Open Text sales spur big job cuts

Open Text Corp. has slashed 15 per cent of its worldwide workforce, about 300 jobs, to cut costs in the wake of disappointing sales, the Waterloo-based software company’s chief executive told analysts yesterday. CEO John Shackleton said the majority of job cuts have been completed as part of a previously announced restructuring. It has also closed, or plans to close, about 27 offices but the locations weren’t disclosed.

Staff cuts and facility closings should save the company about $40 million ( U. S.) a year as it waits for business to increase, he said. Open Text is a leading vendor of enterprise content management software, or ECM, used by corporations to create, share and store electronic documents. The company said it had $ 109.4 million in revenue for its fourth quarter ended June 30, in line with its most recent forecast but below its earlier expectations, and said revenue in the current first quarter will be even lower. The company’s net earnings for the quarter were $5 million, or 10 cents per share, down from $9 million, or 16 cents per share, on revenue of $ 105 million for the same period last year. Adjusted net income was $9 million, or 18 cents per share, compared with $14.5 million, 27 cents a share, a year earlier Open Text shares closed down 34 cents to $ 13.60 in Toronto before the announcement.