Vice President of Toshiba’s Computer Division Resigns : Management: Some sources speculate that it may be due to the poor performance of his division during his 21-month tenure.

Bill Johnson, vice president and general manager of Toshiba America’s Computer Systems Division, has resigned for undisclosed reasons, the company said Tuesday.

Johnson’s resignation comes during a difficult period for Toshiba America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Toshiba Corp. that has been hit by layoffs and intensifying competition in its mainstay laptop computer business.

Some sources familiar with Toshiba said Johnson may have been forced to resign because of the poor performance of the division during his 21-month tenure.

Johnson could not be reached for comment.

But Kiichi Hataya, president of Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., said Johnson submitted his resignation Monday and the company accepted it. He declined further comment.

In the past six months, a host of computer companies has entered the laptop business. More than 100 companies are now producing notebook computers, a smaller version of laptops that fit into a briefcase and typically weigh less than 8 pounds.

Toshiba America Information Systems, the parent of the computer division, has cut more than 225 of its 2,000 jobs since January. The company also has reorganized its operations other than the computer unit.

Hataya acknowledged that the computer unit is having difficulties, but he said that it remains profitable and that Toshiba is holding its No. 1 position in the laptop market. The computer division accounts for half of the $1 billion in annual revenue for Toshiba America Information Systems.

“You know the situation is not good and competition is tough, but we are holding well despite the difficult situation,” he said.

The computer division has also undergone substantial changes in the past year. The company cut its number of national distributors from 10 companies to one and suffered from adverse publicity when customers complained of long delays in getting Toshiba laptops repaired.

Johnson, 47, joined the Toshiba computer unit in June, 1989. He replaced John Rehfeld, who left his position to head Seiko Instruments USA Inc. in Torrance.

Before joining Toshiba, Johnson spent 20 years at Hewlett Packard Co. and was marketing manager for that firm’s personal computer division from 1987 to 1989.

Mark Tanaka, assistant general manager at the Toshiba computer division, will assume Johnson’s duties on an interim basis while the company looks for a permanent replacement, Hataya said.

Hataya said the company will seek out an American executive to replace Johnson, based on its longstanding policy that the division be run by American management.