SiliconBeat

Sirf Technology Holdings said that last week it approved a “corporate cost reduction and restructuring plan that will include a reduction in force,” which, together with the recent spin off of its Swedish subsidiary to its managers and employees, will result in a drop in “headcount” for the company of approximately 25 percent. The moves are being made “in view of continued economic uncertainties and expected continuing consumer demand weakness in 2009.

It is the third round of layoffs the maker of GPS-related semiconductors has announced this year. In March, it announced a 7 percent reduction in force shortly before its chief executive resigned to be replaced on an interim basis by company founder Diosdado Banatao. In July the company said it would layoff between 7 to 9 percent more of its workforce, citing “continued economic uncertainties and expected continuing demand weakness in the second half of 2008.”

The company ended 2007 with 753 employees. By our calculations, the combined layoffs have taken it workforce to below 500.

Charges for the latest restructuring were estimated to cost between $3-$3.5 million, of which $2-2.5 million would be in cash.

SiRF said it expects to lower its quarterly operating expenses by about $8-$9 million a quarter by its fourth quarter 2009.