Technology

Seagate Eliminates 1,000 Jobs, Blames Weak Business Environment

Hard Drive
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Disk drive maker Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) announced Thursday morning that it has committed to a restructuring plan that includes reducing its headcount by about 1,050 worldwide, or about 2% of its total workforce. As of July 3, the company reported that it employed approximately 52,350 people worldwide, of which about 41,800 were located in Asia.

The company said that the job cuts are “intended to realign its cost structure with the current macroeconomic business environment.”

Seagate, now headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, said it expects to complete the restructuring by the end of the December quarter and that it expects total pretax charges of approximately $53 million related to the job cuts. The charges will be incurred in September and the company said they will consist mainly of employee termination costs, which it expects to pay primarily in the December quarter. Seagate expects annual savings of about $113 million following the restructuring.

Last month Seagate entered a definitive agreement to acquire Dot Hill Systems Corp. (NASDAQ: HILL) for $9.75 a share in an all cash deal worth about $694 million.

At the end of its most recent quarter, the company posted earnings per share of $0.77 on revenues of $2.93 billion, well below earnings and revenues in the same period a year ago, but better than consensus estimates.

Analysts are looking for the company to post EPS of $0.85 on revenues of $3.03 billion in its fiscal first quarter that ends this month. Last year Seagate reported EPS of $1.34 on sales of $3.78 billion for the same period. Seagate stock was inactive in Thursday’s premarket, having closed most recently at $50.10, up about 1%, in a 52-week range of $44.46 to $69.40.

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