i2 Technologies Cutting 15% of Staff

Supply-chain software maker i2 Technologies announced Thursday it will cut its workforce by 15% in order to break even by the first half of 2003.

Dallas-based i2 plans to disclose Thursday in its 10Q filing that it will cut about 500 employees from its staff of 3,355, said Melanie Ofenloch, the company's vice president of corporate relations. Like other supply-chain management software makers, i2 has been struggling with a drop in large deal sizes as companies have cut back their IT spending.

The layoffs are meant to bring i2's expenses to less than $100 million by the first quarter of 2003, compared to about $120 million to $125 million in costs expected in the fourth quarter, Ofenloch said. The company plans to take a restructuring charge in the fourth quarter, but does not yet know the amount of that charge.

i2 has said in the past that its goal is to break even by the first or second quarter of 2003. The company, which underwent another restructuring in 2001, already has laid off nearly 1,400 employees since July.

Shares of i2 declined 2 cents, or 2.1%, to $1.04 in recent trading Thursday.