Details Emerge of AMD Job Cuts, Restructuring

Details of the recent layoffs and financial restructuring of Advanced Micro Devices’ are laid bare in a recent SEC filing. The filing shows the company laid off 600 people, 100 more than the initial figure of 500 a company spokesperson announced in November, which in turn had an effect on restructuring costs for Q4 as well as 2009.

Reuters reports that AMD yesterday said it laid off 600 people in Q4, which had a knock on effect on the amount of money the company spent on restructuring during the fourth quarter. The extra hundred layoffs saw the company’s total cost of restructuring for Q4 shoot up to $70 million, $20 million more than the estimated $50 million earlier in the quarter. AMD will also need to make further cost reductions early next year to compensate for the extra cash spent.

While AMD would not provide an estimate for 2009 costs, the SEC filing also reports that the company will bear the burden of another charge in relation to its purchase of ATI. Charges related to ATI topped $800 million in the June quarter and the latest charge is on top of impairment charges amounting to $20 million for the company’s investment in chip manufacturer, Spansion.

A fortnight ago, AMD announced that the Empire State Development Corporation and the New York Public Authorities Control Board had voted to approve the transfer of development incentives from AMD to “The Foundry Company,” the temporary name for the new U.S.-headquartered, semiconductor manufacturing plant that it announced in October.

Read more on Reuters.