3Com To Cut 10 Percent Of Staff

The job cuts will primarily affect staff in the United States and Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The majority of the cuts in the United States will affect 3Com's Santa Clara, Calif., location, the company said.

"With the sale of our CommWorks unit, the company will function as a single operating entity, enabling a more competitive cost structure," said Bruce Claflin, 3Com president and CEO, in a statement.

"In addition," the statement went on, "continued weakness in demand requires we improve the company's overall cost structure, particularly in [general and administrative expenses]. However, 3Com will continue to do selective hiring for key skills and in areas that directly contribute to our enterprise strategy, such as adding field resources in order to help our distribution partners drive sales of 3Com data and voice networking solutions."

3Com was trading at $4.96 Thursday.