It’s a different kind of Black Friday. Heading into a cold winter recession, we’ve seen six Northwest companies deliver bad news in the form of layoffs this week. Of course, staff cuts can be strategic in times like these, but they’re never a good thing for employees.
The one we haven’t seen reported elsewhere is Intrinsyc Software International. The Vancouver, BC-based maker of mobile and embedded software announced on Monday that it is going through a “comprehensive cost reduction plan”—cutting its workforce by 30 percent to 215 employees worldwide. So far, at least 15 employees in its Bellevue, WA, office have been laid off, and one source tells us the entire Bellevue office will be closed by the end of the year.
To read more about layoffs at local tech and life sciences companies, please see Xconomy Seattle’s updated layoff tracker here.
Now, on to the list:
—Intrinsyc laid off 15 employees in Bellevue on September 22, as part of an announced 20 percent reduction in staff. But it sounds like there’s more bad news on the way.
—Portland, OR-based startup Iterasi, which offers advanced bookmarking that allows you to return to dynamically generated Web pages even if they are moved or taken down later, announced an unnamed number of layoffs yesterday in a blog post by CEO Pete Grillo.
—Seattle online search and advertising firm Marchex cut some 35 positions, or about 10 percent of its staff on Wednesday, according to TechFlash.
—The Microsoft advertising unit Razorfish has laid off 36 staff at four West Coast offices, including Seattle (3 jobs) and Portland (15 jobs), according to The Oregonian and TechFlash. The layoffs occurred in mid-November, after the company laid off 40 staff in New York in October. The staff cuts amount to about 2 percent of Razorfish’s national workforce.
—Seattle-based digital-media giant RealNetworks confirmed it laid off 130 staff worldwide, or about 7.5 percent of its workforce, on Thursday. In Seattle, the toll was 39. The layoffs are effective at year’s end.
—Seattle biotech firm Targeted Genetics said it eliminated 7 jobs on Tuesday, as part of a 25 percent payroll cost cut. The company now has 56 full-time employees, down from 73 at the beginning of the year.
