Micron Abruptly Rehires Ousted Ceo Steve Appleton Reinstated As Board Chairman 9 Days After Ouster

In an extraordinary about-face, Micron Technology Inc. reinstated Steve Appleton as board chairman after directors concluded his ouster nine days earlier was a mistake.

The announcement late Friday ended a standoff between Appleton, 35, and a board dominated by 87-year-old billionaire J.R. Simplot and his close associate, Allen Noble.

The change came just three days before the computer chip maker’s annual shareholders meeting.

“They returned to sanity,” said Rick Whittington of SoundView Financial Group, an industry analyst.

“Appleton is the heart and soul of the company and the board recognized not just Appleton would be departing the company. To be quite blunt, the board recognized that much could dissolve or fall apart were Appleton not there.”

Officially, Appleton resigned Jan. 18, citing unspecified personal reasons.

But Simplot was later quoted as saying Appleton “took it like a man,” fueling speculation he was forced out.

Appleton began as a Micron production worker and rose through the ranks to chairman and chief executive officer in less than 12 years.

He is admired for speeding expansion of Micron’s production capacity.

“Steve Appleton has the unanimous support of the board of directors,” said Simplot, who controls 22 percent of Micron stock.

“We are confident that all of us together will provide the leadership needed to continue building the company.”

The nighttime announcement came after the close of financial markets, so investor reaction was difficult to gauge.

Micron stock had closed at $34.50 a share, down $1.50.

The boardroom showdown took place in an industry frantic over falling computer chip prices that have sent Micron’s stock down 66 percent since last summer.

Founded in 1978, Micron and its subsidiaries make and sell dynamic random access memory chips, or DRAMs, other semiconductor components and personal computers.