Oct. 9, 2002 – Westwood, MA – ADE Corp., a supplier of wafer measurement and inspection systems for the silicon wafer and magnetics storage industries, will lay off about 9% of its workforce – roughly 40 employees.

ADE’s Exec. VP and CFO Brian James stated, “These initiatives include reducing other personnel related expenditures at its principal Massachusetts and Arizona manufacturing and development facilities, as well as other satellite offices. Excluding related non-recurring expenses, these actions should result in nearly $4 million of annual cost improvements.”

“Although ADE has reported a substantial increase in orders during the past quarter, we do not see signs of a near-term rebound in semiconductor capital equipment spending. After a thorough review of our operations, we decided that further reducing our workforce was necessary as we continue to focus on returning to cash flow positive operations and sustainable profitability. While this was a difficult decision for us to make, it is a necessary one at this time,” said Dr. Chris L. Koliopoulos, ADE’s president and CEO.