Symantec this week started sending out pink slips to employees across the company as part of a cost reduction effort.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based security and database management software maker in January set a goal to reduce its cost structure by $200 million. As part of that, an unspecified number of employees are now being let go, Melissa Martin, a Symantec spokeswoman, said Thursday.
"We're reducing (our) head count cost by 5 percent," Martin said. She declined to say how many employees would be affected by the layoffs. Symantec employs about 17,500 people worldwide.
To achieve that target, the company said it would trim its workforce, reduce new hires, consolidate facilities and cut spending on contractors, consulting and travel.
Symantec's shares were trading at $16.51, off slightly from the $16.55 opening price on the Nasdaq exchange. The stock fell sharply in mid-January after Symantec warned that results for the three month-period ending December 29 would be lower than forecast. For the quarter, Symantec reported net income of $114 million on $1.31 billion in revenue.
Symantec continues ot go on a buying binge of companies. They destroy the technology they aquire, and hence continue to muddle along. If they did not enjoy such tremendous success in the Anti-Virus segment, they would have sunk long ago. Unless they start to focus on their own products and do a little innovation, the entire company will be in as bad of shape as their new aquisitions are the minute they sign the dotted line.
one thing is for sure.. if they were able to hold on to all the tech stashed on the shelves during those acquisitions.. they should be in good shape... but I doubt all that old tech gets repurposed properly
We have moved alway from two products because symantec purchased them and ruined it and will be removing a third. BackupExec has become a nightmare and IMLogic is following suit. We already ditched their Corporate AV for another vendor. Their tech support is awful and it is only going to get worse as they reduce headcount. Our plan is to remove all Symantec products from our company. I just hope symantec will stop buying companies that make software I like. I HATE SYMANTEC!!!!!
Yea, well unfortunately, companies don't care about the low quality support they provide to customers by using offshore call centers.
Other large tech companies I'm stuck dealing with do the same thing. They get plenty of complaints, but they do nothing. That tells me, as a customer, they don't care about providing their customers with inferior quality technical support.
Watch. Grossly overpaid as Symantec's upper management probably is (by any "normal" person's standard), the board that is supposed to be acting in the best interest of the stockholders will somehow justify giving them a raise, even as the people mentioned in this article loose their jobs.
I'd like to see another article after their "reorganization" is over with that has a before/after snapshot of Symantec's upper management compensation. For real.
How about it CNet? A story about whether or not Symantec's upper management shared in their employees grief during this "reorganization", or profited from it with raises, more stock options, and bigger bonuses.
Charles R. Whealton Charles Whealton @ pleasedontspam.com
Seems Like They Should Downsize The Software Instead
I can't believe how bloated a lot of "enterprise" software is. I see antivirus, antispy, and backup software that uses less than half the resources of Symantec's and does as good a job, if not better. When I need a software solution, I start with the low-end, simple, one-function products and work my way up from there. Smaller software companies tend to be better focused (maybe because they are leaner), and don't try to be all things to all people. There is a pernicious feature-creep that tends to occur with larger software companies. Perhaps it is tied to Wall Street analyst expectations -- i.e. "We have to keep adding features so we can release new versions every 6 months so we can convince Wall Street we are "growing".
Technologically, symantec used to be great. Now they're the typical bloated beast, uncaring and unthinking when it comes to consumer requirements. After advancing the intelligence to them several times and getting less than an enthusiastic reception and that airy, arrogant attitude, I laugh loud and long.
- asked if they could make value offerings for the consumer - nope they are merely a money glutton now. - The ceaseless whineware is aggravating at best. - Support, including pre-sales absolutely sucks.
I have not recommended symantec to anyone in a great many years.
Google creates an animated doodle that features a boy, a girl, Google's search engine, and a jump rope. But might there be darker, more analytical, more troubling interpretations to this tale?
The Silicon Valley online payments startup grew by 1,000 percent last year and is hopeful it can repeat that level of growth this year. To do that, it's had to move away from its early friends-and-family roots and embrace small businesses.
Chamtech's spray-on antenna uses a nano material to provide a low-power boost to antenna range. The wireless-in-a-can product may some day bring an end to unsightly cell towers.
EnerG2 opens a plant to make an engineered carbon that will improve performance of energy storage devices and make storage for start-stop hybrid cars less expensive.
quality support they provide to customers by using offshore call
centers.
Other large tech companies I'm stuck dealing with do the same
thing. They get plenty of complaints, but they do nothing. That
tells me, as a customer, they don't care about providing their
customers with inferior quality technical support.
Watch. Grossly overpaid as Symantec's upper management
probably is (by any "normal" person's standard), the board that
is supposed to be acting in the best interest of the stockholders
will somehow justify giving them a raise, even as the people
mentioned in this article loose their jobs.
I'd like to see another article after their "reorganization" is over
with that has a before/after snapshot of Symantec's upper
management compensation. For real.
How about it CNet? A story about whether or not Symantec's
upper management shared in their employees grief during this
"reorganization", or profited from it with raises, more stock
options, and bigger bonuses.
Charles R. Whealton
Charles Whealton @ pleasedontspam.com
- asked if they could make value offerings for the consumer - nope they are merely a money glutton now.
- The ceaseless whineware is aggravating at best.
- Support, including pre-sales absolutely sucks.
I have not recommended symantec to anyone in a great many years.