Spansion Cuts 3,000 Employees, 35% of Workforce

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Troubled flash memory maker Spansion (SPSN Quote) said late Monday it will slash its global work force by 35%, affecting about 3,000 employees, mostly at manufacturing sites.

The move comes as Spansion, one of the world's largest makers of flash memory chips used in digital cameras and other gadgets, is cutting costs amid a company-wide restructuring effort and exploring a possible sale.

"The global recession is forcing us to make this very difficult decision in order to bring our costs in line with the current expectations for significantly reduced revenues," said John Kispert, Spansion president and chief executive, in a statement. ...