SecureWorks layoffs affect 15% staff

SecureWorks said Monday it will let go of 15% of its workforce, the cybersecurity company’s second round of layoffs this year.

In a regulatory filing, SecureWorks said that it would incur about $14.2 million in expenses due to the layoffs, mostly related to employee termination benefits and real-estate costs.

SecureWorks chief executive Wendy Thomas cited the need to “simplify and scale our business and to deliver profitable growth” in an all-hands company email to employees justifying the cuts.

The company announced an earlier 9% workforce reduction in February, as it aimed to prioritize its higher margin Tageis cloud security products. The company said in a filing at the time it had 2,149 full-time employees globally.

That puts the number of affected employees at around 300 for this round of layoffs. SecureWorks said the departing employees’ last day will be August 25.

SecureWorks is the latest company to announce layoffs this month alone. Cybersecurity giant Rapid7 said last week that it would lay off more than 400 employees as losses mount, and U.K.-based NCC Group announced it would make more layoffs just months after laying off 7% of its workforce.