SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — Seagate Technology has replaced its top two executives and said it plans to cut 800 jobs — 10 percent of its U.S. workforce — as the hard-drive maker endures a bruising slowdown in technology spending. Its stock fell more than 15 percent.
The company announced Monday that William Watkins, 56, left, Seagate’s chief executive since 2004, and Dave Wickersham, 52, president and chief operating officer, have both left the company, effective immediately. Seagate declined to make either executive available for comment.
The company, which operates a facility in Longmont, also announced that it plans to cut 10 percent of its 8,000 U.S.-based workers. It has 53,000 workers worldwide. It was unclear whether the Longmont facility, which employs 1,582 workers, would be affected by the cuts.
Stephen Luczo, 51, replaces Watkins. The former investment banker served as Seagate’s CEO from 1998 until 2004 amid a wrenching restructuring and will have to engineer another big turnaround to get the company back on track. Staff and news services; Associated Press file photo
