Identix, Visionics to Cut Work Force 20%

Identix Inc., which is acquiring Visionics Corp. for $287.6 million, will fire about 120 employees, and four top executives will step aside when the purchase is completed.

The combined company, to be named Identix Inc., will close offices in Los Gatos and Dublin, Calif., eliminating about 20% of the work force.

Identix, which makes fingerprint-identification devices, said in February that it planned to buy Visionics, which develops face-recognition technology.

The headquarters will be in Minnetonka, Minn., where Visionics is located. Identix President Jim Scullion and Executive Vice Presidents Grant Evans and Sunday Lewis won’t join the combined company because they don’t want to relocate, the companies said. Visionics Chief Financial Officer Bob Gallagher decided to leave to pursue other interests.

Shares of Los Gatos-based Identix, which have gained 80% since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, rose 53 cents to $7.55 in Nasdaq trading.

Visionics shares, which have more than doubled since Sept. 11, rose 76 cents to $10.12 on Nasdaq.