Sun
Microsystems
has axed 1,000 staff in
the US and Canada.
The cuts come as
the
first of 2,500 job losses Sun Microsystems announced in
May.
Loss-making Sun is to announce further redundancies in Europe
and other regions.
The company slipped into the red in the third quarter ending 30
March, partly as a result of slumping sales in North America.
Cutting 2,500 staff will reduce Sun's overall headcount by
7%.
After posting the third quarter results, Sun Microsystems CEO
Jonathan Schwartz said: "The US economy presented Sun with
significant challenges in the third quarter, masking our progress
in developing nations and economies across the world.
"With double-digit year-over-year growth in India and Brazil,
and triple digit billings year-over-year growth in our energy
efficient, Solaris-based Chip Multi-Threading (CMT) systems, Sun
made considerable progress during the quarter."
Jonathan Schwartz added: "We continue to invest in the future,
created by open alternatives to proprietary technologies,
best exemplified by the acquisition of MySQL. The world is
moving to open source innovation, and Sun continues to lead that
revolution."
Sun Microsystems has
axed thousands of jobs over
recent years, largely in response to slumping server sales. Sun
now
relies on server software sales, although it is making much of
it
freely available through open source programmes.
Analysts and investors expect further job cuts if the company
does not return to profit. The company's fourth quarter and
full-year results are due on 1 August.