Symantec to shut up shop in NZ?

Symantec is rumoured to be about to exit New Zealand, with the company shutting up shop March 31 according to market speculation.

Symantec would neither confirm nor deny outright the rumours.

Instead the company says: "As part of Symantec's plan to separate into two companies, we are carefully reviewing our enterprise business strategy in New Zealand.

"As part of this review, we are considering the needs of our customers and partners as well as the organisational needs of Symantec and Veritas going forward.

The company says it is currently 'consulting' with staff in New Zealand 'and are focused on ensuring we can continue to fulfil the needs of our customers in this market'.

The company declined to disclose local staff numbers, saying it doesn't disclose those numbers at a country level. Across Australia and New Zealand it has around 500 employees.

The company is currently in the process of splitting into two discrete businesses globally, with the security business continuing as Symantec, while a second company, Veritas, will be formed out of the information management business.

Following the announcement of the split, it was reported that the company would lay off around 2000 employees – around 10% of its total workforce – over the coming year, with the cuts coming across 'a number of locations and functions' within the company.

Early this year Brenton Smith, Symantec ANZ managing director, vacated his role at the company, after two-and-a-half years at the helm, 'to pursue other opportunities'.

Last year the company reported reduced revenue and profits for its New Zealand operations, recording profit of $360,081 on revenue of $4.6 million for the year to 28 March 2014. Those figures are down from the previous year's profit of $402,375 on revenue of $5.1 million.