A US jury has sided with AMD against a former employee of the chip maker.

The ex-staffer, Walid Maghribi, had alleged that obstacles were placed on his career path at the company after he admitted he was a Muslim - and not a Christian - to AMD chairman Jerry Sanders after the 11 September 2001 World Trade Centre attack.

As head of the company's memory division, Maghribi was at that time negotiating the deal will Fujitsu that would eventually see the two companies' Flash businesses merged into a single operation, now called Spansion.

Maghribi claimed that he was asked to change the terms of the deal with Fujitsu - changes that he believes would have limited his leadership of the merged operation. As a result, he quit AMD in December 2001, just three months after his 'revelation'. He had been with AMD for 16 years.

Maghribi sued AMD in April 2002. However, after hearing denials from Sanders and AMD's el presidente, Hector Ruiz, the jury felt that his claims lacked substance, Reuters reported yesterday.

The plaintiff told the agency he was "disappointed" with the decision, but stated his "respect" for it. He has yet to decide whether to appeal, he said. ®