Adobe Lays Off 8 Percent Of Workforce

San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe, which will hold its fourth-quarter earnings call Dec. 16, cited weak demand for Creative Suite 4, a collection of design tools for print, Web, mobile, interactive, film and video production.

At a September launch event, Adobe executives called Creative Suite 4 the most important product launch in the company's history, but that proclamation came at time when world markets were far more stable than they are today.

In restructuring its business, Adobe expects to incur pre-tax charges of approximately $44 million to $50 million, $28 million to $30 million of which will be recorded in Q4 2008, Adobe said.

As part of the cost cutting effort, Adobe earlier this month said it won't have a booth at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco next month, although it will take part in some of the sessions.

For its fiscal fourth quarter ended Nov. 28, Adobe expects revenue in a range between $912 million to $915 million, short of the $925 million to $955 million it had forecast. However, excluding items, Adobe's Q4 earnings per share came in at 59 to 60 cents, well above the 51 cents per share that Wall Street analysts had expected.

However, in a sign of the storm to come, Adobe reduced its Q1 2009 forecast to between $800 and $850 million, dramatically short of the $931 million analysts had expected.