Palm: Don't worry about the job cuts

A top executive from Palm has assured the company will continue to serve customers in the Asia-Pacific region, even amid recent reports of declining revenue and staff layoffs.

Following Palm's announcement earlier this month of lower-than-expected quarterly revenue results, news broke that the handheld maker will be cutting jobs before the holiday season.

Palm's Asia-Pacific managing director Karthik Srinivasan, declined to disclose specifics of the company's layoff plans, but said in an e-mail interview: "Please rest assured that Palm will continue offering its customers around the world, including in Asia-Pacific, the highest levels of service and quality products."

Srinivasan noted that the layoffs were carried out with the purpose of "improving productivity", and in line with the company's decision to "streamline certain areas and processes to foster operational improvements".

Srinivasan had said in a previous interview with ZDNet Australia's sister site ZDNet Asia that Palm's money woes -- achieving a loss in the first fiscal quarter of their 2008 year -- were a result of "one-time patent acquisitions and operational costs", and asserted that the company's plans for the region were that of expansion, not downsizing.