Apple Computer Realignment Likely

Apple Computer Inc. probably will announce Wednesday that it is restructuring its operations into three new business units focused on selling its higher-end, more profitable computers.

The reorganization would affect the jobs of thousands of Apple workers and could signal the start of a new strategy that would leave clone makers as the sole proprietors for consumers who want a cheaper, less-powerful Macintosh computer.

In the process, it allows Apple to focus on selling its more powerful Macs that will increase its profit margins. Low profit margins were one of the key reasons the company announced this week that it would report a $68 million loss in its first fiscal quarter.

Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies Research International in San Jose, Calif., said he was told of the pending realignment this week by Apple USA President James Buckley.

The Cupertino, Calif., computer company also may announce within the next few days a new chief financial officer, succeeding Joseph Graziano.

graziano resigned last year after a philosophical falling out with chief executive Michael Spindler on Apple’s strategic course