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                                                                   EXHIBIT 10.23

                               AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO

                         THE EMPLOYMENT LETTER AGREEMENT

         THIS AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO THE EMPLOYMENT LETTER AGREEMENT (this
"Amendment") is made effective as of January 18, 2001 (the "Effective Date") by
and between RemedyTemp, Inc., a California corporation, ("Remedy"), and Greg
Palmer, ("Palmer"), with reference to the following facts:

         A. Remedy and Palmer are parties to that certain Employment Letter
Agreement dated December 16, 1997 (the "Employment Agreement").

         B. To reflect the Board of Directors' appointment of Palmer as
President and Chief Executive Officer of Remedy and to incorporate other
modifications, Remedy and Palmer now mutually desire to effect certain
amendments to the Employment Agreement.

         NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained
herein, and such other good and valuable consideration, the parties hereto agree
as follows:

         Except as hereinafter provided, capitalized terms used herein shall
have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Employment Agreement.

1.       AMENDMENTS TO THE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT.

         The following portions of the Employment Agreement are amended as
         follows:

         1.1.     The entire Section 1 of the Employment Agreement entitled
                  "Position" is hereby deleted and the following is substituted
                  in its place:

         "1. POSITION. You will be employed as the President and Chief Executive
Officer of the Company, subject to the direction, control of, and reporting to,
the entire Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board"). Additionally, the
Board shall re-charter and form an Executive Committee of the Board to assist
you in performing your duties and to review your performance. Such Executive
Committee shall consist of only non-employee, non-officer directors. You agree
to devote your full business time and energies to the business and affairs of
the Company, to use your best efforts, skill and abilities to promote the
Company's interests and to perform your duties in accordance with policies,
standards and practices established from time to time by the Board of Directors
or a committee thereof. Your duties may also include serving as an officer
and/or director of any subsidiaries or other affiliates of the Company as
reasonably requested. While employed by the Company, you agree that you will not
render services to others or engage in any other activities that would interfere
with or prevent your fulfilling your obligations to the Company. You agree that
you will not serve on any boards of directors without the prior written approval
of the Company's Board of Directors. At the first Board meeting following the
Effective Date, the Board shall address and consider your request to be a
director of the Company"

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         1.2      The entire Section 2 of the Employment Agreement entitled
                  "Base Salary" is hereby deleted and the following is
                  substituted in its place:

         "2. BASE SALARY. Your base salary will be at the annual rate of not
less than $400,000 per annum. The amount of your base salary may be increased
annually at the discretion of the Compensation Committee of the Board. Your
effective start date in your capacity as President and Chief Executive Officer
will be on January 18, 2000. Your salary will be payable on the same date as
salaries to other executives of the Company are paid."

         1.3      The entire Section 3 of the Employment Agreement entitled
                  "Incentive Compensation" is hereby deleted and the following
                  is substituted in its place:

         "3. INCENTIVE COMPENSATION. In addition to your base salary, you will
be paid a cash bonus within one hundred (100) days after the end of each full
fiscal year of the Company in an amount to be determined by the Compensation
Committee of the Board provided, however, that there will be a maximum bonus
level of 100% of your base salary with no minimum bonus level. The exact amount
of your bonus will be based upon objective criteria established by the
Compensation Committee."

         1.4      Only the first paragraph Section 8 of the Employment Agreement
                  entitled "Severance Benefits" is hereby deleted and the
                  following is substituted in its place:

                  "8. SEVERANCE BENEFITS. In the event of termination of your
employment by the Company without cause at any time, or if the Company does not
offer you a new employment agreement containing material terms that are at least
equivalent to this Employment Agreement, as amended, on or before the expiration
of the current Employment Agreement, the Company will pay you, as a lump-sum
severance benefit, the amount of twice your annual base salary then in effect
(less appropriate withholding amounts) plus twice the maximum annual bonus equal
to 100% of your then annual salary (the "Severance Amount"), and the Company
will release any and all shares of Common Stock held for your benefit in any
deferred compensation account with the Company without penalty.

                  Notwithstanding anything contained in this Employment
Agreement to the contrary, in the event that any payment (within the meaning of
Section 280G(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended or replaced
(the "Code")), or distribution to or for your benefit whether paid or payable or
distributed or distributable pursuant to the terms of this Employment Agreement
or otherwise in connection with, or arising out of, your employment with the
Company, would be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code
or any interest or penalties are incurred by you with respect to such excise tax
(such excise tax, interest and penalties collectively referred to as the "Excise
Tax"), then you shall be entitled to receive an additional payment (a "Gross-Up
Payment") in an amount such that after payment by you of the Excise Tax imposed
upon said payments and distributions, including any Excise Tax on the Gross-Up
Payment, the net amount you retain, after deduction of the Excise Tax and any
federal, state and local income or payroll tax upon the Gross-Up Payment, equals
the net amount you would have received in the absence of the Excise Tax.

