Terabeam cuts work force by 10%

Terabeam, the Seattle-based high-speed wireless network provider, has cut its work force by 10%--54 jobs--as a pre-emptive measure driven by the economic downturn and concerns over the current state of the capital markets, according to the company.

In a statement, Dan Hesse, Terabeam’s chairman, president and CEO, indicated that while the company is well funded, it needs to ensure that its funding lasts.

“We are being proactive in managing our business in a responsible and deliberate manner in the current economic slowdown,” he said.

According to a company spokesman, the cuts were across the board and in no way reflect a lack of performance by the company.

“Our sales for this year are actually ahead of projection,” the spokesman said. “We just saw what has happened with other companies in the space that we consider competitors, such as Teligent, and decided to take this step now in order to maintain our position.”

On Monday, Teligent filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors after twice being given extensions by banks to prove it had the $450 million in financing required to prevent the company from defaulting on bank-credit facilities.

Terabeam, founded in 1997, provides 10/100 Mb/s Ethernet connectivity and 5/10/100 Mb/s Tier 1 Internet connections by beaming invisible light between transmitter hubs and receivers positioned in office windows. Despite the layoffs, Hesse indicated the company would continue with plans to add staff in facilities located in Denver and four additional cities this year.