Jive Software Jarred by Layoffs

Layoffs are hitting the Northwest tech community this week—first Redfin, now Jive Software. TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington reports that Portland, OR-based Jive, a maker of social software for businesses, laid off about one-third of its staff, or about 40 people, yesterday. Among those who left the company are a vice president of engineering and a vice president of sales.

One of Arrington’s initial sources was the personal blog of Chris Kalani, a former Jive employee who claims he was let go yesterday and wasn’t even allowed back to his desk to retrieve personal items, despite the fact he had previously resigned effective this Friday. Arrington says he has since spoken with Sam Lawrence, Jive’s chief marketing officer, who confirmed the layoffs but didn’t confirm any numbers or identities. According to TechCrunch, Lawrence said that Kalani’s blog was inaccurate, that Jive remains profitable, and that the reduction in staff was necessary to “stay ahead of the curve,” given the market downturn.

Jive was founded in 2001, and counts among its customers Intel, Nike, Electronic Arts, SAP, and VMware.

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.