Sun plans layoffs following weak quarter; Blames U.S. economy
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Sun Microsystems' third quarter results were hurt by "significant challenges" related to the slowing U.S. economy. Sun also plans to cut 1,500 and 2,500 jobs.
The company on Thursday reported a third quarter net loss of $34 million, or 4 cents a share, on revenue of $3.26 billion, down 0.5 percent from a year ago. Excluding a 4 cents a share charge related to the acquisition of MySQL Sun roughly broke even.
No matter how you slice Sun's financials the company fell well short of Wall Street estimates calling for a profit of 18 cents a share on revenue of $3.37 billion. On a conference call, CFO Michael Lehman said that Sun's restructuring will result in a $130 million to $220 million charge in its fiscal fourth quarter
Sun talked up progress in the emerging markets, but couldn't overcome a weak economy. "The U.S. economy presented Sun with significant challenges in the third quarter," said Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz in a statement.