More rough news for the technology sector emerged Thursday as Corning Inc.
said it will slash about 825 jobs and 3Com Corp. forecast lower-than-expected
third-quarter revenue.
Corning said the ax fell at its Photonic Technologies division, severing
workers at its Benton Park, Pa., and Erwin Park, N.Y., facilities.
Quickly becoming an all-too-familiar refrain among technology companies,
Corning said a soft telecommunications market prompted the decision.
Corning added that Thursday's cuts do not include workers at its fiber optic
glass unit -- the company's largest -- as demand for that product continues to
be strong.
However, two of the vendor's largest customers -- Lucent Technologies and
Nortel Networks -- have also announced plans to cut more than 20,000 jobs
combined.
Investors applauded Corning's cost-cutting move, driving shares up almost 12
percent to $30.25 each.
The news on Wall Street wasn't as good for 3Com, which said sluggish sales
caused it to lower forecast third-quarter revenue to between $625 million and
$640 million. In December, 3Com said it expected to pull down between $725
million and $750 million.
The company's shares plummeted almost 18 percent Thursday, closing at $7.50
each. Its 52-week high occurred one year ago to the day, when 3Com shares were
at $119.75 during intraday trading.
On Monday, 3Com said it would slash 1,200 jobs, equal to about 10 percent of
its work force.
