Sophos has joined the list of cybersecurity companies that are cutting staff following the implementation of measures to cope with the current global economic crisis. The Cambridge-based firm announced on May 11 that it was reducing its workforce worldwide by nearly 10 percent, affecting around 250 to 300 employees, many of whom had only recently been hired. This decision was made in order to “help manage the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on our financial performance,” according to the company.
The layoffs come following a difficult period for Sophos which saw its share price fall by almost 25% between January and April of this year, with the company attributing the losses to “difficult market conditions” due to the coronavirus. This was compounded by the company’s failure to meet its guidance for the full year as it reported a 3% fall in earnings for its final quarter of 2020.
Sophos is not the only cybersecurity company to have recently announced job cuts. FireEye and Palo Alto Networks have both also revealed that they are reducing their workforces, with FireEye cutting nearly 400 jobs and Palo Alto cutting 240 jobs. There are also reports that other security companies like Tanium and Carbon Black are also examining their staffing levels in the wake of the pandemic.
The losses come despite the fact that security is one of the few sectors which has seen increased demand for its services during the pandemic as cyber-attacks drastically increased. As such, the cuts could have a significant impact on the industry in the long term if these companies are unable to grow their businesses in locked-down markets.
The challenge for such security companies will be to navigate the current crisis while still protecting themselves against the cyber-threats which continue to evolve during this time. With this in mind, Sophos and its peers are likely to have to eventually find a way to deal with both the downturn in the economy and the increasing number of cyber-attacks in order to remain profitable and remain in business.
This Cyber News was published on www.securityweek.com. Publication date: Sun, 22 Jan 2023 10:48:00 +0000