Hutchinson Technology to cut up to 900 jobs

Hutchinson Technology Inc (HTCH.O) said it will reduce 30-40 percent of its U.S. workforce over the next 12 months, and warned of a sequentially wider operating loss for the second quarter hurt by a cut in production plans by its customers.

The supplier of suspension assemblies for disk drives said the job cuts, of about 680-910, will result in a charge of $13-$20 million.

The company, which expects its second-quarter suspension assembly shipments to fall as much as 5 percent sequentially, said lower spending by key customers will lead to a negative second-quarter gross margin and a larger operating loss.

Hutchinson also said it will consolidate its Hutchinson, Minnesota, components operations into its operations in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Hutchinson, which has a market capitalization of about $72.5 million, said the restructuring would lower costs by $45-$60 million on an annualized basis.

From: Reuters