NetIQ is closing its Auckland-based Marshal Software development unit in a move that will cost 25 jobs.
NetIQ bought Marshal Software, a privately owned New Zealand company, in December 2002 for US$23 million and floated the idea of expanding the development centre. Today, however, vice president for human resources Terry Dyckman has flown in to Auckland to give the staff the bad news.
"We will be closing the facility in New Zealand on June 30 and migrating all security development to our Houston development centre."
Dyckman says there will be "some subset" of the 25 staff will be offered opportunities "to migrate to new positions" within the company.
"We obviously took a long runway to tell people that while we are closing the facility, we announced it three months ahead of that time."
NetIQ's second quarter financial results put the company revenue down 20% on the previous quarter but it blames most of that loss on the terms of its licensing agreement with Microsoft. Removing that from the picture the results are better than expected, with an 11% increase over the previous quarter. Revenue from the "systems and security product" division, of which Marshal's products are now part, were ahead of expectation.
Dyckman says the decision to shut down the New Zealand operation was a strategic one.
"The decision was made to consolidate, to co-locate all development on this suite of products in one place [because of its importance to the company]."
NetIQ New Zealand general manager John Skeates is currently on leave.