Sun Microsystems, citing impacts of the softening U.S. economy, posted a net loss on a slight decline in revenue for its third quarter and announced plans to cut up to 2,500 jobs, results which departed sharply from the company's expectations and Wall Street's projections. Earlier this year, Chief Financial Officer Michael Lehman said Sun expected revenue for the 2008 fiscal year to increase by low- to mid-single digits, with sales for the second half increasing at least 5%. Unfortunately, Sun was hit by a slowdown in tech spending in the U.S., said Sun Chief Executive Jonathan Schwartz in a conference call. "Our third quarter was a challenging one, in which U.S. macro factors impacted our overall performance," he said.
Yesterday, Mr. Lehman announced the company would also reduce its workforce by between 1,500 and 2,500 people, representing as much as 7.26% of its total staff, resulting in restructuring charges as high as $220 million.
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