Citrix Systems Inc. has confirmed plans for layoffs, some shifts from SMB to enterprise, office closures and product wind-downs amid a restructuring strategy to "accelerate the transformation to a cloud-based subscription business, increase strategic focus, and improve operational efficiency," the company said in an SEC filing yesterday.
Among the key shifts: The company is repositioning its ShareFile platform to emphasize enterprise customers and "winding down certain products," a spokesman told WRAL TechWire. The spokesperson added: "While we will still sell into and support the SMB market, our focus is on enterprise." The statement specifically relates to ShareFile, a spokesman tells ChannelE2E.
ShareFile allows employees to securely sync, store and share files. It competes in a brutally competitive market against Box, Dropbox and a range of channel-centric file sharing products from Autotask and eFolder.
A spokesman also tells ChannelE2E:
- Octoblu – Citrix will shift its development strategy to build IoT solutions (Workspace and otherwise) atop widely used, market-leading IoT platforms.
- RightSignature: Citrix will focus its development on integration as a feature of ShareFile Enterprise to better leverage solutions the company's go-to-market motion.
Citrix Systems Layoffs: Regional Offices Impacted
The cuts include an undisclosed number of positions in Raleigh, North Carolina, according to The News and Observer. Ironically, Citrix in December 2016 announced plans to hire 400 people in Raleigh and make a $5 million capital investment in the area over the next five years, making it eligible for a $5.7 million state job development grant, the report said. Citrix had 900 positions in the area at the time, according to the report.
Citrix also is making cuts in California, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Washington and Bangalore, India, according to BrianMadden.com.
Citrix expects to pay about $55 million to $70 million related to employee severance arrangements and approximately $5 million to $30 million related to the consolidation of leased facilities and other charges associated with the Restructuring Program, the company's SEC filing indicated.
Citrix declined to disclose how many employees are being cut. The reasoning: "Because notifications are ongoing across the globe and out of respect for those impacted, we are not sharing the number of impacted employees globally or in any specific location," the spokesman told WRAL TechWire.
Citrix Ownership, CEO Changes
Citrix has sold off certain assets in recent years, and the entire company was rumored to be for sale at certain points in 2016 and 2017. The company in mid-2017 replaced its CEO for the fourth time since 2015, naming David J. Henshall to succeed Kirill Tatarinov. A few weeks later, the company hired SAP veteran Mark J. Ferrer as chief revenue officer.
