P.M. BRIEFING : Digital Firm Shapes Staff Cutback

MAYNARD, Mass. — Digital Equipment Corp., with a partial hiring freeze already in effect, today said it has an internal contingency paper that asks overhead departments to propose cuts and transfers.

Although a company spokesman declined to estimate how many employees might be affected, the document reportedly calls for reductions of as much as 25% in a wide range of “overhead” departments that could translate into a reduction of as many as 7,500 employees over two years.

The reductions and related transfers that might result would be aimed at the company’s estimated 30,000-member support staff and thus likely would most severely affect the areas around its headquarters. But a spokeswoman said “these are global decisions” and suggested the plan would affect employees worldwide.