Panda Security slashes jobs amidst Spanish turmoil
The Spanish firm blames free anti-virus and a difficult economy for its troubles.
Panda Security is to cut 128 jobs as the company copes with a shifting security market and economic problems in its home country Spain.
The cuts will be made at its Bilbao and Madrid offices as part of a wider cost reduction programme, according to Spanish reports.
"The situation of the international IT security market, characterised by the global crisis and the consumer market in Spain and mainly due to the widespread offer of free anti-virus online, has led to the direction of Panda Security to implement a refocusing of business strategy, which will involve a reorganization of the company and a significant cost reduction," a statement from Panda read.
"In this new phase we will address the creation of business and production units to focus the strategy towards cloud solutions, new services and added value products as well as new markets. Moreover, the situation requires the application of a cost reduction plan which will maintain the viability of the company, which undertakes to submit an Employment Regulation which affects people of its offices in Bilbao and Madrid."
Panda has brought in a new CEO, Jose Sancho, to replace Juan Santana. Sancho started his career with Alcatel in 1970 and has been involved in the software industry ever since.
"He is therefore a professional with extensive experience in the sector," Panda added.
There will not be any other changes to the board, Panda said.
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Fears over the Spanish economy have been growing with many concerned the European debt crisis is spreading across the continent.
Panda got in touch with IT Pro, wanting to assure people the events in Spain would not affect the UK division.
"We have an established channel team in place within the UK providing an effective range of security solutions and expect to continue our significant growth moving forwards," said recently appointed managing director Tony Lee.
Tom Brewster is currently an associate editor at Forbes and an award-winning journalist who covers cyber security, surveillance, and privacy. Starting his career at ITPro as a staff writer and working up to a senior staff writer role, Tom has been covering the tech industry for more than ten years and is considered one of the leading journalists in his specialism.
He is a proud alum of the University of Sheffield where he secured an undergraduate degree in English Literature before undertaking a certification from General Assembly in web development.