Aug 26, 2003 Wed August 20, 2003 04:14 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Teradyne Inc. TER.N , a maker of testing equipment used by microchip makers, has begun cutting about 500 jobs, or 7 percent of its total work force, in an effort to end the company's string of losses, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The Boston-based company is also reviewing the strategy for some of its operations -- including its telecommunications testing business, a circuit board inspection business, and its electronics backplane business -- and may cut jobs from or restructure those operations, the source said.
The intent of the cost cuts is to reduce the level of quarterly revenue needed for the company to break even by $20 million to $330 million, the source said.
Tom Newman, a spokesman for Teradyne, said he would not comment on any new job actions. "If we were doing it today, we wouldn't say anything outside until it was done," Newman said.
Teradyne has reduced the size of its employee base from a peak of 11,800 people to about 7,180, including temporary workers and contractors. The company had said it planned to be able to break even at a revenue level of $350 million a quarter.
Newman said Teradyne remained committed to breaking even by the fourth quarter. "If we have to cut we'll cut," he said.
Shares of Teradyne ended down 38 cents, or 2.16 percent, at $17.22 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
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