LONDON-Messaging giant Logica said it will cut 700 jobs in response to slowdowns in information-technology spending and the cautious outlook most operators have for multimedia messaging services.
The company’s stock dropped almost 20 percent in London trading following the news.
Four hundred jobs will be cut from Logica’s Mobile Networks division, and 300 from its IT Services division.
Logica said wireless messaging continues to grow in the Americas, but that spending on it has slowed considerably in Japan and Europe. The company said it expects revenues for the second half in its messaging business will be “substantially lower” than they were in the first half.
Much of the worldwide wireless industry is placing a substantial amount of hope on multimedia messaging. Logica sells infrastructure products to carriers for MMS services.