Chris Romoser, spokesman for the San Diego-based data storage device maker, confirmed the figure on Wednesday, expanding on the company's terse announcement Tuesday that 120 of 400 jobs would be gone by year's end.

Romoser could not discuss specifics of the layoffs - severance packages, time frames for terminations, etc. - but did acknowledge Iomega's latest restructuring effort will leave Utah with about 180 employees, a shadow of the payroll Iomega had at its zenith.

In 2001, the year Iomega moved its headquarters from Roy to California, the company's work force hovered around 2,200 nationwide and 750 in Utah. Its Jaz and Zip drives ruled the portable memory marketplace at the time, but lost ground in the explosion of increasingly higher-capacity and cheaper mini-drives and flash card memory devices.

Tony Reynolds, economic development director for Roy, said even at its current skeletal state, Iomega remains a player in the Weber County community of 35,000.

"We are primarily a bedroom community, so even with 180 jobs [after the cuts] Iomega will remain one of our major employers," he said. "We hope this restructuring will work, that it will finally put them in a position to grow again."

Occupancy at the Iomega Business Park in east Roy, where several buildings are now vacant, is another concern for the city, Reynolds said. The city stands ready to seek "new economic development partners" to lure new clients to the location if Iomega's woes continue, he said.

Iomega, which expects the latest cuts to save it up to $42 million a year, also plans to consolidate some facilities, reduce out-sourced work and re-focus its marketing on hard drive-based products for individual and small business clients.

Werner Heid, Iomega's president and chief executive, predicted the restructuring plan would return the company to operating profitability by the fourth quarter. In the longer term, he forecast growth in sales as well as higher profit margins.

Iomega's stock showed slight improvement in reaction to the news, closing Wednesday at $2.75 per share, up 8 cents, or 3 percent.