Symantec to axe 1,000 employees: Report

Symantec's quarterly financial results, released yesterday, were fairly good. However, that hasn't stopped the firm from announcing a new corporate strategy in the meantime.

The press release mentioned that the firm's new strategy would "deliver significantly improved performance for customers and partners," and middle-management cuts are certainly a possibility in an effort to streamline the firm's operations.

No specific job-cutting rates were mentioned, although the company's continual mentions of management shake-ups and operating streamlining may indicate that middle management is in the firing line this year. However, Bloomberg has reported that as many as 1,000 people may find themselves out of a position.

Citing an anonymous source, the publication said that Symantec CEO Steve Bennett plans to axe at least 1,000 employees, which roughly translates to 5 percent of the workforce. However, amidst these cutbacks, the source said that Symantec plans to hire new employees to work in areas including research and development.

Unsurprising, considering Symantec's move toward mobility and the cloud in order to keep up with competitors in this expanding market. Not only would such a staff reshuffle result in more fingers on the research pulse, but this means that the company could develop new products to fill product niches in cloud and mobility--while keeping investors happy by returning a portion of its free cash flow.

Symantec said yesterday that it aims to gain over "5 percent organic revenue growth" and "non-GAAP operating margins better than 30 percent" over the next few years. The security firm's Q3 earnings were up 4 percent year on year, reaching 30 cents per share on revenue of $1.79 billion.