Novell Inc is cutting its workforce in Europe by 15% and is looking for further reductions at home ahead of its second quarter results announcement next Wednesday, May 28. The company said that the process of reducing the 400-strong workforce by 50 actually began last week, but it would not confirm reports that the company will announce overall job losses of 20% next week, or that it is planning cuts in research and development to concentrate on core products. Novell said it is looking for ways to make the organization more efficient and more in line with [its] strengths, so more job losses are practically certain next week. The European cuts are throughout the organization, and while Novell is committed to not leaving any of the European countries in which it had offices, it is looking to consolidate in countries where it has more than one office. Last month Novell predicted sharp drop in second quarter revenues compared to the first quarter: between $300m and $335m compared to $375m in the first quarter.
á
