03:47 PM PDT on Thursday, October 27, 2005

Associated Press

HILLSBORO -- A Hillsboro chip manufacturer plans to cut its 1,000-person workforce by as many as 140 employees over the next three months.

A computer chip.

Steve Skaggs, CEO of Lattice Semiconductor Corp., said the company will reduce its work force by through a combination of employee buyouts and layoffs.

The news comes on the heels of announcements by Pixelworks, Inc. and In-Focus Corp., which will together lay off more than 100 people.

However, company officials said few of the cuts will be in Hillsboro, where 350 of the 1,000 employees are based. Instead, the company intends to bolster its Oregon staff next year in an effort to centralize engineering jobs.

On Wednesday, Lattice reported revenues of $53.4 million for the third quarter -- down 6.8 percent from $57.3 million over a year ago. Its share price fell 2 cents Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market, closing at $4.31.

The company manufactures programmable chips used in electronics.