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                  In consideration for the agreements set forth herein and the
Severance Amount, you shall, upon the termination of your employment, execute a
release of the Company, the Board, and all officers, employees and agents of the
Company from any and all claims, liabilities, actions, causes of action,
obligations, costs, damages, losses and demands of every kind and nature
whatsoever known or unknown, which arise out of, relate to or are in any manner
whatsoever connected with any action, transaction, occurrence or event which has
occurred prior to the date of the release and those which may arise out of or
are in any manner whatsoever connected with or related to the termination of
your employment with the Company. Such release shall include a waiver of all
rights granted under Section 1542 of the California Civil Code which reads as
follows: A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not
know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release,
which, if known by him must have materially affected his settlement with the
debtor. Cal. Civ. Code Section 1542.

                  The Severance Amount will be paid and the Common Stock held in
the deferred compensation account will be released within five (5) business days
of the termination of your employment (after accounting for any statutory
waiting periods that are applicable) with the Company either without cause or
through non-renewal of your Employment Agreement."

         1.5      The third paragraph of Section 8 of the Employment Agreement
                  entitled "Severance Benefits", which commences "If you
                  voluntarily resign . . .", is hereby deleted and the following
                  is substituted in its place:

                  "If you voluntarily resign, or your employment is terminated
by the Company for cause, or your employment terminates as a result of your
death or disability, you will not be entitled to any severance benefits pursuant
to the first paragraph of this Section 8 except as provided in Section 7 with
respect to disability pay and disability insurance and except in the case of
death for any life insurance benefits. In the event that a voluntary resignation
by you is caused by: (i) a substantial reduction in your duties and
responsibilities below those appropriate for your position as provided in
Section 1, (ii) a change without your written consent in the reporting
provisions of Section 1; (iii) an intentional material breach of this letter
agreement or material misrepresentation by the Company, or (iv) any other
material change in the circumstances of your employment made by the Company for
the purpose and with the intention and effect of causing you to resign, you will
be treated as having been terminated by the Company without cause."

2.       TERM.

         This Amendment shall commence on the Effective Date and continue in
effect until the expiration or sooner termination of the Employment Agreement.

3.       EFFECT ON EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT.

         This Amendment shall supersede and replace any inconsistent provisions
of the Employment Agreement. Except, as amended hereby, the Employment Agreement
shall continue in full force and effect in accordance with its terms. The
provisions of the Employment Agreement which are not inconsistent with those of
this Amendment shall be incorporated herein by this reference.

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4.       GOVERNING LAW.

         This Amendment shall be interpreted and construed under California law
except to the extent California law is preempted by federal law including,
without limitation, federal copyright, patent or trademark law.

5.       COUNTERPARTS.

         This Amendment may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of
which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute
one and the same instrument.

         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Amendment on
the date and year first above written.

                                        REMEDYTEMP, INC.

                                        By:
                                            ------------------------------------
                                        Name:
                                              ----------------------------------
                                        Its:
                                             -----------------------------------

                                        ----------------------------------------
                                        Greg Palmer

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                                                                  EXHIBIT 10 (a)

                       TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

The following Termination of Employment Agreement is substantially in the form
entered into between the Company and its officers named below, except that the
Section 2(a) period is 30 months in the case of Mr. Kulicke and 18 months in the
case of all others.

Termination of Employment Agreement signed by Mr.Kulicke, Messrs. Perchick,
Sprague, Jacobi, Lendner, Leonhardt, May, Salmons, Sawachi, Spooner, Wolf,
Belani, Chylak, Cristallo, Greenberger, Oscilowski, Torton, Amweg, Camarda,
Hartigan, Kish, Mak, Marrs, Rheault, Strittmatter and Close.

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                       TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

         THIS AGREEMENT made as of the 1st day of January, 2001 between Kulicke
and Soffa Industries, Inc. ("K&S") and ____________ ("Officer"),

                                   WITNESSETH;

         WHEREAS, Officer is employed by K&S or a wholly-owned subsidiary of K&S
and such employment is terminable at will by either Officer, K&S or the
wholly-owned subsidiary of K&S,

         WHEREAS, Officer is willing to continue the employment on an at-will
basis under present management if the protections set forth herein are provided
to Officer upon the occurrence of a "Change in Management" as hereinafter
defined, and

         WHEREAS, K&S desires to retain the services of Officer,

         NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, agree
as follows:

         1. For the purposes of this Agreement, the following words and phrases
shall have the following meanings:

         (a) "K&S" means Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. and any successor
corporation thereto.

         (b) "Board of Directors" means the Board of Directors of K&S or of any
successor corporation thereto.

         (c) "Directors" means members of the Board of Directors.

