SAN DIEGO—Wireless streaming media company PacketVideo Corp. said it will cut an unspecified number of jobs in order to realign itself with the sluggish economy.
Fernando Corona, the company’s senior vice president of marketing, said PacketVideo had 225 employees before the layoffs, but he wouldn’t comment on the size of the staff reduction.
“I don’t know that that’s relevant,” he said.
Corona said slow sales to carriers and handset makers forced the company to revise its spending for the future. He said the job cuts are part of that adjustment.
“We’re taking the company and really focusing on our core competencies,” he said.
Corona said PacketVideo will now focus on selling its products, which include servers and wireless streaming media programs, to carriers, handset makers and security companies. The market for wireless security applications—allowing businesses and homeowners to keep an eye on their property—is a relatively new one for PacketVideo, which has traditionally focused on mass-market consumer applications.
Corona said PacketVideo now expects the market for wireless streaming multimedia to ripen next year instead of this year. And until that time, he said the company must take a more cautious approach.
“It’s more prudent to take a more conservative outlook,” he said.
PacketVideo is not the only wireless streaming media that has hit rough waters. Just last month Emblaze Systems Ltd. released its financial results for last year, showing net losses of $29 million and no relief in sight for at least the next year.
And the market for streaming media is becoming crowded. Along with PacketVideo and Emblaze, Apple Computer Inc. is selling its QuickTime multimedia player, Microsoft Corp. is selling its Windows Media Player and RealNetworks Inc. is selling its RealPlayer Mobile.
