P.M. BRIEFING : Wang to Lay Off 500 Workers

Wang Laboratories Inc., whose financial comeback has been stalled by the sluggish economy, will lay off 500 workers in the next few weeks, according to an internal company memo disclosed today.

Its work force has already been cut by more than a third from a high of about 31,000 in 1989.

A company memo sent to the computer maker’s 19,000 employees said the additional cuts are necessary “to preserve the gains that we have made over the last 16 months.” It has wiped out its bank debt and ended a string of quarterly losses.

But the memo said: “As you know, some severe new external challenges have emerged in the form of economic recessions and threats to world peace. Naturally these external forces have adversely affected our operations as they have most companies.”