Applied Micro Circuits President to Retire

Applied Micro Circuits Corp., the communications-chip maker that announced last month it would fire a quarter of its staff, said President and Chief Operating Officer Doug Spreng will retire Sept. 30.

Chief Executive and Chairman Dave Rickey will add the president’s duties, the company said in a statement without discussing who would take the COO job. Spreng will stay on the company’s board if reelected Wednesday.

Spreng, 58, plans to “pursue other interests” and spend more time with his family, the company said. Spreng and Rickey didn’t return calls for comment.

Applied Micro has cut costs, fired employees and trimmed pay because of slumping sales. The company said last month it will cut 275 jobs as sales in the fiscal first quarter ended June 30 fell 27% from a year ago. They fell 75% in the previous quarter. Customers such as Nortel Networks Corp. trimmed orders because telephone and Internet companies bought less equipment.

Applied Micro shares fell 22 cents, or 4.7%, to $4.45 in Nasdaq trading.