TECHNOLOGY - Dec. 14, 1995

AST Pays Out $3 Million to Departing Execs: At a time when the Irvine-based computer manufacturer is desperately trying to contain costs, a spate of terminations in recent months has cost it more than $3 million in payments to top executives who have left, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AST Research Inc.’s proxy statement, filed in advance of its annual meeting next month, also offers a glimpse of what the company paid to attract new Chief Executive Ian Diery, a former Apple Computer executive. Diery will get a $700,000 annual salary, options that will ultimately let him buy 1 million shares of common stock, and a $500,000 moving allowance.