With forecasts for a positive outcome for next year getting razor-thin, even bright spots like software are dimming. Gartner forecasts that worldwide spending on enterprise software will reach US$244 billion in 2009, down from its prediction of $253 billion made in September, before the collapse of the U.S. investment banking industry.

Bracing for continued tough times, tech and consumer electronics companies around the world announced layoffs this week. Yahoo said Wednesday it is laying off about 1,500 employees, enacting a previously announced plan to cut 10 percent of its staff. Sony said Tuesday it will cut 8,000 jobs, close factories and cut electronics investment by almost 30 percent.

The hardware and components sectors of IT are getting hit the hardest, as PC purchases are typically the first thing cut when tech budgets are constrained. Several large chip manufacturers cut their forecasts this week.

Korea's Hynix, which in terms of revenue is the world's second-biggest memory chip maker after Samsung, said at the start of the week that it will cut the number of its executives by 30 percent, reduce chief executive pay by 30 percent and cut pay for other executives by 10 percent to 20 percent.

Texas Instruments cut its profit forecast for the current quarter, announcing Monday that it will report earnings of between $0.10 per share and $0.16, compared to an earlier estimate of $0.30 to $0.36.