AN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 23 (Bloomberg News) — The Cypress Semiconductor Corporation today cut its fourth-quarter sales forecast for the second time this month and said it had laid off more workers because of slowing demand for chips used in wireless communications devices.
Sales will be about $174 million, Cypress said. The company lowered its sales forecast on Dec. 3 to $184.7 million from $188 million. Cypress now expects a loss, excluding some costs, of 12 cents a share after predicting 8 cents on Dec. 3.
Demand began slowing in the first week of December and failed to improve in the holiday-shopping season, as clients like the Intel Corporation and the Sony Corporation scaled back orders, the company said. Cypress cut 40 jobs in its Minnesota plant last week and forced the remaining employees to take two weeks off without pay, the chief executive, T. J. Rodgers, said on a conference call.
The cost cuts will help lower Cypress's break-even point to $190 million in sales, rather than a previous goal of $195 million, Mr. Rodgers said. Expenses for the reductions will be recorded this quarter.