Israeli start-up Orsus Solutions laid off 20 of its 105 employees. The company dismissed 15 workers last March, when it had 160 employees. A large number of the employees who were laid off in the past six months were temporary workers that the company did not re-hire.
Company founder and CEO Aryeh Finegold confirmed that, in addition to laying off some of its own regular staff, the company reduced the number of its temporary workers. He added that the large number of temporary workers employed by the company a few months ago was due to the company’s need to accelerate development, and after projects carried out by those workers were completed, there was no need to extend their employment.
The recent layoffs came after Orsus Solutions, which sought to spin off a telecom company, chose not to do so. “Following re-examination of market conditions, we chose not to make the move, and some of the workers designated for that company will leave Orsus.” The spun-off company was to have operated as an independent company on funds raised from external investors. Finegold believes that, despite the market conditions, it would have been possible to raise the money needed to operate the company. However, the move was cancelled.
Orsus, founded by Finegold, who also set up Mercury Interactive Corporation (Nasdaq: MERQ) and Daisy, developed a technology for integrating data processing systems operating on different platforms, e.g. cellular systems and sites, over the Internet. The company has a branch in Silicon Valley, a development center in Israel, and additional branches in Europe and the Far East.
The company’s latest financing round was in 2000, when it raised $20 million at a company value of $200 million from Comverse Technology’s (Nasdaq: CMVT) ComSor Investment Fund and other investors. Other Orsus Solutions shareholders include Koor Industries (NYSE: KOR), Clal Industries and Investments, Cedar Fund, United Mizrahi Bank, Modgal Tech, Epsilon Securities House, businessman Eitan Wertheimer, and SingTel Ventures Fund. The company has raised $68 million up to now. Finegold says Orsus Solutions has slightly less than $50 million in its coffers, due to sales and a relatively low cash burn rate.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 30 August, 2001