23 Employees Laid Off at Eagle Computer

Ailing Eagle Computer Inc. announced Tuesday that it had laid off 23 employees and reduced its work force to 60, its lowest level since the company began its desperate fight 18 months ago to survive in the crowded office computer market.

Senior vice president Richard Thunen said the latest layoffs were designed to cut the Garden Grove-based company’s costs while it searches for the financial backing it needs to produce the new computer line that is supposed to turn around its sagging fortunes.

“Without an outside investment we don’t have the wherewithal to do our new product justice,” Thunen said of Eagle’s attempts to market the new line.

He said that while the company needs money immediately--and had originally expected to have it by December--it had no firm investment prospects on the horizon.

The Dec. 31 layoffs capped a roller-coaster year that seemed to plunge a little lower with each dip.