Lenovo, the Chinese personal computer maker, said yesterday it would cut 11 per cent of its workforce and forecast a “material loss” for the last quarter of 2008, becoming the latest company to be hit by falling demand for PCs.

Shares in Lenovo fell 26 per cent – their steepest one-day fall in a decade – after the company said it would cut 2,500 jobs and reduce executive compensation by 30 to 50 per cent as part of a restructuring plan.

Lenovo, which acquired IBM's PC business in 2005, said it would take a $150m pre-tax charge for 2008/09. This charge would be reflected in the current January to March quarter, it added.

The company said it was taking action to combat a plunge in demand for PCs as a result of the global financial crisis and sluggish consumption that has hurt computer makers and others in the supply chain.

Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, warned yesterday on its fourth-quarter sales for a second time due to a further erosion of demand. The company had cut revenue expectations by 14 per cent in November but said yesterday the decline would be 20 per cent.

Asustek, the Taiwanese pioneer in the netbook sector, which had been a bright spot in the global computer industry amid the downturn, also cut its fourth-quarter profit and shipment targets yesterday.

Lenovo – now the world's fourth largest PC maker after it was overtaken by Taiwanese rival Acer last year – has been particularly hard hit because of its reliance on the corporate segment, where companies have been cutting IT spending aggressively.

“Although the integration of the IBM PC business for the past three years was a success, our last quarter's performance did not meet our expectations,” said Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo's chairman.

The company's shares, which were suspended from trading on Wednesday, closed 26 per cent lower at HK$1.91 yesterday.

中国个人电脑制造商联想(Lenovo)昨日表示，将在全球裁员11%，并预计2008年最后一个季度将出现“重大亏损”，成为受个人电脑需求不断下降影响的最新一家公司。

在联想宣布将裁员2500人，并对高管降薪30%至50%作为重组计划一部分之后，其股价暴跌26%，为10年内的最大单日跌幅。

联想称，2008/09财年将发生1.5亿美元的税前重组开支，并计入当前的1月至3月这一季度。联想在2005年收购了IBM的个人电脑业务。

联想表示，正采取措施应对因全球金融危机和消费疲弱造成的个人电脑需求大幅下降。消费疲弱已影响了电脑制造商和供应链上的其他企业。

由于需求进一步萎缩，全球最大的芯片制造商英特尔(Intel)昨日第二次对第四季度销售发出预警。英特尔在去年11月将收入预期下调14%，但昨日称下调幅度将为20%。

迷你笔记本电脑行业先锋、台湾的华硕(Asustek)昨日也下调了第四季度利润和发货目标。华硕此前一直是经济低迷时期全球电脑业的一个亮点。

由于对企业客户（这些企业大幅削减了IT支出）的依赖，联想受到的影响尤其严重。联想去年被台湾的竞争对手宏碁(Acer)超过，目前是全球第四大个人电脑制造商。

联想董事长杨元庆表示：“尽管过去3年整合IBM个人电脑业务取得成功，但上一季度的业绩没有达到我们的预期。”

联想股票周三停牌一天，昨日收盘大跌26%至1.91港元。