EMC said that about 1,000 employees, or about 4 percent of its 25,200-person workforce, will be affected by layoffs -- leading to a fourth-quarter cash charge of approximately $80 million to cover the cost of separation benefits. But ultimately, the company plans to hire more employees than it lays off in 2006, said EMC spokesman Michael Gallant.

Gallant said that the reductions are largely the result of integrating companies EMC has purchased this year, such as Captiva Software Inc.

"We want to make sure we have the right skill sets aligned with our business priorities and growth objectives for this year," he said.

Babineau said EMC often waits a good length of time after acquiring a company so it can identify areas of job overlap before deciding on layoffs.

"When you start to do that, you want to make sure you don't have overlap in higher-salary jobs. I think a lot of those decisions weren't made by Tucci but by his upper management," Babineau said.