SAN FRANCISCO—Chip maker CSR plc said Monday (Dec. 12) it would discontinue investment in the digital TV and silicon tuner product lines it recently acquired when it bought Zoran Corp. and lay off about 800 employees by the end of the second quarter of 2012.
CSR (Cambridge, U.K.) said it expects to save about $60 million per year as a result of these and other changes. The company expects to take a charge of about $10 million for restructuring by the end of the second quarter of 2012.
CSR said it is making the cuts to sharpen the company's focus on areas where it has leadership positions and the ability to deliver differentiated platforms and products. The company said it would continue to support and deliver products to customers in these areas, and will continue to develop connectivity, other home entertainment products and peripherals related to the DTV market.
Many observers expected CSR to cut portions of Zoran, the image processing chip specialist it acquired earlier this year for about $484 million. CSR executives have articulated a vision for the company to become a diversified platform provider and avoid commoditization at all costs.
"We continue to take a disciplined approach to capital allocation and cost control," said Joep van Beurden, CEO of CSR, in a statement. Beurden said CSR would focus investments in areas where the company has a strong position, including the areas of voice and music, automotive infotainment, cameras, document imaging, gaming and Bluetooth low energy devices.
"We will also continue to invest in a range of products for attractive growth markets including handsets and computer peripherals," Beurden said.
CSR said it expects to have about 2,400 employees at the end of the second quarter of 2012, down from about 3,200 employees at the end of September. The company said it continues to expect fourth quarter revenue to be between $230 million and $250 million.
CSR guts Zoran's DTV chip business
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