NVIDIA axe 360 jobs

NVIDIA has revealed that it will be axing 360 jobs worldwide, amid poor financial results for the last quarter and ongoing problems with mobile graphics chipsets.  Describing the "workforce reduction" as necessary to "allow for continued investment in strategic growth areas", the redundancies will be phased over the next year and completed by the end of October 2008.

"Our action today is difficult, but necessary considering current business realities. Despite our reduction, we will continue to invest in selective high-growth opportunities like our revolutionary CUDA parallel computing technology and our Tegra mobile single-chip computer.  We are taking fast action to enhance our competitive position and restore our financial performance. All of us at NVIDIA are determined to emerge from these challenges an even stronger company" Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO, NVIDIA

When severance packages, employee counselling and job placement services are taken into account, NVIDIA expects the redundancies to have a $7-10m hit on Q3 2009 finances.  While it has confirmed that employees all over the world could be affected, it has not specified which departments the job losses will hit hardest.

Thanks to a hefty warranty charge, totalling $196m, NVIDIA reported a $121m loss for the last financial quarter.  Nonetheless, the company's GPU, MCP, and Professional Solutions groups all improved, collectively growing 27-percent year-on-year.