Adobe added its name this week to the list of companies warning of weaker sales and cutting jobs, although it is unclear what the effect will be on its Australia and New Zealand operations.
In a press release, the company said it would slash 600 jobs amid less-than-anticipated demand for its recently launched Creative Suite 4 series of products.
"The global economic crisis significantly impacted our revenue during the fourth quarter," Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen said in a statement. "We have taken action to reduce our operating costs and fine-tune the focus of our resources on key strategic priorities."
Peter McAlpine, the country manager of Adobe's Pacific operation, which includes Australia, said in a statement to ZDNet.com.au that obviously the impact of the cuts would be felt globally, but there was no information available yet on how the cuts would affect Australia and New Zealand.
"Further information will be provided in the regular Q4 and fiscal year 2008 earnings conference call that is scheduled for Dec 16th, 2008," he said.
Globally Adobe said it now expected per-share earnings of 45 US cents to 46 US cents, on revenue of US$912 million to US$915 million for the three months ended November 28. The company had expected sales to come in as high as US$955 million. Adobe said it expected revenue to drop further in the current quarter, with expectations now for revenue in the range of US$800 million to US$850 million.
The company said it will take pre-tax charges of US$44 million to US$50 million to account for the restructuring. Among the things the company is apparently cutting: its booth at Macworld Expo.
ZDNet.com.au's Renai LeMay contributed to this report.
Gosh, from the headline on the RSS feed I thought they might have slashed $600 from the price of the suite due to the Aussie dollar devaluation in order to stimulate sales. So disappointed.