We would like to update you on the current situation at Thinking Machines and the progress we are making on rebuilding our company.
As you may have heard or read, . . . our Board of Directors decided to apply to the courts for protection from our creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in order to give us time to redirect our business strategy. This was a difficult decision but one that was unavoidable given the current state of the supercomputer market and our desire to be in position to continue to serve our customer base. We believe that the company, once we reorganize and readjust our cost structure, cannot only survive but become a thriving and profitable business. Chapter 11 allows us the time and protection to achieve this. Our goal is to develop and implement a new business plan as quickly as possible in order that we reemerge from Chapter 11 at the earliest possible time.
We have already begun restructuring our business to focus on our existing customers and to exploit our considerable and acknowledged leadership in parallel systems and parallel software technology. As part of this reorganization, . . . we took the necessary but very painful step of dismissing one- third of our work force. This action, which was required to bring our costs into line with our current revenues, will have minimal effect on the contracted services we provide to our installed base.
We have three key priorities which will be the foundation of the business plan:
1. Support our existing customer base. We will continue to provide our customers and their users with the same high quality of support services that has set the standard for the industry, both from the Home Office staff in Cambridge and from our extensive U.S. and international field operations. We have the resources in place to provide this service and support now and in the future. Our relationship with our customers is among our most prized assets. We intend to work very hard over the next few weeks and months to reaffirm the close working relationships that we have enjoyed with so many of you in the past.
2. Continue to offer CM-5E systems. We will continue to offer CM-5E systems, upgrades, and expansions to our existing customer and prospect base. We have the inventory and production capability to supply this equipment, and we are actively pursuing such opportunities. Our plans are to provide a clear software upgrade path for our existing Connection Machine customers.
3. Offer Thinking Machines parallel software on other parallel platforms. We expect to be consolidating and refocusing our resources to make our suite of parallel system software available on high- volume parallel platforms from other vendors. This is a key area of opportunity for the company and builds on the reputation we have earned for providing the most complete and sophisticated parallel computing software environment in the world.
We ask for your patience and understanding, especially in the next few weeks, as we go through this period of adjustment. Our relationship with you is critical to the nature of this company, and supporting you remains of paramount importance to each and every employee of Thinking Machines. We have appreciated your critical advice and encouragement in the past and hope you will continue to provide us with this input and support through the present transition period into the future. We are confident that over the coming months we will be able to provide you with a range of exciting products and services that will be consistent with and supportive of your long-range development and production application strategies. Our plans are to be at Supercomputing '94, so we look forward to seeing many of you there.
Dick Clayton, President
Dale Fisher, Director of Customer Support
David Lloyd Owen, European Manager, Customer Support