Layoffs, Downgrade Send Viant Lower

The Boston, Massachusetts-based consulting company said it will lay off 125 employees, taking a fourth-quarter charge of US$5 million to $7 million, and refocus its resources on a few key markets.

Viant said it will close its Dallas, Texas office, and make other "selected workforce reductions company-wide."

The firm said it will concentrate on such markets as media, financial services, consumer and retail, and technology in order to "better align Viant's professional expertise with client requirements."

The restructuring will save about $18 million in 2001, said the company, adding that it expects to have cash of about $185 million on hand at the end of this year.

Goldman Sachs reportedly downgraded Viant shares to market perform from market outperform following the announcement.

Viant's warning came one day after competitor Scient (Nasdaq: SCNT) also said an industry-wide slowdown will hurt results in the current quarter. Scient, based in San Francisco, California, will eliminate about 460 jobs and close its offices in Silicon Valley in California, and Austin, Texas.

In the third quarter, Viant reported a net loss of $1.1 million, or 2 cents per share, compared with net income of $1.6 million, or 3 cents, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue was $33.1 million, up 76 percent from a year earlier but down from $38.1 million in the preceding quarter.

Viant shares are down from a 52-week high of 63 9/16.