No one thinks the worst of the industry downturn is over as Xilinx revels plans to cut as many as 200 staff, freeze salaries and cut some executive pay in a cost cutting move.
The true concern is that Xilinx may not be an isolated case as the Q1 reporting season unfolds over the coming weeks.
The market's positive response to Intel's marginally improved Q1 figures on Tuesday may have masked more persistent concerns about the outlook for the chip industry in 2009.
Intel saying the PC market may have bottomed is far from saying this is the start of the recovery.
Within hours FPGA leader Xilinx reminded us of the ongoing reality of a chip industry deep in recession.
Xilinx is cutting around 6% of its workforce, possibly affecting 100 or more jobs at its Dublin facility, in a bid to save $5m a quarter from the middle of the year.
And if we thought by August the industry would be safely on the road to recovery, maybe we should think again. Xilinx warned that these cuts may not be the end.
Restructuring of its worldwide operations will take place between September 2009 and March 2010, resulting in additional restructuring charges of about $10m.
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