NATICK, Massachusetts – Cognex Corporation cut staff and reduced its office space as a result of “deteriorating market conditions”, it said in a release.
The company has cut its 190 employees from its global workforce, which is approximately eight percent of its worldwide headcount. Cognex CEO, Rob Willett, and chairman, Robert Shillman, have waived their salaries, and members of the Board of Directors have waived their cash fees for the remainder of the year.
These measures follow actions previously taken by Cognex during the past two months to reduce spending and restrict new hiring.
The AI-based machine vision supplier noted that the automotive market has been the greatest area of slowdown.
“We had our business sized for continued growth this year,” said Willett.
“However, growth has been stifled due to the slowdown by manufacturers, particularly in the automotive industry which was our largest market last year. We are reorganizing Cognex to sharpen our focus on growth areas such as logistics and deep learning”
Cognex expects to record a total restructuring charge of approximately US$20 million, primarily in the second quarter of 2020, for the workforce reduction and lease terminations.
The company expects annualized cost savings of approximately $25 million.
Cognex has shipped more than two million image-based products, representing over $7 billion in cumulative revenue, since the company’s founding in 1981. Headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, USA, Cognex has offices and distributors located throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
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