Akamai Sales Trail

Akamai Technologies Inc., which sells a service that accelerates data on the Internet, said first-quarter sales lagged estimates, and it will fire 182 employees, a 14% work force reduction, because demand slowed and Internet-commerce customers dwindled. The company had first-quarter sales of $39 million to $41 million, down from an estimate of $45 million, Akamai said in a statement. Sales for 2001 are expected to be $175 million to $190 million, the company said, compared with its earlier estimate of $240 million to $250 million. Shares of the Cambridge, Mass.-based company fell 84 cents to $5.16 in after-hours trading. They rose 19 cents to $6 in regular U.S. trading on Nasdaq and have fallen 95% in the last year.