Hutchinson to Reduce US Workforce by 100 Positions

Hutchinson Technology Incorporated is taking actions to further reduce costs and preserve cash.

The company expects to reduce its U.S. workforce by approximately 100 positions by the end of July and estimates that its fiscal 2014 third quarter financial results will include approximately $1.3 million of severance charges related to this action.

“As we’ve progressed through our consolidation effort, additional opportunities to improve our efficiencies and reduce our costs have been identified,” said Rick Penn, president and CEO.

As previously announced, the company expects cost savings of $2.5 million per quarter through consolidation of its operations and the shift of more assembly production to its Thailand plant. Combining those savings with the actions announced, the company now estimates that cost reductions of approximately $4.0 million per quarter can be achieved by the end of fiscal 2014.

“We expect our participation on customers’ new disk drive programs to position us for demand growth in the second half of the calendar year,” said Penn. “Our financial performance will improve as demand increases and we realize the benefits of our lower cost structure.“