Cirrus to Slash Work Force by Up to 28%

Cirrus Logic Inc., once a dominant maker of semiconductors for computer graphics, will fire up to 28% of its employees and take a $500-million charge to get rid of its weakest businesses. The struggling chip maker will cut 400 to 500 of its roughly 1,800 employees as part of a plan to stop making chips for graphics, personal computer modems and Internet-access equipment. Cirrus will focus instead on its more profitable chips for computer disk drives, audio equipment and industrial devices. Cirrus shares fell 41 cents to close at $7.28 on Nasdaq. The company unveiled the restructuring after the close of regular U.S. trading.