CEO shuffle, layoffs at Extreme Networks

Extreme Networks, one of the smaller Ethernet switching vendors out there, has survived the recession so far, but its financial outlook has been dismal lately. Three weeks ago it Extreme warned Wall Street that its earnings would be down significantly for its first quarter, which ended Sept. 27. It’s expecting earnings of $66 million, down from $83.5 million a year ago.

Now Extreme has hit the restructuring button has it tries to sail through continued rough waters. CEO Mark Canepa, who’s been with Extreme since August 2006, has resigned. in order to “pursue other opportunities.” He’ll stay on board for a short time to help with the transition.

CFO Bob L. Corey has been named acting CEO as the company looks for a permanent replacement.

Extreme also laid off 70 people, about 9 percent of its workforce, in order to reduce quarterly operating expenses by $2.5 million.  This is part of an effort to make the company lean enough to break even with $70 million in quarterly revenue.

No details are available on where the layoffs came from within Extreme.