In a statement, Cisco said, “This limited restructuring is part of our ongoing, targeted realignment of resources and was previously discussed on our fiscal second and third quarter 2009 earnings calls. While Cisco constantly manages its business priorities, resources and overall employee alignment as part of our overall business management process, we are sensitive to the impact these decisions have on employees during this challenging economic environment. We are doing everything possible to minimize the impact on employees affected by the limited restructuring.”

An ugly metric, and one that’s likely to grow worse in coming months. Challenger says job cuts have risen five straight quarters. What’s to stop them rising for a sixth? No idea.

“Unfortunately, no industry appears to be immune in this recession,” CEO John Challenger said in a statement. “Even the health care sector, which has consistently added jobs throughout the downturn, is starting to see those gains shrink.” That said, the firm doesn’t see things getting as grim as they did in the 2001 recession. At that time employers announced an average of 145,467 total job cuts each quarter. With only 84,217 cuts announced in the most recent quarter, we’ve still got quite a way to go before we hit that number. Course, we’re also off to a great start…

Rumor has it there are big games going on this weekend–at least one of which involves football players. The rest involve the usual players, though they might appear in different positions–and on different teams–from week to week. These games, most likely, will continue through Monday and beyond. Scores will be kept on an ongoing basis.

BoomTown wrote this week about a new game of tag taking Facebook by storm. Whether or not you’ve written a list of “25 Random Things” about yourself, you’ve likely read a few. BoomTown only gave up five, but they’re good ones. On defense, AOL announced it would lay off 10 percent of its workforce due to the overall ad meltdown; CEO Randy Falco’s memo to his troops is here. And whether or not AOL has buyer’s remorse over last year’s $850 million acquisition of Bebo, the company is not considering putting the social network up for sale.
BoomTown followed the tough love approach of Yahoo’s (YHOO) new CEO Carol Bartz, and liveblogged the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, during which Bartz insisted (without mentioning Microsoft) that she wasn’t brought to Yahoo to sell the company. She also shared some canny-folksy wisdom–in the form of a chicken metaphor–about the value of the company as a whole, but it’s still a little early in the game to call that one. Of course, BoomTown had a few opinions about the unspoken Microsoft (MSFT) scenario.

Over at Digital Daily, there was a lot to be said about smartphones. Apple’s (AAPL) so-called “iPhone patent,” which would cover much of the Palm (PALM) Pre’s multitouch and gesture interface, has the potential to be a huge game changer in that race, if it’s upheld. And as if Palm doesn’t have enough to worry about, Sprint (S)–its exclusive carrier for the Pre–is rumored to be preparing to lay off 14 percent of its workforce in March, when the phone is expected to launch. Elsewhere in that contest, it turns out that Research in Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerry Storm, which was largely panned by critics, is actually selling at a decent clip–one million so far in the U.S. No iPhone, but still, it could be worse. As Digital Daily noted, Dell (DELL) is said to be readying two phones to enter the market dominated by the iPhone, BlackBerry, and soon the Pre: one an iPhone-like Windows Mobile device, and the other a Pre-like Android device. Both could launch as soon as February, but greatness is not anticipated. Digital Daily also kept the tech job-cut score, which increased 74.2 percent from 2007 to 2008. Here’s a roundup of some of those affected.

MediaMemo had some interesting numbers to share: While Obama’s Inauguration was indeed a big day for Web video, it wasn’t as huge as some estimated. Exact numbers are impossible to measure, of course, but roughly 13 million people watched the ceremony online, while roughly 38 million watched on television. On an ongoing (and presumably growing) basis, though, numbers suggest that almost 20 percent of Netflix’s (NFLX) subscribers are using the company’s streaming service to watch movies online. That should increasingly morph back into the world of television as the company’s technology makes it simpler to stream directly to a set-linked device. In the world of print, things continue to look grim. Time Warner’s (TWX) Time Inc., in a standoff with its distributor, which upped its price by seven cents per magazine–has announced it will take its business elsewhere as of Feb. 1. If this is a game of chicken, it’s anybody’s guess who’ll win. And Time Inc.’s Ann Moore received a lifetime achievement award from the magazine industry’s trade group on Thursday. In her acceptance speech, she expressed her belief in the power of magazines and print advertising and her gratitude in the fact that she’s not in the newspaper business.

