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Tag: Layoffs

  • 3,000 RIM Layoffs Coming Next Week

    Today it was revealed that Research in Motion (RIM), the company behind the BlackBerry line of products, will be laying off 3,000 employees starting next week.

    Boy Genius Report (BGR) cites unnamed source in its report, which states the layoffs will take place over the coming weeks. BGR’s source stated that “people are terrified” and that some are even packing up their desks in anticipation of being let go. Workers have been told that any employees not working on BlackBerry 10 products are in danger of losing their jobs.

    RIM provided BGR with an official statement regarding the coming layoffs:

    RIM announced on June 28 that it will reduce its global workforce by approximately 5,000 over the course of the remaining fiscal year. These are difficult but necessary changes to help achieve operational cost savings of over $1 billion. RIM remains committed to ensuring that the reductions made do not impact key programs such as BlackBerry 10, customer support or BlackBerry service levels.

    The last round of layoffs at RIM took place back in June. Before that, over 2,000 employees were laid off just before the start of 2012.

    The layoffs at RIM are part of cost-cutting measures necessary due to a dismal financial outlook. The company has failed to compete successfully in the smartphone market with Apple, Google, and Samsung.

    Despite the continuous flow of bad financial news coming out of RIM for the past year, the company continues to remain adamant that it can survive. RIM is banking everything on its BlackBerry 10 products, and a product roadmap leaked in July shows the company has an ambitious product release schedule planned for 2013.

    RIM did receive some good news this week, though, when a judge presiding over a patent lawsuit involving RIM reversed a $150 million verdict against the company.

    (via BGR)

  • Sega Shuts Down its Australian, French, and German Offices

    Sega announced today that it would be shutting down its offices in Australia, France, Germany, Spain, and Benelux (made up of Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg). The company did not state the specific reason for the closings, but it has been known for some time that Sega is in the process of “streamlining” its operations and canceling games. This would seem to be a cost-cutting measure that will allow Sega to save money by outsourcing part of its international distribution.

    Starting July 1, Sega will have two separate companies handle the distribution of packaged goods that was previously handled by the closed offices. Koch Media will handle distribution across France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Spain. Level03 Distribution will handle distribution in Benelux, and 5 Star Games will do so in Australia. Operations will continue to be managed through Sega’s European Headquarters in London, which has not been shut down.

    “Sega is entering a new and exciting phase that will position the company as a content led organisation, maximising sales with strong and balanced IP such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, Football Manager and, the Aliens franchise,” said Jurgen Post, chief operating officer of Sega Europe. “The company will benefit from a clear focus and realigned strategy for our digital business and packaged goods and we are confident that this will lead to a successful future.”

    Despite Post’s confidence, it’s clear that Sega is in trouble. The company has driven it’s Sonic the Hedgehog brand into the ground over the last decade with poorly reviewed titles. Aliens: Colonial Marines has been delayed until February 2013, meaning Sega will not have a blockbuster title out for the coming holiday season.

    At E3 this year, Sega revealed its new strategy of developing smaller games and remakes for platforms such as the Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Vita. The company also showed off its new embrace of social media, setting up an Instagram and Foursquare account for the event.

  • RIM Trims the Fat with Substantial Job Cuts as they Struggle to Stay in Business

    Research in Motion (RIM) has been struggling for awhile, and has definitely lost its foothold in the marketplace giving way to increasingly popular iOS and Android devices.

    While their BlackBerry line was once considered an enterprise communication standard, they are now struggling just to stay in business.

    The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, that RIM has already been proactive in cutting their workforce in order to reduce costs and make way for a much need reorganization of operations.

    The cuts are being made in the quality controls department, parts, and operations. According to inside sources, the layoffs have been taking place in batches of up to ten employees at a time. RIM also saw the resignation of many top executives in early April, just after they announced a less than stellar quarterly earnings report.

    The latest job cuts come after reducing their workforce by over 2000 people just before the beginning of 2012. In March, they still employed over 16,000 people, but it is unclear where that number stands after this last round of layoffs.

    Despite the challenges the company faces, they insist they are not abandoning the consumer market, and they plan to introduce a newly redesigned BlackBerry by the end of this year.

    So, while the fate of BlackBerry and RIM hangs in the balance, they continue to struggle and lose employees left and right. Hopefully we’ll see something come out of these job cuts and RIM will emerge as a leaner, meaner business machine.

    There’s definitely room for more competition on the smartphone and device marketplace, but the question is, does RIM have what it takes to deliver where others can’t? We’ll keep you updated as RIM struggles to reorganize and reduce their overhead.

