Sun Also Sets on Tech Workers

I can't help but remember some of the heady headlines in the tech press pre-bust that read "Sun Also Rises."

That was when the Internet gold rush was on and Sun servers and software -- the picks and pans -- were sold for the online land grab. Sun hasn't seen much of that glitter in a while.

So it's perhaps appropriate to note that the Sun is setting for some tech workers, as reported today by The Mercury News, which knows a thing or two about layoffs.

The casualties at Sun: About 4,000 to 5,000 employees will get whacked.

New CEO and corporate hitman Jonathan Schwartz has successfully completed his gang initiation by pulling the trigger to prove he can suck up to the penchant for layoffs at Wall Street, which always likes a good bloodletting.

Schwartz has blogged at length about today's layoffs. He wrote one line that stood out:

"Our industry is littered with companies that try to be all things to all people. That's not Sun."

So why's all the fresh spaghetti still on the wall from throwing up half-cooked ideas at Sun?

And yet Schwartz in his blog posting on layoffs touts the strength of that Stanford University Network of R&D fat heads.

"Next, I'd like to focus on our research and development priorities.
As many of you are aware, Sun has one of the strongest R&D organizations in the world ..."

... leaving us with an operating system and microprocessor platform which makes our competitors begin to appear as partners. We have some demonstrable technology advantages... energy efficiency [for real???], operating systems innovation, dramatic gains in developer adoption. That's certainly the cornerstone of our recovery."

Are you sold on recovery yet?

Well, maybe if the Sun is setting in Silicon Valley it's rising in Bangalore.