GPS chipmaker SiRF Technology Holdings will be firing 25 percent of its staff in an effort to cut costs. In a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said that it has approved “a corporate cost reduction and restructuring plan that will include a reduction in force, consolidation of offices and reprioritization of certain engineering projects”.
The reduction in force will include employees with a Swedish subsidiary that SiRF divested its controlling interest in at the end of November. It will also include additional firings, the majority of which will be completed by the first quarter of 2009. The total restructuring costs before taxes–in both 2008 and 2009–will be between $3 million and $3.5 million including severance packages. $2 million to $2.5 million will be in cash.
The company expects to have reduced its quarterly operating expenses by $8 million to $9 million per quarter by the end of 2009.
This is actually the third round of layoffs SiRF has announced this year. In March the company cut 7 percent of its workforce just before former chief executive Michael Canning stepped down. After brutal second quarter earnings, SiRF announced a further 7 to 9 percent further cut in its headcount.
