Symantec to axe jobs and business units in growth push

Steve Bennett

Antivirus giant Symantec is said to be preparing to cut around 1,000 jobs as part of a wider restructure of its business.

During a conference call with analysts to discuss the firm's third quarter financial results, it was revealed that Symantec is planning to axe an unspecified number of middle management and senior exec jobs.

Meanwhile, in a report on Bloomberg this afternoon, sources claimed at least 1,000 jobs at the firm could go as part of a push to help the firm react faster to changing customer needs.

As well as job losses, the firm also announced plans to restructure its business under the Symantec 4.0' banner.

Steve Bennett, president and CEO of Symantec (pictured), said the change in strategy needed to be rolled out quickly to ensure the firm stays ahead of the competition.

"The world is changing quickly. We have tough competitors. So this won't be an evolution. We cannot get there through incremental steps to try and move to where we need to be," he said.

"So no evolution, Symantec 4.0 is all about revolution," Bennett added.

As part of this restructure, the firm is ditching its Storage and Availability Management Group (SAMG) business unit, and focus its sales efforts on acquiring new business, rather than rely on renewals.

"This is a big and exciting change for our company. We know this will be part of the transition. But the goal is to leverage all of our products, services, [and] technology to solve higher-order customer problems and drive faster, organic growth," Bennett added.

Despite talk of job cuts and company restructures, the firm's Q3 results saw Symantec clock up a four per cent rise in revenues to $1.79bn.

James Beer, chief financial officer of Symantec, said: "That's, in fact, the highest percentage growth rate we've seen organically in over four years now."

Furthermore, Symantec said the change in strategy should ensure this growth continues, and that it is committed to delivering at least five per cent organic revenue growth over the next three years.

Jane McCallion
Deputy Editor

Jane McCallion is ITPro's deputy editor, specializing in cloud computing, cyber security, data centers and enterprise IT infrastructure. Before becoming Deputy Editor, she held the role of Features Editor, managing a pool of freelance and internal writers, while continuing to specialise in enterprise IT infrastructure, and business strategy.

Prior to joining ITPro, Jane was a freelance business journalist writing as both Jane McCallion and Jane Bordenave for titles such as European CEO, World Finance, and Business Excellence Magazine.