Magma Design Automation has become the latest company to announce layoffs.

According to Milan Lazich, Magma's VP of corporate marketing, the layoffs will impact less than 10% of the company's global 1,000 employee base and will made across all operational departments. Lazich further reported that most of the layoffs will take place by the end of the week.

The move is not surprising. In its most recent quarterly report for its fiscal Q1 2009 ended August 3, the EDA company described its business environment as more difficult than anticipated and noted softening demand that had resulted in delays in customer purchases of design software as it recorded a sales decline and loss increase compared to the year-ago quarter.

"We updated financial guidance during our August 28, 2008 earnings call that was intended to de-risk our revenue forecast, and the decisions we're making now are intended to adjust expenses to be consistent with current revenue expectations and to restore profitability on a non-GAAP basis by our fiscal year end," said Magma President and COO Roy E Jewell in a statement this morning. "These changes put our focus on product areas that stand to drive our greatest growth."

The layoffs are part of a restructuring plan initiated by Magma in May and are expected to result in a one-time charge during the company's fiscal Q2 2009 ranging from $2.5 million to $3.5 million. The majority of the charges are expected be for personnel-related costs, including severance benefits.

The company is the link in a long chain of semiconductor industry players that have announced layoffs in recent weeks. Sony Ericsson announced it had begun 2,000 job cuts earlier this week; Keithley announced it would cut 5% of workforce last week; and in the prior week, Hewlett-Packard, Nvidia, Lattice, and LTX-Credence all announced layoffs.

By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News - Electronic News

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