MORRISVILLE, N.C. — Lenovo, the world’s No. 4 PC manufacturer, is cutting another 450 jobs from its work force based in its homeland of China.
The cuts are in addition to the 2,500 layoffs Lenovo announced in January as part of a company-wide restructuring. Among the losses were 250 at the firm’s headquarters in Morrisville, but some 150 call center positions are being transferred to North Carolina.
The latest cuts, which the company announced Tuesday in China, affect jobs only in China, the company said. Most of Lenovo’s business is done in China.
In Morrisville, a Lenovo spokesperson said the new affects didn't affect North American operations.
"None planned," the spokesperson said. "but prefer not to speculate on the future."
"While our business in China remains very strong, many of our global support functions have employees based in China," Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing, who has a home in the Triangle, said, according to Chinese media reports.
"Although difficult, these reductions are a necessary part of our response to the global economic downturn,” he added.
The layoffs affect global support positions.
"In the face of continued global economic crisis, we must act decisively to reduce costs associated with global staffing and support functions to ensure our competitive strength and continue our effort to improve efficiency," Yang said.
Yang, who had been chairman, replaced William Amelio as chief executive officer earlier this month as part of a management shakeup. Amelio had been CEO for three years. The shakeup, which also included reductions in executive compensation, came after Lenovo reported a $97 million loss for the quarter ending in December.
