Two firms are cutting scores of Mass. jobs

Two more Bay State companies, Kronos Inc. and Boston Company Asset Management, confirmed plans yesterday to cut scores of jobs, the latest in a stream of businesses handing out pink slips.

Over the past decade, December and January have been two of the most popular months for large layoffs, as corporations complete their annual budgets and try to cut costs to begin the new year. But some worry this season could be particularly brutal, as the country suffers through one of the worst downturns since the Great Depression.

Economists are predicting the next national unemployment report, slated to be released Friday, will show the country lost roughly half a million jobs in December, with unemployment creeping up to 7 percent from 6.7 percent in November. The state unemployment report is due Jan. 22.

Kronos Inc., a human resources technology firm, said yesterday it cut nearly 8 percent of its worldwide workforce.

The Chelmsford company said it let go roughly 250 people worldwide, including about 100 in Massachusetts. The company had about 3,300 workers around the world before the job cuts.

In a written statement, Kronos spokeswoman Michele Glorie said the cuts were made because of "current economic conditions and the outlook for 2009." Kronos was bought by San Francisco private equity firm Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners for $1.8 billion in 2007.

Separately, Boston Company Asset Management said it is laying off 90 people, nearly 30 percent of its staff, because of last year's stock market plunge.

At the end of September, the investment group, part of the Bank of New York Mellon Corp., managed $36 billion, including Dreyfus mutual funds and assets for large investment clients. The Boston Company group said it was eliminating investment staff in New York and Denver and moving several positions to Boston. As a result, the net job loss in the Boston office is about 64.

In a statement, the company said its assets under management have dropped 47 percent over the past year. That was slightly better than the markets in which it invested, which have dropped 48 to 56 percent, the company said. Firms along Wall Street and in Boston, including Fidelity Investments and State Street Corp., have disclosed thousands of layoffs over the past few months.

Boston Company said it has "taken decisive action to deal with the impact of unprecedented actions in the capital markets and their effects on the economy over the past several months."

Several companies that make equipment for semiconductor manufacturers have also unveiled cost-cutting plans recently, raising the specter of additional layoffs.

Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc. in Gloucester lowered its earnings forecast for the quarter ended Friday and said it planned to sharply cut costs to cope with declining demand.

"In order to better position the company in light of the current economic environment, we continue to focus on aggressively reducing operating expenses," Varian chief financial officer Robert Halliday said in a written statement on Monday.

Varian, which had more than 1,500 employees worldwide as of November, didn't return calls and e-mail seeking details.

Todd Wallack can be reached at twallack@globe.com; Beth Healy can be reached at bhealy@globe.com.