InFocus plans to cut at least one-third of work force

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InFocus Corp. on Wednesday said a previously announced plan to cut its workforce by 30 percent will be more severe than initially expected.

But in the words of CEO Bob O’Malley, it’s part of a larger effort to get the struggling company “back in fighting shape.”

InFocus, which develops projector technology, is consolidating operations into its Wilsonville headquarters with the exception of sales, which will maintain a presence across Europe, Asia and North America.

O’Malley said the current workforce of 260 employees will likely be cut by at least one-third, though he declined to say the exact size of the job cuts.

In December, InFocus said it would reduce its then workforce of 300 by 30 percent spread across 2009. As a result, the company closed its European central office in the Netherlands and moved call center operations from India back to Wilsonville.

But the digital projector market is still sinking, down 20 percent year over year, the company said.

That’s leading to “more aggressive” job cuts. The company will now close its Singapore operation where it handles manufacturing and parts planning, as well as service, warranty and repair operations — all functions that will be relocated to Wilsonville.

Additionally, the Wilsonville workforce will also be reduced, though O’Malley didn’t say by what degree.

The workers being laid off were given a two-month notice, so they will remain on the payroll through the end of August. Those workers will receive a “normal severance” and job placement assistance, O’Malley said.

The move comes a month after the InFocus was acquired and taken private by tech entrepreneur John Hui, the former founder of discount computer-maker eMachines Inc., in a $39 million deal.

O’Malley said Hui ultimately signed off on the more aggressive work force reduction, but the plan was conceived prior to the takeover.

InFocus is operating with a sense of urgency and being privately-held allows the company to takes risk it otherwise wouldn’t have taken when it was beholden to public shareholders, O’Malley said.

The consolidation is also a signal that InFocus intends to be a leaner, more nimble company.

“We’re not a large company. We’re a small company that’s privately owned. We need to be in one place to act quickly and make decisions,” O’Malley said. “We’re trying to take on the mantra of a small business: lean, mean, hungry. Our intent is to get the business back in fighting shape, then finding ways to grow our business.”