Corel is to shed 320 jobs and stop paying its CEO's salary in an attempt to slash costs.

The worldwide staff atrophy (21 per cent of the Canadian software vendor's workforce) is across the board, but its HQ in Ottawa will be worst affected.

In addition, Corel CEO and President Dr Michael Cowpland has "voluntarily opted to forego his salary at the time". Cowpland got paid $199,000 last year.

The moves are part of a plan designed to save the company $40 million annually.

"This was not an easy decision to make," said Cowpland in a statement. "We value all of our employees. They're highly-skilled, motivated people whose energy and dedication have contributed to the company's reputation for innovation over the years.

"After much careful deliberation, the company concluded that these steps were necessary."

The firings follow last month's failed merger with US vendor Inprise/Borland group. Corel is due to report its second-quarter results on June 19 in the first quarter it made a loss of $12.4 million. ®