National Asks Workers to Take Time Off

National Semiconductor Corp. said it asked its 13,000 employees worldwide to take 10 days of vacation or unpaid leave in an effort to cut costs to cope with slack demand in the personal computer market. National is asking employees to take the time off between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30, with the option of taking it as paid vacation or unpaid leave. The Santa Clara-based chip maker declined to say how much it expected to save. Last month, National reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss, hurt by slow sales to PC makers and weak economic conditions in Asia. The chip maker had warned that results would be crimped as PC makers slowed chip orders while they sold off older machines to reduce inventories. National’s shares rose 19 cents to close at $12.50 on the NYSE. News of the request was reported after markets closed.