Sybase Announces Reorganization Plans

Sybase (Emeryville, CA) has announced several steps in its plans to return to profitability. First, the role of CEO will be shared by current CEO Mitchell Kertzman and president John Chen. Also, senior VP and CFO Jack Acosta has been promoted to executive VP, and Michael Gardner is now senior VP of Worldwide Sales. Additionally, in light of its current restructuring activities, Sybase will take a $70 million restructuring charge to be reflected in Q1 '98. Sybase expects to reduce its cost structure by $100 million in 1998, while focusing its attention on Web computing, occasionally-connected computing and data warehousing. Lastly, the company's board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $25 million of its outstanding common stock. The repurchasing represents "a confirmation of our belief in the long-term value of the company," said Acosta.