Sun Cuts Up To 2,500 Jobs Amid $34 Million Loss

May 2, 2008 1:48 p.m. EST

Santa Clara, CA (AHN) - Sun Microsystems announced Friday it will cut up to 2,500 jobs after reporting a $34 million loss for the third quarter.

Sun finance chief Michael Lehman said the job cuts could range between 1,500 to 2,500 employees.

The job reduction, affecting up to 7.26 percent of Sun's workforce, could cost up to $220 million in charges.

The January $1 billion acquisition of MySQL AB was partly blamed for Sun's $34 million net loss compared to a $67 million gain the previous year.

Sun also pointed to sluggish U.S. sales, which comprises around 40 percent of the company's revenue.

As a result of the announcement, Sun shares fell 20 percent to $3.19 Friday.