Industrial News

Tech consultancy giant Accenture plans to cut 19,000 jobs, or 2.5% of its workforce, and has lowered its annual revenue and profit forecasts, becoming the latest behemoth to trim expenses in the wake of dwindling global economic conditions. The reduction in jobs, over half of which affects individuals in non-billable corporate functions, will be undertaken in the next 18 months, Accenture said in an SEC filing (PDF) Thursday. The company had increased its workforce by 38,000 in the financial year ended February 2023 to serve the increased demand in its services and solutions, it said. “For the second quarter of fiscal 2023, [...]

In my lifetime, I’ve seen two demonstrations of technology that struck me as revolutionary. The first time was in 1980, when I was introduced to a graphical user interface—the forerunner of every modern operating system, including Windows. I sat with the person who had shown me the demo, a brilliant programmer named Charles Simonyi, and we immediately started brainstorming about all the things we could do with such a user-friendly approach to computing. Charles eventually joined Microsoft, Windows became the backbone of Microsoft, and the thinking we did after that demo helped set the company’s agenda for the next 15 [...]

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Air Force (PAF) received training facilities from Australia through the Philippines-Australia Enhanced Defense Cooperation Program (EDCP) on Monday. According to a statement from the Department of National Defense on Tuesday, the air force received a close air support part task trainer, a classroom, and a debriefing facility from Australia. Australian Ambassador to the Philippines HK Yu officially turned over the facilities, along with their corresponding documents, on Monday. “With this facility, the PAF will be able to address the technical training opportunities such as the use of simulator and actually flight events,” Defense Acting Undersecretary [...]

SAN FRANCISCO, United States  -Laid off US tech workers from abroad on employment-based visas are scrambling to find new jobs to avoid being forced to uproot their lives and leave the country. More than 150,000 US-based tech jobs have disappeared in recent months, delivering an economic blow to Silicon Valley not seen the since the dot-com bubble collapsed in the early 2000s. As the massive wave of redundancies spreads across US tech firms, many of those left jobless are here on H1-B or other visas pegged to their jobs, according to California congresswomen Anna Eshoo and Zoe Lofgren.   Eshoo [...]

By enacting the CHIPS and Science Act in August 2022, policymakers in Washington took a historic step toward attracting investment in semiconductor production and innovation in the U.S. While the new law must still be implemented effectively and efficiently to realize its potential, the CHIPS Act has already sparked private investments in the U.S. that will strengthen the U.S. economy, job creation, and supply chain resilience. From the time the CHIPS Act was introduced in the Spring of 2020 through the months following its enactment, companies in the semiconductor ecosystem announced dozens of projects to increase manufacturing capacity in the U.S. Some [...]

JAPANESE electronics manufacturer MinebeaMitsumi, Inc. is undertaking a P4-billion expansion project in Naga City, Cebu, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said. In a statement on Tuesday, the DTI said that Philippine Trade and Investment Center-Tokyo Commercial Counselor Dita Angara-Mathay reported the company’s expansion proposal. According to Ms. Angara-Mathay, the Japanese firm plans to upgrade the production of optical image stabilizer components used in smartphones. MinebeaMitsumi also operates facilities in Santo Tomas, Batangas; Mariveles, Bataan, and Danao City, Cebu. The DTI said full operations at the expanded operation are expected to begin by March. “The expansion project will require incremental [...]

FLORIDABLANCA, Pampanga — The Philippines on Tuesday received its P6.84-billion Ground Based Air Defense System, and a new medium-lift transport aircraft for the Philippine Air Force. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the acquisition of the new equipment is a testament to the commitment of government to modernize the military. “While we strive to live with peace with others, it is crucial that our Armed Forces would be modernized to be ready for all eventualities,” the military's commander-in-chief said in a speech. “We fortify our capabilities to provide humanitarian assistance in times of calamities and disasters,” he said. “This is a [...]

The Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Brussels attended the launching of Xinyx Design’s branch in the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, The Netherlands on 20 October 2022. Xinyx Design, an Integrated Circuit (IC) design company headquartered in Alabang, Muntinlupa and headed by its General Manager, Charade Avondo started in 2007 with six (6) employees. The company has grown to 348 employees with a branch in Cagayan de Oro and now in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Ms. Avondo targeted to set up a base in Europe where Xinyx can provide engineering services directly to European companies. Xinyx was able to [...]

The retrenchment by the Mactan Export Processing Zone's largest group of companies of a quarter of its workers is 'a portent of worse things to come' says Partido Manggagawa CEBU, Philippines – Five major garment companies at the Mactan Economic Processing Zone (MEPZ) in Lapu-Lapu City announced the lay-off of more than 4,000 workers in a joint statement on Thursday, September 29. Mactan Apparels, Metro Wear, Globalwear Manufacturing, Feeder Apparel Corporation, and Vertex One Apparel Philippines, all belonging to the Sports City group of companies, said the firing involved a quarter of their workforce. “As the world is now on [...]

Energy prices have surged this year due to pent-up consumer demand post-pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Solar-plus-storage systems could help reduce prices and ensure energy security. The internet of things augmented by artificial intelligence is vital for improving solar generation, optimizing battery management, increasing operational efficiency and reducing costs. Energy prices have surged sharply this year due to several factors, including the release of pent-up demand post-COVID and supply disruption due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The sudden increase in energy prices and its contribution to rising inflation is causing policy distress globally as consumers face soaring [...]