UPDATE 2-SiRF lowers Q1 rev outlook; to cut 7 pct jobs

(Adds company comments, updates share movement)

By Bijoy Anandoth Koyitty

BANGALORE, March 25 (Reuters) - Chipmaker SiRF Technology Holdings Inc (SIRF.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) lowered its first-quarter revenue outlook and withdrew its earnings view, buffeted by significantly lower orders from personal navigation device makers, sending its shares to their lifetime low.

SiRF, whose chips are used by navigation device makers TomTom (TOM2.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Garmin (GRMN.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), also said it will cut 7 percent of its work force by September and take a pretax charge of $1.5 million to $2 million.

SiRF, which has about 750 employees, said it will also close offices in South San Francisco and Stockholm, Sweden, and cancel or reprioritize some engineering projects.

"This year, the slowdown of orders for PND applications has been particularly pronounced, and we no longer expect that these orders will meet our expectations," Chief Executive Michael Canning said in a conference call with analysts.

SiRF has been battling a decline in orders as personal navigation device (PND) makers are affected by a squeeze in consumer spending and rising competition.

Shares of the San Jose, California-based company were trading down 28 percent at $4.95 in afternoon trade on Nasdaq.

Prior to Tuesday's fall, the stock has lost more than 77 percent of its value since touching a high of $30.61 in November last year.