NEW YORK, March 6 – DoubleTwist spokeswoman Nicole Litchfield said Tuesday the company laid off “around 20 people” last week, approximately 10 percent of its staff.
Litchfield said the layoffs were “part of a reorganization to gain efficiency after hiring about 120 people last year.”
The layoffs were applied equally across the company, Litchfield said. DoubleTwist does not plan any further consolidations.
As part of the reorganization, Robert Williamson, formerly COO, was promoted to president and COO, and Edward Kiruluta, formerly vice president of R&D, was promoted to CTO.
DoubleTwist filed for an IPO in September, but has since delayed its plans. “We have not withdrawn our IPO,” Litchfield said, “but naturally we're examining all of our options in light of the current financial markets.”
The layoffs follow closely behind NetGenics’ decision to slash its workforce by 30 percent under similar circumstances.
According to DoubleTwist’s most recent filing with the SEC, an amended S-1 filed November 9, the company’s cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $24.1 million as of September 30.
For the last nine months of 2000, the last period for which information is available, DoubleTwist’s revenues totaled $4.8 million.