i2 to lay off 30% of staff due to software slump

Enterprise and supply chain software giant i2 Technologies announced yesterday that it would have to make 1,400 employees redundant (about 30% of its global workforce) because of a “deep slump in software sales.” The company’s second quarter financial results (announced on 16th July) were disappointing to say the least: a loss of $757 million, or $1.77 per share, compared to last year’s $861 million, or $2.08 per share. Sanjiv Sidhu, i2’s ceo, said the cuts were part of the firm’s plans to reduce costs in the business by 30% before the end of the year, bringing them in line with recently falling revenue. It is not yet clear how many of the layoffs will affect UK staff. But only at the start of last year, i2 had 6,300 employees in total, it’s now down to around 4,800. Sidhu said the company could return to profitability by cutting its annual costs from $190 million to $130 million, but analysts were skeptical, noting that revenue in the three months ended June 30 fell to $120 million, less than half the $241 million of a year earlier.