Applied Materials to Cut 1,400 Jobs Worldwide Amid Automation Push

Applied Materials, one of the nation’s largest producers of semiconductor-manufacturing equipment, gave the green light this week to a plan to reduce its global workforce by about 4 percent, affecting some 1,400 employees.

Based in Santa Clara, California, the company approved its workforce reduction plan to ensure “continued growth as a more competitive and productive organization,” it noted in its Oct. 23 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.