YOU ARE AT:WorkforceJobsVMware to cut 900 jobs

VMware to cut 900 jobs

Cloud and virtualization software provider VMware (VMW) says it will restructure and eliminate 900 jobs. The Palo Alto company beat Wall Street’s earnings estimates, but its first quarter outlook was much bleaker than expected. VMware will take a restructuring charge of between $90 million and $110 million this year and will exit some lines of business.

The cuts amount to roughly 7% of VMware’s workforce, and seem to be more about shifting skill sets than about cutting headcount. While the company will eliminate jobs in certain areas, like its SlideRocket presentation software group, it will be hiring in other business units. VMware says headcount should actually go up during 2013 by the time all is said and done.

VMware picked up about 100 employees when it purchased Nicira last summer. The company says Nicira is poised to virtualize networking the way VMware has virtualized servers. Nicira’s CTO says he is the created of OpenFlow.

VMware told investors this week to expect more acquisitions in the future. The company recently joined Cisco and Google Ventures as an investor in Puppet Labs, an IT and data center automation company. IT storage hardware and data backup are the core businesses of EMC Corp., which owns a majority stake in VMware.

Follow me on Twitter.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Martha DeGrasse
Martha DeGrassehttp://www.nbreports.com
Martha DeGrasse is the publisher of Network Builder Reports (nbreports.com). At RCR, Martha authored more than 20 in-depth feature reports and more than 2,400 news articles. She also created the Mobile Minute and the 5 Things to Know Today series. Prior to joining RCR Wireless News, Martha produced business and technology news for CNN and Dow Jones in New York and managed the online editorial group at Hoover’s Online before taking a number of years off to be at home when her children were young. Martha is the board president of Austin's Trinity Center and is a member of the Women's Wireless Leadership Forum.