Q1 results are in for the processor industry’s #2, and they’re ugly. This news, combined with recent spinoffs, makes the company look kind of sick—and its executives’ obvious lack of optimism doesn’t really help matters.
Processor sales were down 21%, and graphics chips a full 15% for $416m in losses, getting 2009 off to a rocky, decidedly 2008-esque start. Says AMD CEO Dirk Meyer:
I’ve heard some say we’ve hit bottom. I don’t know how someone could say we’ve hit bottom in the current economic climate.
But lackluster chip sales weren’t AMD’s only problem in this quarter, which saw the company restructure and spin off their entire manufacturing division in what looked something like a tacit admission of defeat.
https://gizmodo.com/amd-breaks-up-5059942
Quantifiable losses like this are obviously horrible, but they also have a destructive effect on public perception. Most of us can remember a time (or various times) when enthusiasts saw AMD processors as a superior alternative to Intel’s offerings, and the company as an energetic underdog. Now, with stories about the company’s suffering financials and labyrinthine structure outnumbering items about exciting new technologies, they just look sad and lethargic. That’s right, I want my processor war back. [AP]
https://gizmodo.com/amd-still-going-asset-light-poops-out-500-employees-5078092
