July 24. 2001 — AMSTERDAM — Faced with lower-than expected second quarter results thanks in part to an industry downturn, Royal Philips Electronics plans to cut as many as 4,000 semiconductor jobs.

In addition, the company plans to cut an additional 1,500 jobs from its components operation, which focuses on optical storage, mobile displays and wireless products, as well as freeze capital spending. The latest cuts, announced last week, are in addition to nearly 7,000 that have already been announced.

?The economic slowdown that started in the USA last year has spread to other parts of the world now,” said Gerard Kleisterlee, president and CEO of Royal Philips Electronics. ” We expect that our earnings will bottom out in the third quarter. We have taken firm measures in the first half of the year to reduce cost, hold inventories tight and cut capital spending.”

The company announced a net loss of around 4660 million for the second quarter on sales of around $6.57 billion.

Philips Semiconductors already closed an 8-inch wafer fab in Albuquerque and is transferring equipment to its Fishkill, N.Y fab.