In a business enterprise, downsizing is reducing the number of employees on the operating payroll. Some users distinguish downsizing from a layoff , with downsizing intended to be a permanent downscaling and a layoff intended to be a temporary downscaling in which employees may later be rehired.
One corporation has undergone downsizing because it wants to undergo restructuring. And that is Borland Software Corporation.
Borland Software Corporation had undergone restructuring program to accelerate its Software Delivery Optimization vision by more closely aligning the Company's investments with its strategic focus on the Application Lifecycle Management market. The restructuring took place last May 2006.
Borland reduced its workforce by approximately 300 employees, or about 20 percent of its regular full-time staff. The majority of staff reductions came from the re-scoping of Borland's international operations. Upon completion of the workforce reduction, geographic consolidation, and planned divestiture of its Developer Tools Group, Borland anticipated annualized cost savings of approximately $60 million.
Specific Structural Changes Include:
- New Field Operations Function. Borland has combined its Sales and Professional Services functions to create a new Field Operations function. The new field structure is intended to reflect how Borland's most successful customers are approaching their ALM engagements - by enabling skills training and consulting early in the project where benchmarking and process expertise are more likely to ensure a successful outcome from a technology purchase.
- Customer Support Combined with Research and Development. Borland has folded Customer Support into Research and Development in order to ensure better customer responsiveness, and create a tighter feedback loop between product engineering and customers. This combined organization will focus on improving quality, efficiency and customer focus across Borland's product portfolio.
- New Business Operations Function. Borland has created a new Business Operations function that will focus on aligning internal processes and systems toward serving customers. Reporting directly to CEO Tod Nielsen, this new function will be led by Borland senior vice president, Chris Barbin.
- New Vice President of EMEA. Paul Taylor, formerly head of World Wide Sales at Vitria, has been appointed vice president of Borland EMEA.
The majority of Borland's planned workforce reductions are part of a plan to re-scope its international operations, which currently serves 29 countries.
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