"The ax finally fell at Corel Corp. Thursday when the Canadian
software developer announced it will lay off 320 employees, or
roughly 21 percent of its workforce, as part of its cost-cutting
plan to chop $40 million from its annual expenses."
"Corel shares closed off 7/32 to 5 1/32 ahead of the
announcement."
"Investors probably saw this coming in late May, however,
when Corel officials said they were looking for investors after the
company's proposed merger with Inprise/Borland Corp.
unraveled."
"At the time, Corel said it would need to reduce about $40
million in annual expenses."
"I wouldn't say this is bad news because the bad news was
already out," said Jean Orr, an analyst at BlueStone Capital
Partners. "They're a software company. Where else are they going to
cut costs other than through layoffs?"