First-round layoffs at Broadcom begin

The layoffs were companywide, affecting all locations and departments, according to spokesman Bill Blanning.

Blanning would not give the specific number of employees laid off in the first round but said cuts happened in mid-June and that the company is still reviewing its business practices, which may result in further cuts.

The Irvine, Calif-based company first indicated plans to lay off employees last month as part of a restructuring effort. Broadcom set out to streamline its business to adjust to tougher times in the communications sector, which has engulfed other chipmakers and communications component suppliers. The company also continues to digest a recent shopping binge that resulted in 18 acquisitions over the past two years.

Broadcom sells chips to makers of cable set-top boxes and other communications equipment companies, which have taken a hit recently because telecommunications service providers such as Verizon Communications, AT&T and Sprint, among others, have cut back on equipment spending.

The chipmaker told investors on June 7 that second-quarter revenue would fall between 32 percent and 35 percent from first-quarter revenue of US$318 million, setting a range between US$205 million and US$215 million.

About 2,706 people worked for Broadcom as of the end of March 2001.