50 Laid Off at Wavetek Unit; Plan to Sell Operation Revealed

Wavetek said Thursday that it has laid off half of its 100 employees at a New Jersey subsidiary and that it will sell the scientific equipment operation, which company officials acknowledge never quite fit with Wavetek’s other electronic test and measurement products.

Wavetek Scientific in Rockleigh, N.J., which generated about 8% of Wavetek’s $81.5 million in 1984 revenue, produces spectrum analyzers that measure vibrations generated by heavy equipment. Wavetek’s other products are used in laboratories for tests and measurements.

No San Diego-based employees were affected by the layoffs.

Selling the division will make the company “less scattered than we’ve been, product-wise,” Wavetek President and Chief Executive John Battin said.

“This division never worked out for them,” observed Harry Kohli, an analyst with Sutro & Co. in San Francisco. “They did a lot of management changes, but it looks like nothing seemed to work.”

Wavetek is “trying to really shrink down to manageable size,” Kohli said. “They haven’t shown profits for some time, and people do pay attention to the bottom line.”

Wavetek has struggled since late 1984, when it reported a $474,000 quarterly loss. It reported a $1.5-million loss on sales of $19.5 million for the third quarter ended June 29.

For the nine months, Wavetek reported a $1.5-million loss on sales of $58.7 million.