SiliconBeat

The board of directors at Pericom Semiconductor of San Jose decided Tuesday to change some of the terms of its change-in-control agreements it maintains with each of its executive officers, “and certain other officers to be selected by” the company’s chief executive,” according to a regulatory filing.

Among the changes instituted were that severance paid out to executives will be changed from a pay-out of salary and bonus over the course of the following 12 months following termination  to a lump-sum payment to be made within 30 days of termination; and vesting acceleration with respect to restricted stock awards and restricted stock units among the change in control benefits available under the agreement.

Pericom shareholder’s gave the company the OK at their annual meeting last week to more than double the number of shares available in its 2004 Stock Incentive Plan from 2.25 million to 5.25 million. A number of plan modifications were made, including prohibiting repricing of options and stock-appreciation rights without shareholder approval. The amended plan also specified that for every “full-value” award granted such as a share of restricted stock, the number of shares in the plan would be reduced by 1.5 shares, and that shares returned in payment for taxes on a given award would not be returned to the plan.

Monday, the San Jose chip maker lowered its sales guidance by about 20 percent from where it had been previously, saying that sales would be between $29.5 million and $30.5 million, down from an earlier range of $36 million to $40 million.

“Against the backdrop of deteriorating end-market demand, we are taking the necessary measures to reduce expenses by implementing a lean cost structure and pulling back on discretionary expenses,” said Pericom’s Chief Executive Alex Hui, in a statement.

The company also lowered estimates for its operating expenses, now expected to be between $10-$10.4 million, down from the previous range of $10.6 and $11.0 million. The company said the lowered costs were “primarily attributed to decreases in discretionary spending and salary expenses reduction.”