  • Game Industry Rallies Together To Find Jobs For Laid Off 38 Studios Employees

    I’ve been hesitant to cover the recent news regarding Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios and Big Huge Games, developers of the excellent Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and the state of Rhode Island. The hesitation wasn’t out of any feeling that the story wasn’t news, it definitely is. The mishandling of the company and the flippant arrogance of Curt Schilling created an environment where I couldn’t write about it with impartiality.

    For those who don’t know about the situation, here’s the short version. Curt Schilling, star pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, made a deal with the state of Rhode Island to move his development studio, 38 Studios, into Rhode Island. The state agreed to give Schilling a $75 million loan in return for turning the state into a hub of game development. After only one game, the aforementioned Amalur, reports emerged of the studio not being able to pay back the first payment on their loan. The whole thing blew up yesterday when an email went around to all the employees telling them that they were to be laid off.

    It sad to see a group of talented individuals being laid off as their studio goes belly up, but it’s infuriating when the lay offs happen suddenly and without warning. We should not dwell on what has happened, however, as something amazing has come from what can only be labeled as a catastrophe.

    The game industry is kind of like a big family. If something hurts one of us, it hurts all of us. To that end, those within the game industry have banded together to make sure those affected by the lay offs at 38 Studios find new jobs. A Twitter hashtag, #38jobs, soon popped up with studios listing the openings they currently had.

    Soon after that, a Google Docs page was created with links to every job currently available in the industry. Granted, a lot of these jobs were located in other parts of the country or even in Canada, but the doc was sure to highlight those jobs close to Rhode Island. All in all, there were over 100 studios offering up jobs to the over 300 people that were laid off.

    The news of 38 Studios’ closure filled a lot of us with sadness and I’m sure a few were even angry. The swift action of the games industry has turned a potentially depressing and disastrous event into something that should be celebrated. Like I said, everybody in the games industry is like a big family. I’m sure those at 38 Studios are realizing just how amazing this industry can be.

    We here at WebProNews hope those affected by the lay offs find new work soon and get back to making amazing games. I would have loved to see more out of Amalur, but what we got is good enough. If you haven’t checked out the game yet, I highly recommend it. If not for my recommendation, check it out to see the passion that was put behind it by all the talented men and women involved.

  • Sony to cut 10,000 Jobs In Turn Around Effort

    In an effort to overcome an operating loss of $2.9 billion, Sony has announced that they are cutting 10,000 jobs. This cut amounts to nearly 6% of it’s overall workforce. Japanese stock market the Nikkei said half of the latest round of job cuts would come from consolidating the firm’s chemicals and small and midsize LCD operations. Sony said last month it was selling a chemical products division, accounting for some 3,000 people, while on April 1 it merged its Sony Mobile display unit, which had about 2,000 workers, with the small LCD panel businesses of Toshiba Corp and Hitachi Ltd into a new firm called Japan Display.

    Sony said last month it was selling a chemical products division, accounting for some 3,000 people, while on April 1 it merged its Sony Mobile display unit, which had about 2,000 workers, with the small LCD panel businesses of Toshiba Corp and Hitachi Ltd into a new firm called Japan Display. “Under a new CEO, it’s easier to cut jobs or go in a new direction,” said Yuuki Sakurai, head of fund manager Fukoku Capital. “One of the things I’d like to see is that they shift their resources to other areas outside TVs … If they stick to TVs, they may have to fight a war they may not be able to win.”

    As of press time, it is not clear how many of the jobs being cut will come from Japan or from other countries. They are also considering asking their executives to give their bonuses back.

    This is the second time in 4 years that Sony is announcing a layoff program featuring over 10,000 employees. In December of 2008 Sony announced 16,000 job cuts in the wake of the financial disaster. They have not posted a profit as a company since then.

    @CAcheKeys
    Twitballiye    Sony to Cut 10,000 Jobs, are they gonna change their slogan to Leave.Believe? 5 minutes ago via UberSocial for BlackBerry ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • Yahoo Chief Product Officer Quits

    Yahoo Chief Product Officer Quits

    Although Yahoo Inc. has not made an official announcement on the matter, it has been reported that Blake Irving, chief product officer for the company, has quit. His resignation is said to have been planned ahead of Yahoo’s layoff announcement earlier this week.

    Yahoo has been undergoing a massive restructuring, and the new plan will eventually eliminate the department that Irving was in charge of, as a big part of the thousands of employees that were laid off made up his former group. Adding further speculation of a general retooling of Yahoo’s leadership, co-founder and former CEO Jerry Yang resigned earlier this year, and chairman Roy Bostock declared that he is one of the four board members that won’t be seeking re-election.

