FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

         FREMONT, CA � October 2, 2001 � Read-Rite Corporation today announced that they presented a check to the KRON 4 Relief Fund in the amount of  $126,116.00 as a result of the company�s fund-raising efforts to aid the victims and their family members of the September 11, 2001 tragedy. This donation by the company and by hundreds of its employees pushed the fund total over the $1,000,000.00 mark.  The proceeds of the KRON 4 Relief Fund go to the American Red Cross. 

            Alan S. Lowe, President and Chief Executive Officer, announced a two-for-one company match and challenged employees to reach a company-wide goal of $100,000.  The company and its employees surpassed this goal with donations exceeding $125,000 by the time the September 28th deadline was reached.  Mr. Lowe stated that �the Read-Rite family was deeply saddened by the tragic events of September 11, 2001.  I commend the heart-felt efforts of our employees and I am both proud and honored to be part of a workforce with such commitment and generosity.� 

 Read-Rite Corporation is one of the world's leading independent manufacturers of magnetic recording heads, head gimbal assemblies (HGAs) and head stack assemblies (HSAs) for disk drives and tape drives. The company is headquartered in Fremont, California and has operations in California, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. The company's website is located at http://www.readrite.com. Read-Rite is also the majority shareholder of Scion Photonics, Inc., an integrated solution provider to the fiber optics industry whose offerings include advanced DWDM products, fiber optic assembly equipment and application specific photonic components. Scion's website is located at http://www.scionphotonics.com.

This release may contain forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances.  Actual results may vary materially from the expectations contained in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include the risk factors described in the company's reports filed with the SEC, including, but not limited to, its Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2000, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of fiscal 2001 ended December 31, 2000, second quarter of fiscal 2001 ended April 1, 2001 and third quarter of fiscal 2001 ended July 1, 2001.  Read-Rite undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of such statements.

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