Candera Cuts Again

SATA appliance startup Candera Inc. recently had its second round of layoffs in a year, raising questions about its long-term viability.

Last November, Candera laid off one third of its staff, reducing its total to 50 (see Candera Cans SAN Hands). Candera then launched a new product in January and secured a $12 million funding round in June 2004 to bring its total to $59 million (see Candera Back for Seconds and Candera Closes $12M Round).

But Steve Terlizzi, Candera VP of business development, confirmed the Milpitas, Calif.-based startup recently had layoffs again, and that founder Nilesh Shah quietly left about a month ago. He declined to say how many Candera employees were cut.

We did recently restructure our workforce,” Terlizzi says. “We wanted to make strategic changes to our business approach. I cannot disclose the details at this moment, but will be able to discuss it when appropriate.”

Terlizzi says Shah left Candera last month “to pursue new opportunities outside the storage industry. As a serial entrepreneur, he has a passion for building new things and new companies. Candera has reached a stage in its life where, as a founder and visionary, he felt his work had been done.”