    It’s been said that Irving was one of the chiefs who disagreed with CEO Scott Thompson’s plan for restructuring, and was specifically not too keen on the large number of layoffs with no set plan. Thompson has said that the layoffs were necessary to focus on Yahoo’s “core purpose,” and would save the company roughly $375 million. Despite the layoffs, resignations and speculation, Yahoo isn’t expected to formally say anything, until its quarterly report later in the month.

    Interestingly, Irving very recently spoke of “the next web,” referring to the future of the internet, and claimed it will be driven largely by Yahoo – “I see a future where deeply personal digital experiences are easy to discover, delightful to consume, and effortless to share. If done right, it will transform the way people use the Web. When I say ‘deep personalization,’ I don’t just mean some preference controls; I mean content that is so timely, relevant and personal that it actually adds meaning to your life.” Was Irving even referring to Yahoo?

  • Sega Streamlining Operations And Cutting Games

    It looks as though SEGA might just be on it’s last leg as a developer with clout in the gaming industry. Today it was announced that Sega Sammy’s gaming division is posting an operating loss of approx. $86 million. To combat the loss they have decided to streamline operations and to cancel games. They arre going to focus on core titles that they think are strong, like “Sonic the Hedgehog,”, “Football Manager”, “Total War” and “Aliens.”

    I for one am now worried that we will get no “Bayonetta” or “Devil May Cry” sequels. Also, never expect a true =, non-psp, seqel to the extremely good “Valkeria Chronicles.” This is exre,]mely disappointing in a number of other ways too, mostly because most of the “Sonic” games are just plain terrible.

    Here is an excerpt form the SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS INC. board of directors meeting that was held on March 30, 2012:

    1. Reason

    The Consumer Business centered on SEGA CORPORATION is expected to post operating loss in the year ending March 2012, due to the challenging economic climate and significant changes in the home video game software market environment in the U.S. and Europe. Given this circumstance, the companies determined that in order to actualize earnings recovery of the Consumer Business in the following period and after and return to a growth path, it is essential to streamline organizations in the field of home video game software in the U.S. and European markets, while shifting to a structure that corresponds to change in environment, including strengthening development in the field of digital content.

    2. Descriptions of measures

    (1) streamline organizations: We will streamline organization in the U.S. and Europe home video game software. This will create a smaller company positioned for sustained profitability.

    (2) Reduction of number of titles: We conducted detailed reviews of earnings projections for titles targeted toward the U.S. and European markets and decided to narrow down sales titles from the following period and after to strong IPs, such as “Sonic the Hedgehog,”, “Football Manager”, “Total War” and “Aliens” which are expected to continue posting solid earnings. In accordance with this, we are canceling the development of some game software titles. – 2 –

    (3) Booking impairment loss on work in process assets: We will book impairment loss on work in process assets concerning some titles after reevaluating the profitability of work in process concerning game software which are going to be sold in the U.S. and European markets from the end of the current fiscal period to the following fiscal period.

    (4) Processing of inventory: In accordance with the streamlining of organization in the U.S. and Europe markets, we will estimate allowance for expenses among game software inventories, including inventory on the market that is currently circulating.

    @sean_o_c
    Sean O’Connor    Sega, like THQ, is cutting back on mid-budget games with low sales expectations. I think the 7/10 range of games are now dead. 2 hours ago via Twitter for Android ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @Svend_SPOnG
    Svend Joscelyne    Not news I really want to hear. 🙁 SEGA restructuring its game business, job losses imminent – http://t.co/wVD9YGZ8 4 hours ago via Twitter for Mac ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @JensDietrich
    Jens Dietrich    My heart goes out to all the fine folks at @SEGA whose jobs are now at risk. You make great games and deserve better. 10 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • AT&T Slams Feds Using T-Mobile Layoffs

    AT&T Slams Feds Using T-Mobile Layoffs

    In a statement from Jim Cicconi, AT&T Senior EVP of External and Legislative Affairs, posted on AT&T’s policy blog this morning, the company slams the FCC by seemingly mocking T-mobile, who is in the process of laying off 1900 call center employees. AT&T asserts that they would’ve kept the call centers in business, if the FCC would’ve listened to them. Essentially, Cicconi’s statement blames the FCC for T-Mobile closing up some of its shop.

    Below is Cicconi’s blog post:

    “Yesterday, T-Mobile made the sad announcement that it would be closing seven call centers, laying off thousands of workers, and that more layoff announcements may follow. Normally, we’d not comment on something like this. But I feel this is an exception for one big reason– only a few months ago AT&T promised to preserve these very same call centers and jobs if our merger was approved. We also predicted that if the merger failed, T-Mobile would be forced into major layoffs.

