Touch-Feedback Licensor Immersion to Cut 41% of Workforce in Restructuring

Touch-feedback technology licensor Immersion will cut about 41 percent of its global workforce in a restructuring that will include reducing its presence in China to focus mainly on mobile OEM licensing, said the company Wednesday. Immersion also will focus its development efforts to boost its patent licensing model for the gaming and virtual reality markets and cease its involvement in mobile advertising, it said. Streamlining will save about $10 million a year, it said. This follows Immersion’s Nov. 30 announcement installing Chairman Carl Schlachte as interim CEO after the board asked Vic Viegas to quit his CEO post and resign as a director (see personals section of the Dec. 1 issue of this publication). Immersion incurred a $33 million net loss for the nine months through Sept. 30 on a 41 percent decline in revenue to $28.1 million, it reported Nov. 2. Immersion shares closed 1.75 percent higher Wednesday at $6.99.