creative deconstruction

MySpace Lays of 30% of Employees

Posted on 16. Jun, 2009 by refe in NEWS

There have been rumors floating around the web for several days now that MySpace was about to cut hundreds of jobs. Today it looks like those rumors were very accurate – about 480 employees are expected to be out of work by the end of the day. The news comes only a couple of weeks after Facebook surpassed MySpace in unique visitors for the month of May.

According to the press release, they are cutting staff in order to return to a “start-up culture.” This is interesting, since MySpace parent company, News Corp, just fired the social network’s original founders about two months ago. I don’t mean to add insult to injury, but I think the writing is on the wall for MySpace. Michael Arrington of TechCrunch has been keeping close tabs on the company’s troubles and estimates that another 300 jobs will be cut by the end of the year.

Here’s the press release:

MYSPACE REDUCES STAFF BY NEARLY 30%

Return to Start-Up Culture a Focus for Company Moving Forward

LOS ANGELES—June 16, 2009—As part of a plan to restructure itself into a more innovative, efficient, and entrepreneurial business, MySpace announced today that it will reduce its staff by nearly 30%. This restructuring plan crosses all U.S. divisions of the company and lowers the total number of domestic staff at MySpace to 1,000 employees.

“Simply put, our staffing levels were bloated and hindered our ability to be an efficient and nimble team-oriented company,” said MySpace Chief Executive Officer Owen Van Natta. “I understand that these changes are painful for many. They are also necessary for the long-term health and culture of MySpace. Our intent is to return to an environment of innovation that is centered on our user and our product.”

“MySpace grew too big considering the realities of today’s marketplace,” said Jonathan Miller, News Corporation’s CEO of Digital Media and Chief Digital Officer. “I believe this restructuring will help MySpace operate much more effectively both structurally and financially moving forward. I am confident in MySpace’s next phase under the leadership of Owen and his team.”

Tags: Facebook, myspace, Social network