Will Sun Microsystems’ latest financial results stop critics calling for sweeping changes?

The storm of rumours surrounding Sun Microsystems is likely to swirl again today when the server and workstation giant reveals the results of its latest financial quarter.

Sun has been under renewed pressure with analysts and even a former executive questioning the firm’s strategy and leadership. In particular, critics question chief executive Scott McNealy’s decision not to make sharper cuts to Sun’s workforce.

Last week, Sanford C Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi wrote in a research note that, “Anything but a massive restructuring of the workforce will prove disappointing, and that it remains unclear whether such a large reduction will occur under current management.”

John Shoemaker, a former executive vice-president at Sun, recently wrote an article for the Kelly School of Business in which he lambasted sun’s slowness to react to market changes.

“I think Sun Microsystems has failed to rebound in recent years because it couldn’t make the S-curve transition and would not re-size immediately and dramatically,” Shoemaker wrote. “You have to hand it to leaders, such as Steve Jobs at Apple and John Chambers at Cisco, who acted fast and made the tough decisions to turn the negative technology outlook into a positive, competitive position for their companies. The lack of like decisions at Sun led to a major impact on morale, a loss of competitiveness, and a brain drain.”

Sun watchers have also said that the recent return of chief financial officer Michael Lehman after a three-year hiatus could herald more fiscal tightness at the company.