Amelio Resigns As Apple Chief

Gil Amelio, the embattled chief executive of Apple Computer Inc., quit on Wednesday in a boardroom overhaul that expands the role of co-founder Steve Jobs in running the company.

Amelio was brought in 1-1/2 years ago to replace Michael Spindler, who was driven out in another boardroom shakeup.

In addition to Jobs, Apple chief financial officer Fred Anderson also assumed new responsibilities managing the company until a new chief executive is found, the company said in a statement.

The resignation is the latest blow to the troubled computer company, which has seen its Macintosh sales tumble amid doubts about its future, product problems and worries about a replacement for the aging Macintosh operating system.

Ellen Hancock, Apple’s head of technology, also quit.

The company did not give a reason for the resignations. But Amelio has come under enormous pressure since he joined the company in February 1996.