Wang Laboratories Inc president, chairman and chief executive Richard Miller, retained to arrest the company’s plunge towards the corporate graveyard, has resigned, firmly denying reports that the board believed the company could no longe afford to pay his $800,000 a year salary, or of any rift with the Wang family. He is now to be succeeded by a triumvirate of three former executive vice-presidents – Michael Mee as chairman and chief financial officer; Donald Casey as co-president and chief development officer; and Joseph Tucci, co-president and chief executive. The company is currently trading under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and further big cutbacks were signalled as the company announced the change of leadership. It is ending all manufacturing apart from the VS line, which means that most of the 1,000 remaining manufacturing jobs are at risk. Plants in Taiwan, Ireland and Australia are likely to be hit, with the boom falling in the summer; Wang promises to continue to service the software and hardware it has already sold. It will maintain a sales and support network in the 150 countries where it now has a presence, but there may be cuts in both Wang employee numbers and the type of facilities it will operate. Miller said his resignation was because it was best for the re-emerging company. The company’s reorganisation plan is due on March 16, a date agreed upon by Wang and the creditors.
