MICROPOLIS GOES OUT OF BUSINESS; ALL 300-PLUS WORKERS AT FACILITY LET GO.

Byline: Ben Sullivan and Enrique Rivero / Daily News Staff Writers

Computer hard-drive manufacturer Micropolis shut its Chatsworth headquarters Monday, laying off all of the facility's 300-plus employees.

Workers were told at a Monday morning meeting that Micropolis' parent company Singapore Technologies had tired of losses generated by the disk-drive manufacturer and would end Micropolis' operations worldwide. An unknown number of Micropolis employees in Singapore were also let go.

News of the closure came with little warning. Rumors had circulated at the Chatsworth plant late last week that Micropolis would be bought by a competitor, most likely Seagate Technologies. And many employees expected Monday's meeting to be such an announcement.

``Instead they said the liquidators will come today (Monday) and everybody should pack their personal belongings and leave,'' said one employee who asked not to be identified.

Employees were told they would receive any back pay owed them.

The Singapore Straits Times and Business Times newspapers reported Monday that Singapore Technologies had retained Price Waterhouse to help it decide what to do with the Micropolis holdings.

The Chatsworth plant was primarily a research and development facility, with approximately 70 percent of its workers either engineers or engineering support staff, according to one company official. A 400,000-square-foot manufacturing plant opened in Singapore earlier this year.

Industry analysts say the Micropolis closure is not surprising. With larger companies such as Fujitsu, IBM and Samsung entering or redoubling their efforts in the hard-drive market, smaller players such as Micropolis are getting squeezed out, said Jeff Gentle, an analyst at A.G. Edwards.

``There's definitely too much,'' Gentle said. Among the first sectors to be hit by this increased competition has been the high-end market, where Micropolis fought for its niche by supplying high-capacity drives for video and audio storage.

Despite several profitable years in the early 1990s, Micropolis has struggled throughout its 20-year history to overcome both increased competition and shrinking profit margins. It operated at a loss from 1993 to 1996.

In March 1996, the firm was sold to government-owned Singapore Technologies, a high-tech conglomerate with headquarters in Singapore that has investments ranging from arms manufacturing to beach resort development.

As part of that $55 million deal, the original Micropolis Corp. was split in two. All the inventory and property related to its disk-drive business was converted into a Singapore Technologies subsidiary but retained the Micropolis name.

The other half of the original Micropolis was renamed StreamLogic Corp. and has focused on storage and management software and subsystems for video and data. It remains headquartered in Chatsworth.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF MICROPOLIS

Forms in 1976 in Chatsworth as Micropolis Corp.

After a couple of profitable years, the company loses $19.9 million, or $1.34 per share, in 1993 and $30.7 million, or $2.03 per share, in 1994.

In January 1996, Micropolis announces it is selling its disk-drive business to a then-unidentified company.

In March 1996, Micropolis Pvt. Ltd. officially becomes a subsidiary of Singapore Technologies. The other half of the original Micropolis, meanwhile, becomes StreamLogic Corp.

On Monday, officials announce that Micropolis has been closed and about 300 employees have been laid off.

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Photo, Box

PHOTO (color) MICROPOLIS

BOX: A BRIEF HISTORY OF MICROPOLIS (see text)