Apple Subsidiary FileMaker Reportedly Lays Off Employees Amid Poor Sales

FileMaker, a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, is rumored to have discharged a number of employees last Thursday amid poor sales performance, according to a report by AppleInsider. The rumor comes just a few days after the company announced that it would stop developing and offering its popular Bento personal database app by the end of September. AppleInsider notes:

Sources say Thursday's rumored job cuts are closely related to Bento's demise, adding California-based external representatives, sales engineers, and technical support staff were let go. The layoffs may extend further, however, as at least one person responsible for sales of the flagship FileMaker software is said to no longer be with the company.

FileMaker, which was formed in 1998 as an offshoot of Apple's Claris software development subsidiary, reportedly laid off around 20 employees, including some company veterans. The company decided to discontinue Bento in order to focus on the development of its flagship FileMaker product line, which includes FileMaker Go for iPhone and iPad. Bento for iPhone, iPad, and Mac will be available for download only until Sept. 30, 2013. But FileMaker will continue to provide support for Bento until July 30, 2014.