Thursday, July 19, 2001

Blackboard Lays Off 40 Workers By VINCENT KIERNAN Blackboard Inc., which makes course-management software used at many colleges, laid off 40 employees last week, in part to eliminate staff redundancies stemming from its acquisitions of other companies, Blackboard's chairman said Wednesday. "If you double in size, it's not uncommon a couple of months later to tighten up," Matthew S. Pittinsky told The Chronicle. The company is seeking "intelligently managed growth," and the layoffs were part of that strategy, he said. In November, Blackboard acquired AT&T CampusWide Access Solutions and CEI SpecialTeams, a division of iCollege -- companies that produce systems for electronic commerce that are used in higher education. Those acquisitions, he said, increased the company's staff to 450 from 250. He said the company was also realigning its work force, by reducing the number of employees in sales and increasing the staff members devoted to customer support. Mr. Pittinsky said the layoffs were not indicative of financial troubles at the privately held company, based in Washington, D.C. Rather, he said, Blackboard is doing well financially and is expected to show positive cash flow in December. "Blackboard as a whole is growing," he said. "We will continue to grow and add staff." In April, the company reported $32-million in revenues in 2000, a 21-fold increase from 1999. Blackboard says that it has raised more than $100-million in financing since 1997, from technology investors such as AOL-Time Warner, Dell Computer, and Microsoft, as well as financial investors like the Carlyle Group, Merrill Lynch, and Oak Hill Capital Partners. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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