Anadigics sheds 100 jobs
GaAs chipmaker Anadigics is to lay off 15 percent of its workforce, following the misfiring of some of its 2008 production ramp-ups.
On November 5, approximately 100 employees learned that they will be leaving the Warren, New Jersey based company s global operations within days.
The headcount reduction will largely focus on areas previously expanded to meet anticipated levels of output, a spokesperson for Anadigics told compoundsemiconductor.net. The company emphasized that no product lines or ongoing research efforts were being lost along with the redundancies.
The move will cost Anadigics up to $2.4 million in severance payments and one-time benefits, but will contribute to up to $20 million in annual cost savings.
“This was a difficult decision because of the impact it has on people,” said Gilles Delfassy, chairman and interim CEO, “but was necessary to return to growth and profitability.”
Delfassy has been saddled with major restructuring work as a result of customers turning to other suppliers after Anadigics was previously unable to guarantee supply of some products.
Although Delfassy is quick to underline his confidence in the quality of the company s GaAs technology, he is rapidly changing the business inherited from predecessor Bami Bastani.
“In our efforts to accommodate the unprecedented demand for products we have not done the right thing,” Delfassy said recently, commenting on expansion plans put in place under Bastani. “Our efforts have been counter-productive because we created increasing inefficiencies in our manufacturing operations which actually have further limited our output.”
“We are going for a complete overhaul of our operations to improve our execution and productivity.”
“The key strength of Anadigics is that we design superior products. If we could only deliver them without glitches, more easily and more of them, our lives would be so much better.”
