Symantec will exit New Zealand on March 31, as the global security vendor continues to realign its business following its well-documented plans to split the organisation in half.
That's according to sources close to Reseller News, revealing that the company will “only have direct representation” in countries which meet a certain monetary threshold, with New Zealand failing to meet the required criteria.
As a result, the security giant is widely expected to close its Auckland office at the end of the quarter, on March 31, with “staff currently working through New Zealand redundancy policies” as it relocates all Kiwi business operations to its Sydney office in Australia.
Yet despite the rising speculation that an exit plan is underway, the company, when quizzed for comment, told Reseller News that “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,” a spokesperson told Reseller News via an emailed statement.
“We are currently in the process of consulting with our staff in New Zealand and are focused on ensuring we can continue to fulfil the needs of our customers in this market.”
According to the New Zealand Companies Office, Symantec New Zealand, which entered the country in April 1998, reported annual revenue of $4.5m during the 52 week period ended 28 March 2014, down from the $5.1m posted during the same period the year period.
Furthermore, the company reported net profit of $360k during the 52 week period ended 28 March 2014, down from $402K year-on-year.
Symantec’s rumoured New Zealand exit follows the resignation of Australia and New Zealand managing director, Brenton Smith, who quit his post after more than two years in the role in January, to pursue other interests.
