AMD cuts 500 jobs

AMD, the number two PC processor maker behind Intel, has cut 500 staff from its worldwide workforce of 15,500 in a cost cutting move.

No details were given as to where the jobs were lost from.

The redundancies come as the company is undergoing to reduce expenses, including spinning off its manufacturing arm.

The plans are part of an approach the company has called "asset light."

"We were expecting the company to initiate some cost-cutting. In a move toward 'asset light' they need to become a leaner company and we view this as a positive step," said JoAnne Feeney, an analyst with FTN Midwest.

The company said 3,000 more jobs would be moved early next year to The Foundry Company, the multi-billion dollar spin-off of its manufacturing plants in a joint venture with Abu Dhabi.

The new company will hold AMD's two plants in Dresden, Germany and make all of its central processing units, as well as chips for other companies.