Layoffs imminent for U.S. Lenovo employees

Last week, we reported that Lenovo is preparing to cut as many as 1,400 jobs in these United States. Now we have some more info: the company plans to lay off these American employees within the next 30 to 60 days. That means about 20 percent of the workforce at the company's Research Triangle Park location and around five percent of the company's international workforce. The reason? The company is attempting to "make the organization more efficient by reducing expenses." In keeping with that, Lenovo will be hiring 750 new employees in low-cost locales like Brazil, China, India and Slovakia. "I think most employees understand that (these) actions reflect the realities of our fiercely competitive industry," a company spokesman said. "These are difficult and certainly painful decisions, and we do not take them lightly." This is bad news for U.S. tech employees but it's not unusual in an industry where manufacturers are always looking for ways to reduce costs and maximize profits.

For more on the layoffs:
- see this article at WRAL.com