ONE of Ireland's major computer companies, AST Research Inc, with headquarters in Irvine, California, is to lay off 90 of its 610 employees at the National Technological Park, Limerick. The company, in a statement issued yesterday, said it planned to achieve a 15 per cent cutback through a voluntary severance programme.

AST was listed as the sixth largest personal computer company in the world when it established its European manufacturing and distribution centre in Limerick almost four years ago. It is the second largest supplier of these computer products on the Irish market and employs a large number of local third level engineering and science graduates.

A loss of £71 million in the first quarter of this year, announced by the American headquarters, is given as the reason for a 25 per cent cutback worldwide, except in Ireland. The rationalisation is expected to result in an improvement of £7.75 million during the second fiscal quarter of this year.

The company's revenues were approximately £223.8 million during the first quarter of the year, which was lower than anticipated and compared with £331 million in the first quarter of 1994 after setting up in Limerick.

Last week AST and Samsung, the South Korea electronic company, announced that they had reached "a definitive merger agreement under which Samsung will commence a tender offer to acquire all of AST's outstanding shares not currently owned by Samsung or its affiliates at $5.40 per share in cash".

The merger is looked on by the Irish management as "a very positive move".

Mr Kwang Ho Kim, who is chairman of the AST board of directors, stated that the group was taking "a long term approach to the PC business".