Canadian financial technology house Basis100 has axed half of the staff in its capital markets solutions (CMS) division, laying off a total of 82 personnel, including 17 contractors.
The restructuring is aimed at saving $6 million annually and leaves 80 staff in the company's Calgary office, who will be focused on product development and delivery. International sales will be managed from the UK office, which will be responsible for promoting all Basis100 technology solutions.
Gary Bartholomew, CEO and chairman of Basis100, says: "The objective of these changes to CMS is to establish a baseline of business - maintenance, upgrades and existing contracts - that is predictable, yet maintain a staff component that can scale profitably to meet licensing and project demands in the market."
Basis100 anticipates CMS revenues for 2002 to be approximately $18 million with an overall contribution margin of $4.6 million, including a $2 million restructuring charge to be taken in Q3.
Basis100's capital markets division was formed from the acqusition of EFA software earlier in the year. It provides solutions across the spectrum of capital markets activity, from clearing and settlement, order-routing and trading, through to integration and professional services. EFA's Horizon product was selected by Deutsche Bourse subsidiary Xlaunch as the technology foundation for B2B and OTC trading exchange sales.
"In addition to our focus on the baseline book of business, we will continue development of our next generation T+1 Java-based clearance technology, Equator 6 for cash and derivatives," continues Bartholomew. "This project is very strategic to our organisation. We will continue to work to deliver this technology solution to the market."