Many big shot companies of the PC industry had to pare their workforces in response to weakening sales. Microsoft Corp. announced that it is cutting 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months including 1,400 job cuts effective immediately. The company said that it would lay off about 5% of its work force as a result of the company’s 11% decline in profit for the second quarter. The job cuts are reported to be in the areas of R&D, HR, marketing, sales, finance, legal, and IT and will be one of the first significant cuts in Microsoft’s 34-year history. Additionally, Intel announced that it would lay off 5,000 to 6,000 workers and close down plant operations at some places, due to dismal fourth quarter earnings. Intel reported a 23% drop in revenue and a 90% fall in net income in the last quarter. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), also a large supplier of PC chips reported a 33% decline in fourth-quarter revenue posting a $1.42 billion loss. AMD said that it would reduce its work force by close to 9% to combat the downturn more effectively.
Coke, Pepsi Restart Cola Wars with New Campaigns
Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc, both rival cola companies are trying on new marketing strategies to stem the tide of sales decline. Coke‘s global marketing campaign in which its flagship cola logo and other logos were overhauled, comes close on the heels of a similar marketing strategy proposed by PepsiCo recently. Also, Coca-Cola has unveiled a new tagline, "Open Happiness" and is marketing it aggressively. Coca-Cola will also hit other high-profile advertising events like the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards for the promotion. Coke's launch comes only weeks after Pepsi introduced an effort tagged ''Refresh Everything.'' As part of its campaign, Pepsi made its presence felt at Obama's inauguration, with headlines featuring ''Yes you can'' and a redesigned logo similar to Obama’s presidential campaign logo. Analysts do not regard the campaigns to be co-incidental but attribute them as a marketing antidote to the overall decline in sales of carbonated soft drinks.
One-Third Americans Decline to Use Broadband Because of High Costs
According to a recent study by Pew Internet & American Life Project, more than one-third of Americans were cited as saying that they wouldn’t use broadband Internet because of the monthly expenses incurred. The report which included two surveys of 4,254 people illustrates that Obama’s goal of bringing broadband and internet facilities to rural areas might face a potential holdup. About 57% of the nation uses broadband services, even though 91% of homes have access to it. Computer access and the difficulty of using the technology are also cited to as additional barriers to widespread broadband use, according to the report. President Obama has made broadband deployment an important catalyst to create 3 million jobs and invigorate the economy. Building of more broadband networks is also a part of his initiative to "build a 21st century economy." Many public interest groups are also pushing for specific proposals that would render reduction in prices and effective training for people about the Internet.
