AFP reports that software titan Adobe Systems -- the maker of Photoshop, Shockwave, and your favorite PDF reader -- announced that it will be cutting 680 jobs. This represents nearly 10 percent of the company's global workforce.

In its SEC filing regarding the restructuring, Adobe announced that it would incur between $65-71 million in short-term costs for the restructuring. Apparently they are paying good severance packages.

The employees being cut are those who were with the company before its acquisition of the web analytics firm Omniture, Inc. last month. Apparently, no (former) Omniture, Inc. employees will be cut.

At least they're paying severance, but this still stinks of tax shenanigans and accounting skullduggery. According to its most recent financial statement, Adobe Systems made $167 million in the 13 weeks before August 30. Get it? They're laying people off even though they're making huge amounts of money. They're laying people off in the middle of the worst recession ever... and they're making money.

It's not like shareholders are seeing any of that money, either. Adobe doesn't pay dividends.

I'll bet their CEO makes a decent salary.

Someday this sort of thing will be viewed with the same sort of revulsion as we now view slavery.