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Mountain View company Barracuda Networks is "pulling a Yahoo," a tipster tells us. Management told employees on Tuesday there will be a mandatory holiday break December 24 through December 28. "Yes, the only notice was a little more than two weeks before the forced PTO," our source notes. Despite what our tipster thinks, Yahoo's far from the only Valley company to pull this kind of stunt; Sun, Adobe, and others have forced employees to take vacations over the years. The Scrooge-like gesture does have the salutary effect of reducing the employer's vacation liability. If you work at one of these companies, just ask yourself: Which is worth more, your stock options or your vacation time? Here's the internal memo Barracuda sent to spread the holiday cheer.

Holiday Break 2007

Barracuda Networks has decided to implement a mandatory holiday break for the week of December 24th -28th in an effort to give employees stress-free time away from work, while reducing unused paid time off on the company?s balance sheet. While employees are encouraged to take PTO (Paid Time Off) throughout the year and during the holidays, North American-based staff shall participate in this mandatory break.

Should an employee not have enough accrued PTO to cover the four days off (the 25th is a paid holiday), you will have the option of borrowing against future accruals or taking unpaid time off.

Reduced Staffing

Certain departments will still operate on a reduced employee basis as determined by management in order to maintain appropriate service levels throughout the company during this time. Your manager will be communicating coverage requirements shortly to allow you to plan accordingly. If you do not hear from your manager, assume you will be required to take off time as indicated above.

Questions

If you have specific questions or concerns about Barracuda Networks? 2007 holiday break, please discuss with your manager or the HR department.

We hope that this time off will enable you to relax and enjoy the holidays with your family and close friends.

Thank you,

Barracuda Management