CSR Israel Ltd. (formerly Zoran) is firing 70-80 of its 300 employees in Israel, after its British parent company, CSR plc (LSE: CSR; Nasdaq: CSRE), announced today that it is discontinuing development of its camera-on-a-chip (COACH) platform, in order to increase its focus of investment into potential areas of future growth. The layoffs in Israel are part of 200 layoffs at CSR as a whole.
CSR acquired Zoran, a developer of processors for consumer electronics, for $485 million in 2011. The company, best known for its Bluetooth processors, made several acquisitions, including of Zoran, to expand its operations. In a recent visit to Israel, CSR CEO Joep van Beurden said that the company planned to turn its Israeli development center into a leader in digital development.
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, CSR said, "CSR will continue to develop Imaging intellectual property (IP) for future markets such as automotive and wearables, and will also increase investment in the growing areas of Bluetooth Smart and Voice & Music. CSR will continue to support customers who implement the current generation of COACH." It added the measures would reduce its underlying operating costs by $30 million in 2014, and that revenue will be $20 million less than previously forecast.
CSR Israel said today, "Following the decision to scale back the company's imaging activity, CSR Israel will lay off several dozen employees. The company will help the employees find new jobs, and will provide a range of services for this purpose, including workshops for job searching on LinkedIn, help in writing CVs, and help in finding jobs at technology companies in the north. It will also provide respectable severance and notice grants, depending on age and seniority."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 10, 2013
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