McAfee reportedly to shut down Israel development center

US maker of antivirus software employs 60 in Tel Aviv, most of whom will be laid off as the firm moves operations overseas to cut costs, Globes says

By Shoshanna Solomon 12 January 2021, 5:08 pm 0 Edit

Shoshanna Solomon is The Times of Israel's Startups and Business reporter

McAfee, a US-based cybersecurity firm, will be shutting down its research and development center in Israel on January 21, Globes reported on Tuesday citing people familiar with the matter.

The Tel Aviv development center employs 60 workers, most of whom will be laid off as the US firm is expected to move its operations overseas to cut costs, the financial website reported.

McAfee, known for its antivirus set of products, declined to comment, Globes said.

The US company acquired three startups in Israel through which it has performed its R&D operations locally: the firm bought Onigma Ltd., a compliance vendor, in 2006; database security firm Sentrigo in 2012; and intelligence security company Insightix.

Onigma founder Liad Agmon told Globes he believed the closure of operations was mainly due to the strength of the shekel.

The shekel rose some 7.5% against the dollar in 2020, and hit a 24-year high earlier this month, as the greenback has weakened globally.