Puppet’s new owner is laying off staff

Puppet was Portland's largest homegrown tech company at the time of its sale last spring.

The new owner of Portland software company Puppet began laying off staff last week, eliminating 15% of Puppet’s total workforce less than three months after completing the acquisition.

“We recognize and regret this realignment impacts hard-working and talented individuals and we will be working with each of them to ensure the smoothest transition possible,” Perforce Software, Puppet’s new owner, said in a statement Monday.

Perforce said it had reorganized Puppet to “balance operational efficiencies with continued innovation and position the company for continued growth.” Perforce said the cuts were unrelated to the overall economic outlook or market conditions.

Puppet employed 500 before its sale last spring. A 15% layoff would total 75 workers, though some employees had left on their own since the transaction closed in May and it is not clear if their jobs had been filled.

Puppet’s layoffs are the latest in a string of cutbacks by Oregon tech companies, but the state’s technology economy appears strong overall. Oregon tech employment is at an all-time high and the state’s jobless rate is near a historic low.

Minnesota-based Perforce announced plans to acquire Puppet in April and closed the deal a month later. Puppet makes software that helps technology managers run data centers and other large computing networks by automating some key functions.

Privately held Perforce didn’t disclose terms of the acquisition.

Founded in 2005, Puppet was Portland’s largest homegrown technology company and played a central role in developing Oregon’s software industry in the years following the Great Recession.

The layoffs affected workers across the organization in roles ranging from software engineering to vice president, according to a spreadsheet circulating among current and former Puppet employees.

Layoffs are common following large acquisitions as new owners eliminate duplicate roles and reduce staff to meet financial targets and narrower business objectives.

Puppet’s layoffs come amid a tumultuous period in the U.S. economy, as soaring inflation undercuts a robust labor market. The conflicting signals have economists puzzling over the nation’s outlook.

In Oregon, legal technology firm Smarsh laid off employees last month as part of a broader reorganization and HP furloughed dozens of manufacturing contractors amid a slowdown in printer demand. Intel, Oregon’s largest corporate employer, is slowing hiring in reaction to a steep downturn in its sales outlook.

Overall, though, there’s no evidence that the job market is weakening. Job growth remains brisk nationally and Oregon still has far more job vacancies than unemployed people.

Update: This article has updated with comment from Perforce.

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | Twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699

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