ARM sticks to guns regarding recruitment

ARM sticks to guns regarding recruitment
By Paul Dempsey, EE Times UK
June 14, 2002 (10:15 a.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20020614S0007

ARM Holdings is holding fast to its plan to recruit more staff this year, even though CEO Warren East takes a very conservative view on when a recovery will actually arrive.

"We added 100 people last year and we are going to add 100 more this year," he told EETimes. "We have to keep growing and adding abilities if we are to reach our goal."

Yet East refuses to say when he believes the market will begin to rise: "Some people are saying later this year, some say early next year. My view is that I do not know when the upturn will arrive.

"What you do accept is that the market is cyclical and that things will substantially improve. But what you also need to remember is that technology is going through its worst period since 1974 — you have to take that into account."

East says ARM has suffered most towards the latter half of the current downturn.

"During the first 12 months or so, we actually kept on doing the business we wanted. It has been more recently that we have seen an effect," he said.

"As the bad times have dragged on, we have seen some of the companies we might have done business with go to the wall."

East nevertheless believes that, once things do pick up, ARM is well positioned: "We know that we are in designs that are waiting to go. We know that business will arrive."