Candle Lays Off 200 Employees

Software maker Candle Corp. laid off about 200 workers, or about 10% of its 2,000-person staff, blaming the economic downturn.

The cuts were spread throughout Candle’s 50 offices worldwide, said Barry Sulpor, a spokesman for the El Segundo-based company. He declined to specify how many of the company’s 500 employees in California might be affected.

Candle, a 25-year-old private company, designs software to help businesses manage their e-commerce. The company has 5,000 clients in 59 countries.