VA Linux Systems Inc. on Tuesday posted a quarterly loss that exceeded Wall Street’s lowered forecasts, leading it to slash 25 percent of its workforce in a bid to turn a profit.
The loss and layoffs spooked investors, who sent shares of VA Linux plunging 19 percent in after-hours trading, to $5.62. The stock closed at $7.25, down 6.5 percent, in regular Nasdaq stock market trading; it has tumbled from a 52-week high of $130.50.
The Fremont-based company, which develops software and products for the Linux computer operating system, said it recorded a pro forma net loss for its fiscal second quarter, excluding acquisition costs and other expenses, of $13.4 million, or 28 cents per diluted share, worse than Wall Street expected. That compared with a loss of $6.3 million, or 20 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier.
Separately, tech stalwart Intel Corp., the world’s largest chipmaker, said it is tightening its belt further, instituting cost cuts that should help it save “several hundred million dollars” this year, a company spokesman said.
Senior management’s annual performance pay raise, usually given in April, will be deferred until at least October, said Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy. Regular salaried employees will receive half their performance raise in April.
Intel, based in Santa Clara, Calif., will also limit hiring, trim its workforce through attrition and cut discretionary spending, Mulloy said.