In Personal Technology this week, Walt Mossberg reviewed iLife ’09–specifically iPhoto, GarageBand and iMovie, with mixed results. In Mossberg’s Mailbox, it was all about Windows 7: Whether it requires new drivers, how it stacks up to XP, and how upgrades from XP and Vista compare with each another. Katherine Boehret reviewed the BlackBerry Curve 8900 in the Mossberg Solution, and liked it.

More next week.

This latest swing of the ax brings total job cuts at Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) to about 22,500 since the 2006 merger that created it. And though the company will be leaner and meaner for it, that new found agility won’t count for much without a shift in business strategy bold enough to reverse the brutal reduction in market share and market capitalization Alcatel-Lucent has suffered. And an oblique and, frankly, baffling mention of Web 2.0, does not a business strategy make.

Alcatel-Lucent’s plan is to “combine the trusted capabilities of the network environment with the creative communications services of the Web (Web 2.0, Web 3.0 and beyond).” What the hell does that mean?

Stupefying.

The year-end total for tech sector job losses in 2008 is expected to reach 180,000, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That’s the largest annual job loss for the sector since 2003, when tech firms sacked some 228,325 employees.

Not at all hard to believe given the news these days. Job cuts through Oct. 31 total 140,422, according to Challenger’s calculations.

That is 31 percent more than the 107,295 cuts announced in all of 2007.

Looks like the tech sector is shooting for a full percentage point increase in unemployment this year.

“In addition to Sun Microsystems’ announcement, Applied Materials and National Semiconductor have announced job cuts in November,” says John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray and Christmas. “By the end of the year, we may also see cuts from Cisco Systems, Qualcomm and Nokia, all of whom are reporting falling sales amid the weakening economy.”

Wonderful. Something to look forward to…sigh….

Challenger’s release in full, after the jump.

Tech Sector Cuts To Reach Highest Level Since 2005
MORE THAN 140,000 TECHNOLOGY CUTS SO FAR

CHICAGO – After a quiet first half of the year, job cuts in the technology sector surged in the third quarter and are on track to reach the highest year-end total since 2003. The latest evidence that the economic downturn has reached the tech sector came this morning with the report that Sun Microsystems will be eliminating 5,000 to 6,000 jobs in a broad restructuring.

Through October 31, job cuts by firms in the telecommunications, electronics and computer industries total 140,422, according to global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., which tracks job-cut announcements daily. That is 31 percent more than the 107,295 tech-sector job cuts announced in all of 2007.

Nearly two-thirds of these job cuts (89,433) have occurred since July. The 69,654 tech-sector job cuts announced in the third quarter were 37 percent more than the 50,989 job cuts announced by technology firms in the entire first half of 2008. The third-quarter total was, in fact, the largest quarterly figure since the fourth quarter of 2003, when technology cuts numbered 82,328.

Computer, electronics and telecommunications firms have already announced 19,779 cuts since the beginning of the fourth quarter. Job cuts in the technology sector are now averaging 22,358 per month in the second half of year, up from a monthly average of 8,498 in the first half. At the current
pace, the year-end total could reach 180,000, which would be the largest annual total since 2003, when technology firms announced 228,325 job cuts.

“In addition to Sun Microsystems’ announcement, Applied Materials and National Semiconductor have announced job cuts in November. By the end of the year, we may also see cuts from Cisco Systems, Qualcomm and Nokia, all of whom are reporting falling sales amid the weakening economy,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

“The tech sector is simply the latest victim in this downturn that began last year with the collapse of the housing market, and quickly spread to the financial markets. Since then, the impact has rippled throughout the economy and job cuts have surged in several industries, including retail, transportation, media, entertainment and leisure, automotive and even health care. Businesses and consumers have slashed their spending and no industry is immune,” he added.

[Image credit: Someecards]