New AMD Strategy: Chips And Nothing But The Chips

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company has put the market on notice that its sole focus will be processors -- opting out of its money-losing flash memory business and reorganizing its chip unit.

AMD said Wednesday that Spansion, its joint, flash memory operation with Fujitsu, would spin off into a publicly traded, independent company. AMD also said it is creating a "single, customer-focused organization" within the company, called Microprocessor Solutions Sector, to oversee all of its chip business.

Dirk Meyer, an executive vice president, will become president and COO of the MSS unit. Henri Richard, another AMD vice president, will become AMD's chief sales and marketing officer. Both will report to AMD CEO Hector Ruiz.

Meyer's job will include overseeing all of the "financial, business and technology" aspects of AMD's chip business. Richard will spearhead AMD's worldwide go-to-market strategy, the company said.

The moves were announced the same time as AMD's first-quarter earnings report, in which it posted a loss of $17 million, or 4 cents per share, for the period that ended March 27. In late afternoon trading, AMD shares were down 55 cents to $16.51 per share.