         (d) A "Change in Management" shall mean either of the following events:

                  (i) An acquisition (other than directly from K&S) of any
         voting securities of K&S ("Voting Securities") by any "Person" (as such
         term is used for purposes of section 13(d) or 14(d) of the Securities
         Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act")) immediately after
         which such Person has "Beneficial Ownership" (within the meaning of
         Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the 1934 Act) of 50% or more of the
         combined voting power of all then outstanding Voting Securities,
         provided, however, that any such acquisition approved by two-thirds of
         the Incumbent Board (as hereinafter defined) shall not be deemed to be
         a Change in Management; or

                  (ii) The individuals who, as of December 18, 2000, are members
         of K&S' Board of Directors (the "Incumbent Board") cease for any reason
         to constitute at least two-thirds of the Board of Directors; provided,
         however, that if the election, or nomination for election by the
         shareholders, of any new director was approved by a vote of at least
         two-thirds of the members of the Board of Directors who constitute
         Incumbent Board

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         members, such new director shall for all purposes be considered as
         members of the Incumbent Board as of December 9, 1997; provided
         further, however, that no individual shall be considered as a member of
         the Incumbent Board if such individual initially assumed office as a
         result of either an actual or threatened "Election Contest" (as
         described in Rule 14a-11 promulgated under the 1934 Act) or other
         actual or threatened solicitation of proxies or consents by or on
         behalf of a Person other than the Board of Directors (a "Proxy
         Contest") including by reason of any agreement intended to avoid or
         settle any Election Contest or Proxy Contest.

         2. If a Change in Management occurs and Officer's employment by K&S or
a K&S subsidiary is terminated, other than voluntarily by the Officer or for
cause by K&S or the K&S subsidiary, within eighteen months following such Change
in Management, K&S or its successor shall pay Officer termination pay as
follows:

         The lesser of:

               (a) 18 months pay at the total cash compensation rate targeted
for the Officer (base salary plus cash incentive) for the fiscal year during
which the Change in Management occurs, or

               (b) Ten dollars less than that amount which would subject Officer
to excise tax with respect to such payment under Section 4999 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (the "Code") or make any payment hereunder non-deductible
by K&S under Section 280 G (a) of the Code by virtue of the payment being deemed
an "excess parachute payment."

         Termination of employment shall be deemed to be for cause only if such
termination is for intentional dishonesty or Officer's physical or mental
incapacity or willful refusal to perform the duties of his office persisting for
at least 30 days after written notice thereof specifying the respects in which
such duties are not being performed. If Officer resigns or quits because his
duties and/or responsibilities have been substantially reduced or he is
otherwise harassed by management or because his place of employment has been
changed to a place more than 35 miles from his place of employment immediately
prior to the Change in Management or because his base rate of compensation or
total targeted compensation has been reduced, his employment shall not be deemed
to have been terminated voluntarily by the Officer.

         3. The total termination pay provided for herein shall be fixed on the
date of Officer's termination and paid to Officer, his heirs or estate, in equal
monthly installments on the first day of each month commencing with the first
day of the month following Officer's termination and continuing for that number
of months provided for herein.

         4. Any payments made hereunder shall be in lieu of any other
termination pay to which Officer might otherwise be entitled.

         5. Any payments made hereunder shall be in addition to and shall not
affect any rights, other than rights to termination pay, Officer may have at the
time a Change in Management occurs.

         6. Nothing herein shall give or be construed to give to Officer any
rights unless and until a Change in Management shall have occurred. Without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, this Agreement shall confer no rights
on

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Officer to remain in the employ of K&S or its subsidiaries, nor shall this
Agreement confer any rights on Officer in the event of discharge, with or
without cause, prior to the occurrence of a Change in Management.

         7. All disputes and contested claims arising out of, or in connection
with, this Agreement shall be decided by arbitration in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American
Arbitration Association as then in effect and the decision or decisions reached
in such arbitration shall be final and binding, and judgment thereon may be
entered in any court having jurisdiction. The expenses of arbitration, other
than the fees and expenses of Officer's counsel and expert witnesses, shall be
paid by K&S. If the Officer is awarded any sums by the arbitration panel, it
shall also award him the reasonable fees and expenses of his counsel.

         8. This Agreement shall, unless renewed by a written agreement executed
by K&S and Officer, terminate on, and be of no force and effect after, December
31, 2003, provided that if a Change in Management shall have occurred prior to
that date this Agreement shall automatically be extended, if necessary, to the
date that is 18 months and one day after such Change in Management. Termination
of this Agreement shall not discharge any obligations to make payment that have
theretofore arisen under Section 2 hereof.

         9. This Agreement cancels, supersedes and replaces any and all prior
Termination of Employment Agreements between K&S and Officer.

         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, K&S has caused this Agreement to be executed by its
duly authorized officers under its common or corporate seal, and Officer has set
his hand and seal, on the day and year first above written.

                       KULICKE AND SOFFA INDUSTRIES, INC.

                  By___________________________________
                                       C. Scott Kulicke

Attest:

______________________________
(Corporate Seal)

                                     OFFICER

                      ___________________________________

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