Today Acer (TPE:2353) signaled that it would begin a massive restructuring as CEO JT Wong announced he would step down from his title in January.
According to Reuters, Wang will be succeeded by Jim Wang, current president of Acer.
Wang’s resignation comes after dismal Q3 earnings from the Taiwan manufacturer. The company recently posted a net loss of NT$13.1 billion ($445 million), reportedly its largest ever. Revenue, meanwhile, was up three percent from the previous quarter, but down 12 percent year-on-year.
Several factors are behind Acer’s recent struggle to maintain its relevance as a major hardware manufacturer. Growth is declining in global PC sales, and while top dogs like Lenovo and HP can hold their own, according to IDC, Taiwan titans Acer and Asus both saw their PC shipments fall about 35 percent in Q3 2013.
Meanwhile, in the tablet space, Acer has been hindered by the failure of the Windows 8 operating system, which powered several of its devices. This the company’s official reason for its disappointing quarter, as reps told Reuters in a statement “”Q3’s operating loss was mainly due to the gross margin impact of gearing up for the Windows 8.1 sell-in and the related management of inventory.”
In an effort to cut costs, Acer will layoff seven percent of its workforce.
Acer isn’t the only company to see top executives step down amidst financial turmoil. Last June HTC’s COO Peter Costello announced his resignation after the Taiwan smartphone maker saw a 98 percent drop in net income. Today that company revealed its revenue in October dropped 13 percent year-on-year.
(Editing by Steven Millward)
(Image via Flickr user isriya)
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