National Semiconductor reported last week it will immediately drop out of the PC processor business, eliminating the Cyrix chip name from the market, leaving the business to Intel and AMD.
National’s executives cited increased pricing pressures in the sub-$1,000 PC market as the primary reason for the decision. The move comes just two years after National spent $550 million to buy Cyrix, which brought the company into the PC processor market. About 550 jobs will be eliminated, and National said it will sell its processor manufacturing plant in Maine.
“If there is no Cyrix it will change some of the dynamics in this market because nobody else is prepared to come in,” said Steve Baker, senior hardware analyst at PC Data, Reston, Va.
