Following quickly on the heels of the March 20 completion of its merger with Allaire, Macromedia on Tuesday laid off 10 per cent of the combined company's staff, totaling 170 people.

The layoffs came as a direct result of the merger, said Quinn Daly, Macromedia's director of corporate public relations, adding that they had nothing to do with the overall economic slowdown in the technology sector.

"You're taking about a $360 million acquisition," he said. "I think everybody was aware that when you bring two companies together like this, things are going to have to change."

Daly said the cuts were across the board from both Macromedia's 1,200 person staff and from Allaire's 500-person team. Allaire was folded into Macromedia as a result of the merger, which was announced January 16, though Allaire will keep its offices in Newton, Mass. Jeremy Allaire, who served as chief technology officer (CTO) of Allaire, became Macromedia's CTO when the deal was announced.

Asked why Tuesday's job cuts were not announced publicly, Quinn said that because the reorganisation came as the result of the merger itself, and not from a changing financial landscape, the company felt it had no obligation to inform shareholders of the news.

The cuts were made, Quinn said, as part of an effort to align the company along three distinct product categories: HTML, which includes the company's "dream tools" like Dreamweaver and related products; rich media, which includes Flash and Shockwave; and servers, which includes Allaire's Cold Fusion.