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Nvidia confirms layoffs, provides explanation

Company streamlined to focus on Cuda and Tegra
Thursday, 18 September 2008, 23:07

WE’VE HAD FORMAL confirmation from Nvidia that it will, indeed, be reducing its global workforce by six and-a-half per cent.

A statement from the firm acknowledged that about 360 unfortunate souls worldwide would be losing their jobs in what the company claims will be its first lay-offs in 13 years.

The layoffs are apparently an effort to get the firm "back on the right growth track" according to director of PR Derek Perez, and will purportedly be completed by the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2009 ending October 26, 2008.

Nvidia CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang said in a statement, "The action today is difficult, but necessary considering current business realities."

He added that, despite job cuts, Nvidia would, "continue to invest in selective high-growth opportunities like our revolutionary CUDA parallel computing technology and our Tegra mobile single-chip computer."

So if you are an employee working on a Cuda or Tegra related project, you are probably safe.

Indeed, the reorganisation seems to be more of a refocusing of attention by the graphics giant than anything else, with the specific aim of channeling more resources into "strategic growth areas".

Doing his best to allay fears the company might be in more serious financial trouble, Jen-Hsun noted, "We are taking fast action to enhance our competitive position and restore our financial performance."

All well and good, but the restructuring itself doesn’t come cheap. Nvidia reckons it can count on the changes costing anywhere between $7 million and $10 million before tax, a sum which will mainly go towards severance payouts.

Several sources have told the INQ that these severance packages are "fair by American standards".

Nvidia has also said it would offer counseling and career placement services to any employee requesting it. µ

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Comments
Prelude to the nightmare...

Hmmm... Why laying off? Profits not rolling in? That 200 mill charge for melting notebook chips costing you? Taking a beating from AMD/ATI in all pricing sectors so you have to discount your vid cards, thereby losing more money? Ooops!!! Glad I didn't buy that NV 8800GT that was on sale....

posted by : Jack_Frost, 19 September 2008 Complain about this comment
Interesting

I am guessing that I should ignore the email I got from an inhouse recruiter at NVDA Cali earlier this week?

posted by : IC Engineer, 19 September 2008 Complain about this comment
Chipset Division?

Nvidia would be fine laying off all of their chipset division as they aren't going to produce motherboard components/chipsets anymore. I don't imagine they'll fire any of the staff with the expertise to design future graphics processing units. So overall this is a perfectly justifiable step in Nvidia's business management plan.

posted by : Chris L, 19 September 2008 Complain about this comment
Good article

Finally..without bashing nvidia to nothingness

posted by : blkwdw, 19 September 2008 Complain about this comment
Chipset teams?

Presumably the unlucky people will be the motherboard chipset teams, which isn't surprising given how buggy their chipsets have been. Plus I'm sure nVidia need to save some cash to pay for all the faulty Geforce cards that are going to die soon.

posted by : Photoboy, 19 September 2008 Complain about this comment
Under The Radar

Stealth is when your true intentions cannot be detected and it is usually done when the confusion facade reigns as calm much like a duck in the water. So what better time to get rid of some previously useful hirelings to top-up the petty cash coffers. You know, the extra yacht, “entertainment” budget and more. Materialism or objective matter, whether it is living or otherwise, is merely Innocence-in-progress and as such, are merely reflectors. That is what innocence is. It reflects your true intentions for a rock, say, has no “for” nor “against”. How humans handle reflections/innocence is not a matter of gain or loss to the matter under consideration but whether you are handling it with love/reality or whether your are injecting your “genetics” otherwise known as aggression/venom/greed/”messianic radiance” or depression/sympathies/worship-capacity/fear and much, much more. 

As such, a work of art has the love of the painter but that love cannot be bought, accumulated, financially-appreciated and similar nonsense for these accumulations merely reflect one’s greed/anger-cum-fear/guilt and though it is ultimately illusory for all will have to part with their accumulations, what the accumulator has become is the reality. And it has to be paid-for – if only humans can make the connection, [even at the health level, say], not through their minds of fantasy and imaginations, but through their reality which is just another word for truth. Behind all the seemingly airy-fairy, lovey-dovey, greeny, “religious”, moralistic descriptions lies Love which is Reality per se and Love, in reality, is not those airy-fairy descriptions. Love has no “for” nor “against” because Love not only truly conquers all, it is the real potentional-cum-power behind all the universes combined and because it has no “for-or-against”/instability, Love is beyond the minds. 

One cannot “fall in/out-of love” for love cannot be owned/is not about possessions. It can only be reflected and therefore is merely your reflection and the way objectivity elicits love is through whatever that was reflected into it. So be thankful about food and not jam it down the gut, respect all the bounties provided by The Sun and not treat it as possessions and especially, treat money/currency as a tool/purveyor-of-love and not as a weapon/destroyer-of-love. Still can’t-see-it/believe-it? Look at the financial nonsense. When there is no Love, it always ends with saviours and clever-dickies mounting the rostum to take charge-of/control chaos and when control has no abandonments to balance it, reality will be further from reach. More of these seemingly unconnected “stirrings” will follow because only a calamity will awaken an addict, but even then, which is why behind the disasters is Love, if only we will allow Her access. Because all mental/man-made disturbances are zero-sum games/”free-for-alls”, has anyone questioned who got away with the loot this time round? Real Armageddons are not man-made. They are merely the occassional “Spring Clean” after a “good” party.

posted by : sneaky, 19 September 2008 Complain about this comment
When they said NVIDIA LAUNCHES 360

I thought it was a rival console - rather than 'people out of the window'

posted by : David Jones, 19 September 2008 Complain about this comment
Hiring binge followed by firing purge

Late last year Nvidia was on a hiring binge. I got the impression from some employees that it was a bit much. Looks like they overdid it. I wonder how many new-hires lasted?

posted by : JonnyO, 19 September 2008 Complain about this comment
Its' Executions....People.

How Many Times Has Jens Stated: Its' Executions that Count. Seems it drifted bit onto Human Side.

One Thing, New Execution takes Years to Complete, while upgrade to existing design by revision takes mere weeks.

So Jens, Start Executing to get back into Race.
TS Drashek

posted by : Executioneer, 19 September 2008 Complain about this comment
Even God Himself can't sink this ship

Not so long ago at an employee all-hands Jen Hsun was claiming "NVIDIA is immune to the economy."

Yeah. Right. And even God himself could not sink the Titanic. 

Remind me, isn't a layoff a sign that a company is being reactive to to the economy?

posted by : ricercar, 23 September 2008 Complain about this comment
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