Western Digital has announced plans to slash 2,500 jobs, or about 5 percent of its workforce, and considerably cut executive pay in an effort to counteract what the company calls a "softer demand environment." The world's second-largest maker of hard disk drives is just the latest in a long list of tech companies reducing costs to cope with the economic downturn.
The company also lowered its revenue outlook for the current quarter from $2.15 to $1.8 billion due to a significantly lower demand and, as a result, said it plans to reduce production by halting most of its manufacturing operations from December 20 to January 1. It will also close one of its three manufacturing facilities in Thailand and another one in Malaysia. The measures are expected to be completed by the end of March and should save the company about $150 million a year.