Mar 27 2002
American Superconductor today announced plans for a complete reorganisation of their business. The exercise will involve restructuring, consolidation and cost cutting.
These activities will shift their focus from research and development to product commercialisation, resulting in lower cash burn rates.
The restructure is estimated to cost the company between $9 and $11 million dollars and will incorporate a workforce reduction of some 25% or about 100 persons. However, they expect to be able to recover much of the costs as savings once the restructure has been completed.
The restructuring exercise will involve the merging of the Power Quality and Reliability business unit with the Power Electronics unit, which will become AMSC Power Electronic Systems. This move will reduce costs and more effectively utilise the skills of the staff.
Priorities in the research and development area have also been changed to bring about cost reductions and shorten the time achieve profitability. Consequently the HTS Wire unit will be concentrating its efforts on commissioning its HTS wire manufacturing plant and areas associated with reducing manufacturing costs and improving wire performance.
Similarly, the HTS Motors and generators unit will focus on ship propulsion technology, after having been awarded an $8 million contract by the US Navy. The first motor from this project is due next year.