Ashton-Tate to Lay Off 220 Prior to Borland Merger : * Technology: The computer software firm said about 85 will lose their jobs in Torrance. The move is designed to increase productivity.

Preparing for its upcoming merger with Borland International, Ashton-Tate Corp. said Friday that it is laying off 220 employees, about 15% of its worldwide work force, to bring expenses in line with reduced revenues.

The software publisher said about 85 of the affected employees are at the company’s headquarters in Torrance, and 35 are at its secondary plant in the Silicon Valley. The remainder are scattered in sales and service branches throughout the world.

With the latest cuts, Ashton-Tate’s total staff will be reduced to about 1,300, from a high of more than 1,700 about 18 months ago.

Ashton-Tate officials said the layoffs are designed to increase efficiency and employee productivity and are not directly tied to the pending merger with Borland.

“We believe these reductions will bring our net revenue per employee more in line with other leading software companies and will enable us to compete more effectively in today’s dynamic marketplace,” said William P. Lyons, Ashton-Tate’s chairman and chief executive.

However, Borland Chief Executive Philippe Kahn said last month when the merger was announced that he expected significant staff reductions at Ashton-Tate to bring the company more closely in line with Borland’s own operational style. Noting that Borland’s revenue per employee ratio was considerably higher than Ashton-Tate’s, Kahn said he would have to cut staff once the merger was completed.

Ashton-Tate officials on Friday said they did not expect additional staff cuts before the merger is completed later this year. However, they conceded that layoffs may well resume after the merger.