Layoffs, Semiconductors, IT

Axcelis Cuts 20% of Workforce

Wade Roush 5/21/09

Beverly, MA-based Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ: ACLS), which makes ion implantation equipment for semiconductor manufacturers, said yesterday that it will lay off 235 workers, or about 20 percent of its global workforce. The company said the decision, which comes after a series of other cost-cutting moves, will save it $25 million in the coming year. “This is a difficult but necessary decision due to the continued weakness in the semiconductor industry,” said Axcelis CEO Mary Puma in a statement. We’ve updated the Boston Tech Layoff Tracker accordingly; the Boston area’s technology-sector job losses now total more than 12,000 since last summer.

Wade Roush is Xconomy's chief correspondent. You can e-mail him at wroush@xconomy.com, call him at (617) 252-7323, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/wroush.