WANdisco set to slash headcount by 30 per cent as fraud fall out continues

Beleaguered data firm WANdisco said it will slash its headcount by nearly a third today as it scrambles to steady the ship amid an accounting scandal and fraud probe.

WANdisco has been in turmoil since March after an internal investigation found that $15m of revenues and $115m of sales last year had been completely fabricated.

The Sheffield-based firm announced today that it is now pressing ahead with a review that will see it slash its global headcount by 30 per cent.

WANdisco has around 180 employees globally, with the firm now set to cut jobs across its offices including bases in San Francisco, Newcastle, Belfast, China, Japan, and Australia.

The firm’s chair Kenneth Lever, who was parachuted in to oversee the turnaround after the departure of chief David Richards and finance boss Erik Miller, said the move to slash headcount was “considered at great length”.

“Regrettably, the proposed action is a necessary step to responsibly position WANdisco for long-term growth,” he said. “We are working through the process as sensitively and supportively as we can, providing those directly impacted with as much information and support as possible and at all times in full compliance with local law.”

Shares in WANdisco have been suspended since the firm first initially revealed “potentially fraudulent irregularities” on its books.

The firm said last week that an external investigation by FRP Advisory had linked the sales booking to a single senior sales employee and that “all other purchase orders” from other employees were legitimate”.

The scandal has seen the firm slash its recorded revenues for the full year of 2022 to $9m ($7m) down from the $15m previously announced. 

Over $115m in sales bookings were written off as false for the year, with total sales recorded at just $11.4m, down from $127m.

“The results of the independent investigation to date continue to support the initial view that the irregularities are as a result of the actions of one senior sales employee,” WANdisco said at the time.

WANdisco was a feted data outfit and had been regarded as a UK tech success story prior to the revelation. 

Just days prior to the initial announcement of accounting irregularities, WANdisco had sparked chatter in the City by revealing it was scoping out a dual listing in New York.