Edgewater Plans Major Layoff

Edgewater Technology Inc. of Wakefield, Mass., announced on Feb. 28 that 19 percent of its work force — 38 employees — will be laid off.

Employees in the Little Rock and Fayetteville offices were among those whose jobs were cut, but spokeswoman Barbara Warren-Sica wouldn’t say how many jobs were cut in Arkansas. She said cuts occurred at all of the company’s six locations.

The Little Rock office had 20 employees before the layoffs, and the Fayetteville office had five, she said.

In a press release, Edgewater said the company’s plan to “right size” would result in a one-time charge of about $450,000 in the first quarter of 2002, which will consist principally of severance pay and other costs. The company expects that expenses will be reduced by about $750,000 per quarter, beginning in the second quarter of 2002.

“In mid-2001, we made a decision to retain our consultants during the difficult economic environment while continually evaluating our backlog, utilization and sales pipeline. It is now apparent that the economy is rebounding slower than we anticipated, which is resulting in project postponements and longer sales cycles,” said CEO Shirley Singleton. “By reducing our head count, we are rightsizing the company to strengthen its position in this challenging market with an eye to capitalize on our remaining resources when growth returns.”

Edgewater was a division of StaffMark Inc. of Fayetteville, which sold its other four divisions in 2000 and changed its name.