Job Cuts at Novell

Software maker Novell Inc. said it will cut its work force by about 900 jobs, or 16%, and take a fourth-quarter charge of up to $50 million as it restructures after several quarters of declining results. The announcement ends weeks of speculation and rumors of staff reductions that surfaced when the Orem, Utah-based company reported that its third-quarter earnings dropped more than fivefold due to stiff competition from Microsoft Corp. and others. The company faces lagging sales of its NetWare software used to manage printers, files and computers on corporate networks, where it competes with Microsoft’s NT operating system software. Shares of Novell fell 38 cents, to close at $10.69 in Nasdaq trading.