The move is part of the company’s integrated operating plan

Apr 3, 2014 18:56 GMT  ·  By

Juniper Networks will lay off around 6% of its employees as part of the company’s integrated operating plan (IOP). Some changes are also being made to the company’s product portfolio.

The decision to axe 6% of the close to 9,400 workers is expected to result in charges of around $35 million (€25 million) in the first fiscal quarter or 2014. The money represents severance and other expenses related to employee termination. Most of those who will be laid off occupy middle management positions.

As far as portfolio changes are concerned, the company has decided to stop the development of the application delivery controller technology that it licensed in July 2012. There are no revenues associated with this technology, but Juniper expects a non-cash intangible asset impairment charge or around $85 million (€61 million) in the first fiscal quarter of this year.

The organization also wants to consolidate its facilities. More precisely, it wants to dispose of around 300,000 square feet of leased facilities. This represents around 12% of the total square footage currently occupied by the company globally.

Juniper revealed its IOP on February 20. The key points of the IOP include a plan for aggressive new capital allocation, enhanced efficiency and improved cost management, and a more focused, agile and execution-oriented company structure.

The company also wants to develop a strategy that capitalizes on Juniper’s expertise in certain areas like routing, switching, security, control and network management. These plans were announced shortly after Shaygan Kheradpir became the company’s CEO.