SpeechWorks International Inc., a speech systems direct marketer, will lay off about 70 employees, or 17% of its workforce, as part of an effort to reduce its costs by 20%.
The Boston-based company expects this layoff to save it about $15 million. A one-time charge related primarily to this workforce reduction of approximately $2 million is expected in the third quarter ending Sept. 30.
“With these actions, we are aligning our costs with current market conditions as we drive towards profitability,” said SpeechWorks president/CEO Stuart R. Patterson, in a statement.
Late last year, SpeechWorks, generated about 6,000 leads and spent about $2 million on its first multi-pronged direct marketing campaign (DIRECT, Dec. 1, 2001).
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