Cloud Software Group, which owns Citrix, and enterprise applications vendor Tibco have begun widespread layoffs.
Thousands of staff have been told to clear out their desks and collect their pink slips, with some layoffs dubbing the firings as “brutal.”
Sources said that the layoffs include much of Citrix’s commercial sales organisation and some channel-facing employees. Another person familiar with the layoffs said that sales, channel sales engineers and education sales roles were also cut.
There has been nothing official from the company about the staff cuts but word on the street is that CSG wants to focus directly on its top 1,000 enterprise accounts, leaving mid-tier and commercial accounts to be supported and serviced by solution providers.
“With Citrix focusing on the top 1,000 accounts, that leaves the channel with the opportunity to service the remaining accounts. This could provide some explosive growth for Citrix service providers.”
This is happening four months after the acquisition of Citrix in September for $16.5 billion. Investment firms Vista Equity Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital—an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management—took Fort Lauderdale private and merged it with Tibco and created a new parent organisation, CSG.
At the time Citrix told the US Securities and Exchange Commission that its board had approved a restructuring plan that included “the elimination of full-time positions,” with $65 million to $90 million earmarked for employee severance agreements.
Earlier this month, Citrix named Ethan Fitzsimons its new channel chief and promised a “more predictable” and “more profitable” partner programme, set to launch on March. 6 for Citrix partners. Tibco partners will not be affected by those changes.
