Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 7, 1993 TAG: 9307070051
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CUPERTINO, CALIF. LENGTH: Short
The announcement of the 2,500 job cuts came 2 1/2 weeks after a shakeup of top management amid worries that Apple was reacting too slowly to an industry price war.
Most layoffs at the company of 16,000 employees will come by month's end and the rest in the next year, Apple said. They will affect all divisions.
A statement said the layoffs were part of a "broad re-engineering of the company to accelerate revenue, unit and earnings growth."
Apple's profit declined in the first six months of its fiscal year. In June, the company said it expected sharply lower earnings for the second half.
On June 18, Apple's board replaced chief executive John Sculley with Michael Spindler, who has been chief operating officer since 1990.
Apple said it would take an unspecified charge against its third quarter, ended June 25, to pay severance and other costs for the layoffs. Analysts said the charge probably will mean a loss for the period.
Apple stock lost 75 cents per share to close at $37.75 in over-the-counter trading Tuesday.
Apple has substantially higher development and overhead costs than other PC makers. It also has invested heavily in several joint ventures that have not yet produced a return, including one with IBM and Motorola for the PowerPC chip, a new microprocessor that will be the brain of Apple and IBM computers starting next year.
by CNB