According to sources familiar with the matter, computing security firm Symantec is in the process of laying off as many as 1,700 employees, starting today. The cuts, announced in January, are part of new CEO Steve Bennett’s plan to resuscitate the fallen finances of the company. The losses reflect about eight percent of the company’s 21,500 positions worldwide. Symantec spokeswoman Ellen Hayes said in a statement that “Symantec is in the midst of a company-wide transformation. As part of this effort, we are engaged in a company-wide reorganization.”
“As a result, some positions are being eliminated,” Hayes continued. “This action is a reflection of our new strategy and organizational simplification initiative announced by Symantec’s executives on January 23, 2013. One of the goals of Symantec’s reorganizational effort is to make the company’s employee reporting structure more efficient and support the company strategy moving forward.”
“There are several stages to the reorganization process, as we define executive and management layers down to all levels of employees. Some notifications are happening this month, as part of this the process. We are communicating with employees directly and do not have more information to share at this time,” the statement concludes.
The company is expected to take a one-time charge of up to $240 million as a result of the reorganization. The employee paring is expected to be completed by the end of this fiscal year for the company, which began March 30. Up to today’s layoffs, the company has taken only $10 million of these charges against the bottom line, implying that there are deeper cuts to come.
