RED BANK, N.J. -- Conexant Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNXT) today announced plans to reduce its worldwide workforce by approximately 300 employees by the end of the calendar year. The headcount reduction is a result of further merger-related synergies and the company's revenue outlook for the September quarter, which was communicated in the company's quarterly earnings call on July 29, 2004, and is lower than the company expected one quarter ago. The reduction will affect employees in Conexant's research and development, technical marketing, and sales, general and administrative groups. This headcount reduction is in addition to the actions announced last April that will affect approximately 200 people by the end of the calendar year.

    "At the time of the merger, we stated that we expected to achieve significant operating synergies, and that we would eliminate overlapping personnel and functions in our sales, general and administrative groups," said Armando Geday, Conexant's chief executive officer. "We also planned to re-deploy, rather than reduce, product development resources in areas where we had redundancies. As a result of our previously announced reduced revenue outlook for the September quarter, we have determined we must now eliminate these resources.

    "Although absolutely necessary, it is very painful to take actions that affect a talented and dedicated workforce," Geday continued. "When complete, these actions and those we previously announced will allow us to reduce our pro forma operating expenses from more than $110 million in the March-ending quarter to approximately $90 million exiting the first calendar quarter of 2005."

Conexant Systems Inc.