Borland sheds 650 in restructuring

Borland, the California computer software company, is to cut its workforce by 40 per cent as part of a dramatic restructuring to cope with a sharp deterioration in performance.

This means the company, quoted on the USM in London since 1989, will shed 650 of its 1,700 staff worldwide, as a result of competitive pressure from much bigger software houses such as Microsoft. Half the job losses will be in the US.

The job losses in the UK, where Borland is mainly a marketing operation, will be restricted to a reduction in staff from 45 to 26 over three months. The Swedish, Danish and Belgian offices will close.

Borland is to drop most of its sales to end users of software, and concentrate on computer languages and tools for professional software developers.

A spokesman said: "We are now focusing on what we started the business with - the people who take the development tools and write products for the end users." Borland's best-known software development tools include C++, dBASE and Paradox.

Borland is to take a so far undetermined restructuring charge in its fourth quarter, ending 31 March. This follows a warning that it expects a substantial operating loss in the three months to the end of December, and the announcement of the departure ofsenior people and a big management reshuffle, which continued yesterday with a series of new appointments.