Microprocessor maker AMD announced this week that it would cut 1680 workers, or about 10 percent of its workforce, citing an unexpected 15 percent drop in revenues for the current quarter. AMD currently employs almost 17,000 workers.
AMD had previously expected a seasonal revenue drop-off of about 7 percent. But increased competition with market leader Intel and heavy debt from its 2006 purchase of graphics chipset maker ATI have contributed to the lower than expected revenues.
The company is also reeling from previous missteps. In late 2007, the company announced a family of quad-core microprocessors that were technically more sophisticated than Intel's similar design. But AMD had to delay those chips when a technical defect was found in December. Fixed versions of the chips, marketed as the Phenom processor family, are just now trickling into the market.