    “At that time, the current FCC not only rejected our pledges and predictions, they also questioned our credibility. The FCC argued that the merger would cost jobs, not preserve them, and that rejecting it would save jobs. In short, the FCC said they were right, we were wrong, and did so in an aggressive and adamant way.

    “Rarely are a regulatory agency’s predictive judgments proven so wrong so fast. But for the government’s decision, centers now being closed would be staying open, workers now facing layoffs would have job guarantees, and communities facing turmoil would have security. Only a few months later, the truth of who was right is sadly obvious.

    “So what’s the lesson here? For one thing, it’s a reminder of why “regulatory humility” should be more than a slogan. The FCC may consider itself an expert agency on telecom, but it is not omniscient. And when it ventures far afield from technical issues, and into judgments about employment or predictions about business decisions, it has often been wildly wrong. The other lesson is even more important, and should be sobering. It is a reminder that in government, as in life, decisions have consequences. One must approach them not as an exercise of power but instead of responsibility, because, as I learned in my years of public service, the price of a bad decision is too often paid by someone else.”

    AT&T, apparently still miffed over the fact that its old plans for a merger with T-Mobile are long-dead, has basically pointed out the obvious – that T-Mobile is a struggling company.

    Very recently, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against AT&T for overcharging disabled people on their phone bills, by violating certain FCC rules. Naturally, AT&T denied any wrongdoing, and released the following statement on the matter:

    AT&T has followed the FCC’s rules for providing IP Relay services for disabled customers and for seeking reimbursement for those services. As the FCC is aware, it is always possible for an individual to misuse IP Relay services, just as someone can misuse the postal system or an email account, but FCC rules require that we complete all calls by customers who identify themselves as disabled.

    I wonder if I should contact the FCC the next time i receive a confusing Family Plan bill from AT&T.

  • AOL To Cut 50 Jobs

    According to the Wall Street Journal, AOL plans to cut up to 50 jobs from it’s AIM unit. AIM is best known for its Instant Messanger service. Among those being cut is vice president of AIM products, Jason Shellen. The layoffs are expected to occur within the next few weeks.

    AOL’s revenue has fallen over the years as its internet access customers unsubscribed, and was down 18% in 2011.

    Mention of the layoffs at AOL comes just days after AOL investor Starboard Value LP, owner of 5.2% of the company, began suggesting a push to replace up to half of AOL’s board. Starboard has criticized AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong’s big investment in content companies. Armstrong has been attempting to fashion AOL into an ad-supported digital content company, primarily through acquisitions of sites such as Huffington Post and TechCrunch, to generally ill avail. AOL has also been investing heavily in the Patch.com network, which reportedly lost roughly $100 million in 2011. As of late, AOL has lost executives Heather Harde, Tim Dierks, Alex Gounares, Tim Castelli, Brad Garlinghouse and Kiersten Hollars, which seemingly made it fashionable to quit the company.

    AOL has undergone a series of layoffs over the past few years. Last March, roughly 20% of its work force was cut. As of Dec. 31, AOL claims it employed about 5,660 people, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • AOL Rumored to Plan Layoffs

    AOL Rumored to Plan Layoffs

    AOL is rumored to be planning to lay off hundreds of its employees next week. According to Pando Daily, their source on the matter is legitimate. Allegedly, AOL might possibly be set to disappoint investors this quarter, and would like to have cost-cutting measures in place, when it comes time to explain themselves.

    AOL Patch Logo

    It has been suggested that AOL will obviously make cuts to its Patch division, and also in other unmentioned areas. Patch is AOL’s “community-specific news and information platform dedicated to providing comprehensive and trusted local coverage for individual towns and communities.” Patch reportedly lost roughly $100 million in 2011.

    AOL has been losing a lot of executives within the last while, though it is evident that this didn’t cut enough costs. With the Techcrunch snafu, which prompted the departure of Heather Harde, it has seemingly become a cool thing to quit AOL – The company has also lost Tim Dierks, Alex Gounares, Tim Castelli, Brad Garlinghouse and Kiersten Hollars.

  • Blizzard Announces 600 Layoffs, WoW Team Not Impacted

    Earlier today Blizzard announced that it had laid off 900 employees from various departments. Blizzard then clarified by saying “Constant evaluation of teams and processes is necessary for the long-term health of any business. Over the last several years, we’ve grown our organization tremendously and made large investments in our infrastructure in order to better serve our global community. However, as Blizzard and the industry have evolved we’ve also had to make some difficult decisions in order to address the changing needs of our company,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Knowing that, it still does not make letting go of some of our team members any easier. We’re grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the people impacted by today’s announcement, we’re proud of the contributions they made here at Blizzard, and we wish them well as they move forward.”

