Texas Instruments to slash 500 jobs

Global semiconductor major and one of Bangalore’s oldest technology firms, Texas Instruments (TI), is said to be laying off over 500 employees in India.

The company employs around 1,300 professionals in India, most of them based in Bangalore.

TI, which set up shop here in 1985, is rumoured to have asked employees, primarily working with mobile chip business to leave.

According to reports, the move would be part of TI’s global strategy to shift from OMAP (Open Multimedia Applications Platform) processors to wireless connectivity solutions.

Though employees here are yet to receive the official “relieving letter”, sources within the company told Express that there were clear indications about the possible layoffs and a pall of gloom in the company.

“We are unsure of the number, but there are nearly 500-700 people working in the mobile chip division here,” a source on condition of anonymity told Express, and added that all of them could go since they work on mobiles.

When contacted, TI reverted with a press release sent out on November 14, 2012, (Dallas, Texas dateline) which confirms the elimination of 1,700 jobs worldwide.

In the release, Greg Delagi, senior vicepresident of Embedded Processing states, “These job reductions are something we do with a heavy heart because they impact people we care about.

We will work closely with all employees affected by these changes to provide a range of assistance related to compensation, benefits and job search.

” Terming it as an “imperative direction” for their longterm success, a mail from a senior management official states that it required the company to “stop investing in areas that once generated good growth for them, but now do not”.

The letter states that this move would be to focus on reshaping their OMAP processor and wireless connectivity strategy to look at markets that can grow and be profitable