General Automation Expects AMEX Delisting

General Automation Inc. said Tuesday that the American Stock Exchange plans to seek permission from federal regulators to delist the shares of the Irvine software-support services firm.

The company is seeking to be listed over the counter in order to allow shareholders to continue trading the stock, officials said.

The exchange wants to delist General Automation from the Amex because the company does not meet the market’s minimum trading requirements, including $4 million in shareholder equity.

The company’s troubles began earlier this year, when two auditors withdrew financial reports for the 1995, 1996 and 1997 fiscal years after an internal accounting error.

In mid-May, General Automation asked the SEC for an extension to file its second-quarter fiscal report. On May 20, the American Stock Exchange halted trading of the company’s stock, which sank to a 52-week low of 81 cents a share.