http://www.wired.com/news/business/story/3543.html I what part of the employee base was purged? Anyone we know? Sounds like PGP sold their soul to the company store... (or the corporate binge and purge mentality.) [arrow] PGP Pretty Good on Privacy of Layoff Details by Kristi Coale 6:09pm 30.Apr.97.PDT In keeping with its core technology - information security - Pretty Good Privacy was tight-lipped about the details of the layoffs it announced to employees Tuesday morning. "We prefer not to mention the number as we are a privacy company, but it was small in number and limited in scope," spokesman Mike Nelson told Wired News on Wednesday. The layoffs are part of what Nelson described as a shift in the company's strategy from developing products for protecting individual privacy to being a security specialist for the Fortune 500. Analysts say this rejiggering of priorities is not a drastic one, pointing to the 24 March purchase of ZoomIt, a company that specialized in corporate, enterprise-wide security systems. The shift represents a maturation of a company that built its reputation through a type of grass-roots organizing: distributing its products through freeware, said Ezra Gottheil, director of Internet business strategies in Newton, Massachusetts. "They're a real Internet company. They're also an ambitious company that sees it's time to move into corporate IS departments," Gottheil said. Part of that shift may mean that Internet Fast-Forward, an ad-filtering technology developed by PrivNet, which PGP acquired last November, will take a back seat - perhaps permanently. Although PGP wouldn't say that it is pulling the plug on the product, Fast-Forward is considered a "lower priority" than other developments, Nelson said. "Internet Fast-Forward is not as closely related to the tools we develop for individuals for privacy," he said. And the fact that Fast-Forward filters ads which are an "inimical part of some of the emerging Web commerce models ... we don't want to hinder this development." Nelson wouldn't say whether the layoffs affected anyone in PrivNet but noted that the acquisition generated engineering talent PGP wanted. That technical know-how along with other resources are being focused on centralized corporate security systems. In fact, the company has put out a casting call for more engineers to satisfy its resource dearth in research and development in this area. Ultimately, all of these adjustments could simply be PGP's preparation to woo the investors it seeks for a public offering. Although PGP has no immediate plans to go public, company officials intend to review these investment schedules this summer, Nelson said. Related Wired Links: PGP's Export Solution: Stamps, Envelopes by James Glave PGP Zooms into Corporate Security by Spencer E. Ante PGP Lets You Take Charge of Your Cookies by James Glave Beat That Tap - It's PGP For Sale by David Lazarus [arrow] [Image] Find Read a story in the Wired News archive. Feedback Let us know how we're doing. TipsHave a story or tip for Wired News? Send it. Copyright © 1993-97 Wired Ventures, Inc. and affiliated companies. All rights reserved.