, versus 70 at its peak. Yuval Ben-Zeev, CEO, president and founder, has refuted rumours that BrightCom may shut down. Ben-Zeev would not disclose the number of jobs cut.12/9/02
Gemplus said it is laying off 1,000 staff, or 18% of its work force in a restructuring to cut costs and restore profitability at the Luxembourg-based smart-card maker.
12/9/02
United Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection, becoming the largest U.S. airline to file for Chapter 11. The United Airlines parent secured financing to let it continue flying as it restructures, and said it would cut the pay of its nonhourly staff.
12/9/02
AMR's American Airlines asked employees to forgo raises next year as part of an effort to cut $3 billion to $4 billion in costs to stem huge losses at the world's largest airline.