In an ongoing effort to cut costs, Brocade
Communications Systems late Thursday laid off 115
employees, or 9 percent of its workforce.
The San Jose, Calif.-based firm, a leading manufacturer of storage area
network (SAN)
area networks (LANs), said the company has retained a worldwide staff of
1,200 after the cuts.
Brocade, which made a major strategic play when it purchased
rival Rhapsody Networks for $175 million in stock last November, said it
pared its staff to better align and optimize its business model.
Brocade, who slashed 12
percent from its workforce less than two weeks after it purchased Rhapsody
last year, competes with McData and Cisco in the market for SAN switches.
CNT leapt
into the fray earlier this week when it agreed to acquire Inrange
Technologies.
Brocade first discussed streamlining at its annual analyst day last week,
when it stated its financial outlook: Brocade anticipates revenues of
about $133 million for the second quarter.
Brocade expects to take a one-time charge associated with the cuts in Q2. Additional information about the charge will be disclosed when the firm reports its Q2 results on May 14.
Layoffs, de rigeur in 2001 and 2002, have slowed in 2003, but major firms occasionally take measures to cut costs in a constrained economy. Thursday Nokia laid off 1,800.