Agilent (Santa Clara, Calif.) said fiscal 2009 revenue in the Electronic Measurement segment is expected to be down about 30 percent from 2008 to the lowest level in the company's 10-year history.

Revenue in the Semiconductor & Board Test segment is expected to be down more than 50 percent from last year and off 65 percent from its peak volume, Agilent said.

Agilent also named Ron Nersesian senior vice president and general manager of the company's Electronic Measurement Group, where he will oversee all business operations of both the Electronic Measurement and Semiconductor & Board Test segments.

In a statement, Bill Sullivan, Agilent president and CEO, said the company has been aggressive in addressing the downturn in electronic measurement markets, but that business remains severely depressed with no prospect for a meaningful recovery in the foreseeable future.

"Therefore, we have no choice but to resize our electronic measurement businesses for the realities of the marketplace," Sullivan said.

Nersesian, 49, has 27 years of experience in engineering, marketing and general management at Agilent, Hewlett-Packard Co. and other high-tech companies, according to Agilent.

Agilent said the restructuring would over the next four quarters reduce costs in its Electronic Measurement segment by $300 million per year. The further restructuring of the Semiconductor & Board Test segment will reduce costs by an additional $10 million per year, Agilent said.

The restructuring will have a cash cost of about $160 million, Agilent said.

"For Agilent to realize its full potential, we must have a financially healthy company and a solidly profitable Electronic Measurement business," Sullivan said.

Agilent also announced it would suspend its share repurchase program until the end of its 2009 fiscal year in order to fund the restructuring.