Symbolics Inc. Seeks Chapter 11 Protection

Symbolics Inc., a Massachusetts-based computer company with a manufacturing operation in Chatsworth, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The company laid off six of its 22 Chatsworth employees Jan. 13 in preparation for the bankruptcy filing last week. Nationwide, Symbolics reduced its staff from 110 employees to 70.

The company has suffered hard times for the past several years, as demand dwindled for its special computer workstations and software that are designed for artificial intelligence systems and complex computer networks.

Symbolics spokesman Bill Clarke said the bankruptcy filing was intended in part to protect the company from its obligations under a lease on 2,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Chatsworth. Under Chapter 11, a company continues operating but is shielded from creditors while it works out a reorganization plan.

The company took out a 10-year lease on the space from the government of Singapore in the late 1980s when its operations were much bigger, Clarke said. Now that Symbolics has downsized it no longer uses the building, but Singapore has refused to terminate the lease, he said.

At its peak in 1986, Symbolics had 700 employees and annual revenue of $114 million.