Senior Executive Resigns in Latest Shake-Up at AST : Computers: Departure of James Forquer follows word of plant closing, major layoff at ailing company. Analysts suspect pressure from new boss.
A top manufacturing executive at AST Research Inc. resigned Wednesday, following the computer maker’s announcement last week that it will shut its Fountain Valley plant, cut 10% of its worldwide employees and report a loss of up to $40 million.
James L. Forquer stepped down from his post as senior vice president of worldwide operations, effective immediately. His duties will be split between two people who reported to him, Kirby Coryell and Robert A. Parmelee.
All three had joined the company last year--Forquer and Coryell from Apple Computer in Cupertino, Parmelee from Western Digital Corp. in Irvine--to help AST integrate its scattered manufacturing operations. Their hiring came soon after AST’s $105-million acquisition last year of Tandy Corp.’s computer manufacturing division in Texas and the construction of new plants in Ireland and Asia.
The company’s financial woes this year started with manufacturing lags, quality control and supply shortages, and were exacerbated by fierce competition that has contributed to making AST’s profit margin one of the lowest among major computer makers.
Industry analysts said Forquer’s resignation appears to be the result of pressure from James T. Schraith, who took over as AST’s president and chief executive in July.
Schraith could not be reached for comment, and a corporate spokesman would not discuss Forquer’s resignation. Forquer declined to comment.
“It looks to me like Schraith has decided to put his stamp on the management team,” said Eric Lewis, an analyst at International Data Corp., a market research firm in Mountain View. “Schraith was specifically promoted so he could focus on the management and integration of AST’s plants. He wants to show he’s going to address those problems.”
The company is sending Wall Street a signal that it intends to fix the production problems that have dragged down its earnings and revenue, said Mike McGuire, an analyst at Dataquest. Forquer inherited a difficult position, he said, and the new managers probably have only two quarters to show that “they have the right stuff to pull it off.”
Last Friday, AST said it will lay off all 440 workers at its Fountain Valley plant and close the plant, moving part of its portable computer-making operation to Taiwan. At the same time, the company said it expects to post a fiscal first-quarter loss of up to $40 million on revenue of $495 million. Analysts had expected a profit on sales of at least $515 million.
AST’s stock price closed Wednesday at $12 a share, unchanged from Tuesday’s close on the Nasdaq market system.
