Intel Corp Executive Vice President Paul Otellini said in an interview published on Wednesday that the semiconductor giant should be able to ride out the current sector slump without making further job cuts. "We feel comfortable with the measures we have introduced," he said talking to mediapersons. The world's leading chipmaker said that in March it would shed 5,000 jobs. Last month it reported a 64 percent year-on-year fall in first-quarter profits and forecast that second-quarter sales would fall about 20 percent from last year. It is due to give a preliminary report on the second quarter, which ends on June 30, on Thursday. Otellini, who heads the company's key Intel Architecture Group which recently launched the Itanium 64-bit chip for high-end servers, said Advanced Micro Devices was the only serious rival in its core personal computer chip business. But Intel was determined to maintain its dominant position. "My goal is to keep Intel's market share at about 80 percent," he was quoted as saying. Otellini also said Intel would continue to invest in small technology firms with specialist know-how. "Prices are so attractive at the moment," he said. Taking stakes in technology firms offered much better value for money following the end of the tech stock boom last year. "We have practically no upper limit. Intel is a very rich company."
Bureau Report