Adobe Plans to Cut 680 Jobs

Adobe Systems announced Nov. 10 that it will trim 680 jobs or roughly 9 percent of its work force in order to make 2010 projections. The company did not issue an official press release about the restructuring, but did make note of it in a public SEC 8-K filing.

The layoffs appear to be within Adobe’s software divisions, and not to do with its recent acquisition of Web analytics company Omniture, though Adobe did note that it expects to take additional restructuring charges due to the Omniture purchase.

Adobe’s last layoffs came in December of 2008, where roughly 8 percent of its work force was eliminated, or about 600 jobs.

Adobe wrote in the SEC filing:

“On November 10, 2009, we announced a workforce reduction to appropriately align our costs in connection with our 2010 operating plan (the “Restructuring Plan”). As a result, we expect to eliminate approximately 680 full-time positions worldwide … We expect to record approximately $18.0 to $20.0 million of these charges in the fourth fiscal quarter ended November 27, 2009. We expect to complete the majority of the activities related to the Restructuring Plan by the end of fiscal 2010.“

The Wall Street Journal said Adobe has been struggling financially, but its stock has held up well:

“Adobe has been suffering from slumping demand for its software from advertisers and other creative groups. In September, the company said its fiscal third-quarter profit fell 29% on lower revenue and operating margins. However, Adobe’s stock price is up about 72% since the end of 2008, much of the rise reflecting optimism that the expected launch of a key product next year will be successful. Adobe said the majority of the activities related to the restructuring plan are expected to be completed a year from now.“

Adobe makes software including Photoshop, Illustrator, Reader, Flash Player and Air and owns the PDF document format and now Omniture. Adobe had 7,564 employees as of the end of the third quarter of 2009.