Avid Restructures, Lays Off 129

Nonlinear editing and newsroom automation supplier Avid Technology is restructuring and laying off 129 staffers, with 118 coming from its video division.

The company, which announced a net loss of $6 million for the second quarter of 2007 on revenues of $225 million compared to income of $2.7 million on revenues of $222 million for the same period last year, will be transitioning video server engineering from Mountain View, Calif. to existing Avid facilities in Edmonton, Canada and Tewksbury, Mass. and reducing space within certain facilities.

The move comes on the heels of Avid's announcement that CEO David Krall would be leaving the company at the end of the month. The company, which is looking for a new CEO, also announced the appointment of Joel Legon to serve as its vice president and chief financial officer. Since joining Avid in March 2006, Legon had served as vice president and corporate controller.

An Avid spokeswoman says that as part of the restructuring, some 60 new positions will be created and that Avid is "actively hiring." She says that the restructuring had more to do with "aligning the business structure with customer needs" than reducing cost in the light of recent financial performance.