Sequent Computer Systems Corp, Beaverton, Oregon says it will take a hit of $15m to $20m against its fourth quarter figures to cover the cost of cutting its worldwide workforce by about 5% and writing down non-strategic assets. The charge will wipe out profits for the year estimated at $13.9m to $15.6m. Sales for the fourth quarter are put at $104m, up from $88.7m a year ago. The company also formed two new divisions, Enterprise Division and Platform Division. The new divisional organisation is intended to make it easier for the company to create enterprise-level systems for customers while maintaining leadership in high-performance symmetric multiprocessing systems.
