OfficeMax Inc. Chief Executive Christopher Milliken resigned on Monday after less than four months on the job and the company terminated six employees as a result of an ongoing internal investigation into its accounting.

Christopher C. Milliken has resigned and will be replaced on an interim basis by George J. Harad, the company’s executive chairman.

The nation’s No. 3 office products retailer also said it overstated operating income for first quarter fiscal 2004 by failing to record certain rebates and payments to vendors. The accounting error led to the understatement of income in the second and third quarters, the company said.

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