BOISE, Idaho -- William J. Agee, who made headlines in the 1980s for his role in takeovers and reports of an office romance, left the helm of struggling Morrison Knudsen Corp. yesterday under pressure from its board.
Mr. Agee had said last week that he would retire as chief executive in November, but he was lobbying to stay on as chairman of the construction and engineering company until 1998.
After two consecutive quarters of losses, though, with another expected for the fourth quarter, Morrison Knudsen directors apparently had enough. At a meeting in San Francisco Thursday night, they decided to oust him immediately.
"Given all that has come out about him, there's little way that he could have stayed on," said John Rogers, an analyst at Jensen Securities Co.
Morrison Knudsen replaced Mr. Agee with two temporary appointees. William Clark, a director since 1994, was elected acting chairman. Mr. Clark is a former U.S. secretary of the interior and served as national security adviser to President Ronald Reagan.
Stephen Hanks, executive vice president of administration and finance, was elected acting chief executive.
Mr. Agee promised a big turnaround in 1987 when he became chief executive of money-losing Morrison Knudsen, known for building the Hoover Dam.
In his six years at Morrison Knudsen, Mr. Agee won big government rail and environmental contracts. But the company never overcome cost overruns at its locomotive remanufacturing business and contract delays at its construction division.
The company's financial problems mounted. Even so, Mr. Agee pulled an annual salary as high as $2 million.
He drew fire over his use of the company jet and other corporate resources. Mr. Agee ran Boise, Idaho-based Morrison Knudsen from a home in Pebble Beach, Calif., according to the New York Times.
The company has reported $43.7 million in losses the past two quarters.
It isn't the first time the 57-year-old executive has left a top post under pressure. He was fired as Bendix Corp.'s chairman and CEO after his 1982 hostile bid for Martin Marietta Corp. triggered the takeover of his own company by Allied Corp., which later became AlliedSignal Inc.