Slumping FileNet to Lay Off 160, 50 in O.C.

FileNet Corp. said it will lay off 160 employees including 50 in Orange County and take an estimated $6-million charge for restructuring during its second quarter.

The software developer previously announced plans to shut down a subsidiary in Massachusetts and trim operating costs, but had not specified how the changes would affect employment.

FileNet Chief Financial Officer Mark St. Clare said Thursday that the company will shave costs by closing the Massachusetts facility and laying off 60 workers there. Other layoffs will affect marketing, administrative and engineering, research and development staffs at the company’s Costa Mesa headquarters and at other facilities around the world.

No sales personnel will be affected, St. Clare said.

In all, FileNet employs about 1,650 people. The layoffs are to take place through September, he said.

Industry analysts believe the company’s restructuring costs will lead to a second-quarter loss of as much as 23 cents a share, or about $3.8 million.

For the first quarter, FileNet lost $9.4 million, or 63 cents a share, as revenue dropped 29% to $47.6 million. The company had anticipated the loss, which it blamed on disappointing sales as several large orders solicited by its European and North American sales staff failed to come through.

Company officials also said that FileNet incurred heavy costs beefing up its sales force.

FileNet stock fell 37.5 cents a share in moderate Nasdaq trading Thursday to close at $11.375. On April 2, the day after it announced that it expected to order layoffs in the wake of an anticipated big loss for its first quarter, FileNet’s share price plunged $4.875 to close at $11 per share. A year earlier the company’s stock had traded as high as $58.50.

FileNet is one of many companies seeking to benefit from the advent of the so-called paperless office. It makes software that enables companies to store and manage files on their computer networks.