AVID Lays Off 200 Following 3rd Qtr. Loss Compiled by Scott Essman On November 10, Avid Technology, Inc. announced a restructuring plan that included a layoff of about 200 people, primarily from the company's corporate headquarters in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, as well as sales and marketing operations in the U.S. and Europe. The company also announced there will be no further releases of a limited number of existing product offerings including stand-alone Marquee® and Avid Cinema®, as well as Media IllusionTM and MatadorTM (in a previously announced deal with Blue Software Ltd., not completed). The plan is expected to result in annual cost savings of approximately $20 million, through staff reductions of approximately 200 people, or 11% of its worldwide employee base. The company plans to output between $9 and $10 million in the fourth quarter in connection with the restructuring of its operations. In addition, the company has planned significant reductions in discretionary spending in order to support its new strategic initiatives. No indication was given of which departments would be cut, and the announcement did not refer to Hollywood, except to ominously say that the off-line market has 'matured.' This follows the layoff of Avid CEO Bill Miller and COO Cliff Jenks in the wake of a series of missteps that produced a $13 million loss for the third quarter. Acting Chief Executive Officer Mr. William L. Flaherty, commented: "[These] actions are intended to enable Avid to return to profitability and resume growing the business. Resizing expenses to meet revenues in our traditional core business is expected to allow us to continue to fund investments in areas for future growth. Avid has been highly successful in penetrating the offline editing market served by the Media Composer® and we have seen it mature, with softening of pricing and margins. At the same time, we continue to see significant opportunities to grow our share of the television on-line finishing and new media markets in the near term."   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter Vol. 20, No. 6 - November/December 1999   Guild Home | Newsletter Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 1999, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700