Lawson Software trimming 200 jobs

The St. Paul headquarters will see about 45 layoffs, mostly in sales and software -- and more cuts may follow.

By JENNIFER BJORHUS, Star Tribune

Last update: November 18, 2008 - 11:13 PM

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Lawson Software is laying off about 200 employees -- roughly 5 percent of its global workforce -- citing unsettled economic conditions.

The cuts, announced Tuesday, will take place across the company. About 45 people at the company's headquarters in downtown St. Paul, mostly workers in sales, software services and administrative positions, will be affected.

The company is also closing what it described as a smaller office outside the United States.

"Everyone's being a little more guarded in their spending," said Lawson spokesman Joe Thornton. "There's a lot of uncertainty."

Lawson said it expects the layoffs to be completed by the end of the year. Together with voluntary attrition and limited hiring, the company expects its current workforce of about 4,000 to shrink by as much as 10 percent by next spring.

The combined actions will save the company between $40 million and $50 million a year, the company said.

The company will take pre-tax charges of between $9 million and $12 million for the latest round of job cuts, mostly in its second fiscal 2009 quarter ending Nov. 30.

Lawson develops business software for back-office functions such as payroll and supply chain management. About half of its sales occur outside of the country.

The job cuts are the first for Lawson since February 2007, when it announced it was laying off about 325 workers and shifting work to its new support and development center in Manila. However, the software company swung to a $2.5 million loss in its fiscal 2009 first quarter ended Aug. 31, and for two quarters its outlook has missed Wall Street expectations.

Lawson currently expects second quarter revenue between $205 million and $215 million, or earnings per share of seven to 10 cents, which is below analysts' expectations of $224 million and 9 cents. The company offered no guidance on its year-end outlook.

Jennifer Bjorhus • 612-673-4683

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