The ax will swing again at Myspace this week if there is any truth to rumors reported by Gawker.
Myspace Employees Facing Ax This Week?
Posts Tagged ‘layoffs’
Mediabistro Events
Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.
Use Social Media to Market Your Business
Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews. Cryspace: Myspace Confirms Speculation of Some 500 Layoffs
Myspace’s October launch of a redesigned Web site and shifting of its focus to entertainment apparently wasn’t entertaining enough in the handful of weeks since it went live, as the News Corp.-owned social-networking site confirmed speculation that it would lay off 500 employees, or roughly one-half of its staff.
While News Corp. claims that it the moves were made “in order to provide the company with a clear path for sustained growth and profitability,” they could also be interpreted as making Myspace leaner in hopes of a potential sale.
The statement from CEO Mike Jones:
Today Myspace is implementing a significant organizational restructuring that will result in a 47 percent staff reduction across all divisions globally and impact about 500 employees. With our recent relaunch as an entertainment destination for Gen Y, we introduced a much tighter focus, a significantly streamlined product, and an updated technology platform.
Former Digg CEO Jay Adelson says Digg's Recent Round of Layoffs 'Doesn't Make Me Look Back and Regret Not Selling the Company Sooner.'
Yesterday Revision3 co-founder Jay Adelson spoke at the Failcon Conference in San Francisco on the subject of failure – not that of his current company, which celebrated its fifth anniversary in May – but of his previous venture, Digg, which he left in April 2005 after supposedly turning down multiple offers to sell. When he opened the floor to questions from the audience Adelson had to react, in real time, to some unsettling news: an audience member had just read in TechCrunch that Digg laid off 25 employees – that’s 37% off its staff.
Digg Lays Off 25, Accused of Creating Fake Accounts to Game Its Own System
This has not been a good week for Digg, and it’s only Tuesday.
First, the content-sharing site announced Monday that it would slash its staff from 67 to 42. Then, later that day, Digg user LtGenPanda published a long, detailed blog post titled, “Did Digg game its own system to benefit publisher partners?” and accusing Digg of creating fake accounts to boost the Digg referrals of its publishing partners.
Recently named Digg CEO Matt Williams on the layoffs, from the Digg Blog:
When I joined Digg six weeks ago, we set an immediate focus on improving the Web site. We listened carefully to user feedback and started making changes to generate momentum in our business.
As I mentioned in one of our first all-hands meetings, another top priority was to take a hard look at the entire business, across product, sales, and operations. Through the time I have spent with each of you, I’ve been impressed by the commitment and enthusiasm you’ve shown. I’ve also learned a great deal about what is working well at Digg, and what is broken.
Many things are working well. The team is listening and acting quickly on the feedback from our passionate community. We’ve been able to deliver nimbly on the new platform, with over 100 bug and feature releases to the web site in the past two months. Our Diggable ads product has seen a notable increase in use by advertisers and clicks by users.
Unfortunately, to reach our goals, we have to take some difficult steps. The fact is our business has a burn rate that is too high. We must significantly cut our expenses to achieve profitability in 2011. We’ve considered all of the possible options for reduction, from salaries to fixed costs. The result is that, in addition to lowering many of our operational costs, I’ve made the decision to downsize our staff from 67 to 42 people.
MySpace Layoffs Go International
Last week we received confirmation of the rumors surrounding the MySpace layoffs, with the social networking company trimming its staff by 30% and releasing statements regarding its plans to restructure and focus on innovative products for its future. Today MySpace offers up more details surrounding its intent to restructure, stating that its international operations will be cut back in some regards as well.
MySpace will be refocusing its international operations around a smaller number of territories, with plans to “retain a robust global consumer presence,” according to the statement sent out by MySpace. While this plan is still subject to consultation with the international employees in various countries, MySpace is really looking to make a uniform move here across all the countries in which MySpace has a presence.
Read more
MySpace Confirms Massive Layoffs, Restructures to Become More Innovative
It was widely speculated that MySpace was getting ready to undergo massive layoffs at its company, and the social network has confirmed the rumors today.
Touting the layoffs as a plan for restructuring the company in order to become more “innovative, efficient and entrepreneurial,” MySpace is letting go of 30% of its staff, whittling the company down to 1,000 employees. MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta was quoted as saying that the staff had become bloated, making MySpace hindered in the innovation company.
Read more