    They then made it very clear that the company anticipates approximately 90% of the affected employees will come from departments not related to game development. The World of Warcraft development team will not be impacted. I repeat: “The World of Warcraft development team will not be impacted!”

    If you are worried that these layoffs will impact some of their upcoming games, fret not. Blizzard clarified that their “current development and publishing schedules will not be impacted. The company will announce specific release plans for Diablo III in the near future, and it’s continuing to drive aggressively toward beta testing for World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, Blizzard DOTA, and StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm.”

    @RiotMontag
    Matt Agnello    Heart goes out to the Blizzard peeps who got caught in the layoffs. Best of luck out there, guys. http://t.co/Bv2TDaao 2 hours ago via Twitter for Mac ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @donal_cahalane
    DC Cahalane    Expecting really bad day for Cork jobs. All signs point towards massive Blizzard layoffs in customer service which is Cork’s function. 3 hours ago via Twitter for Mac ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • Suicides at the LA Times

    An operations plant worker and a company truck driver committed suicide just recently after being laid off from the LA Times staff. The big layoff happened just before the Christmas holiday.

    Recently fired blogging pressman Ed Padgett had some interest commentary regarding the layoffs:

    “Those folks each got $20,000 in severance,” claims Padgett about the suicides.

    Padgett also comments on how he and others were accused of planning a sabotage at LA Times:

    “Two of the fellows were let go two weeks early because they were worried about sabotage. They’re so paranoid, because it’s not just my department — it includes editorial.”

    Reportedly, the layoffs came just before the company decided to give huge bonuses to management at the organization.

  • AOL Layoffs Hit Again

    This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows of the Huffington Post acquisition (and particularly to anyone who’s been watching headlines for the past week or so), but AOL’s laying off employees again.  The total number of affected individuals is close to 1,000.

    Leena Rao, who actually works for AOL now that it’s been bought TechCrunch, confirmed some rough figures earlier this morning.  She wrote, “AOL will be letting go a little over 200 U.S. employees, around 120 of which are editorial staffers.  The remaining employees that are being let go also work in AOL’s media business but in other operations (technology, product).”

    Then, as rumors suggested, it turns out that the other employees targeted by these layoffs live in India.  Rao reported, “In total, India’s casualties are above 700 employees.  In India, AOL will be letting go around 400 employees and transitioning around approximately 300 employees to become contractors.”

    Let’s hope that last detail softens the blow a bit.

    Anyway, all this activity seems to have impressed investors.  At the moment, AOL’s stock is up 0.41 percent, even as the Dow is down 1.31 percent and the Nasdaq is down 1.52 percent.

    The latest round of layoffs may make AOL a more profitable company (and safer place to work) as intended, then.

  • AOL Layoff Rumors Resurface Again

    AOL Layoff Rumors Resurface Again

    Today’s workday may be another tough eight hours for AOL employees.  CEO Tim Armstrong himself has confirmed that more layoffs will occur due to the acquisition of the Huffington Post, and while the timing remains uncertain, tensions are sure to run high as rumors suggest people could start losing their jobs any time.

    To first discuss who’s supposed to be safe: employees of Engadget and TechCrunch should all be left alone, as Arianna Huffington said in an interview with Beet.TV that she “won’t mess” with them.

    Tim ArmstrongAlso, if it’s of any comfort to anyone, Armstrong, who said at the PaidContent 2011 Conference that his father had once been laid off, did at least promise, “[W]e’ll do it thoughtfully.”

    As for some of the people who could be at greatest risk, the Times of India reported this morning, “There is a buzz that AOL India is about to lay off people.  Some say the scale of layoffs would be substantial.”

    Not much else is known for sure.  AOL’s supposed to see $20 million in savings thanks to the acquisition, but the company hasn’t discussed the details of where all that money will come from.

    If we can confirm how many people or which departments will be affected, we’ll be sure to report those facts later.

  • Yahoo Confirms Layoffs Ahead Of Q4 Earnings Report

    In a few minutes, Yahoo will release an earnings report concerning the fourth quarter of 2010, but prior to that, the company’s admitted that yet another round of layoffs is taking place.  The number of affected individuals is probably in the neighborhood of 140.

    Obviously, that’s not great news for those people, and it may not be a good sign for Yahoo, either.  Many companies are expanding, not contracting, as the economy recovers.

    A related, key fact: Google in particular hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.  Remember that the search giant announced two acquisitions today and also indicated it would be hiring thousands of employees all over the world.

    Yahoo does have an explanation for this move, however.  The company said in a statement, "The personnel changes we are making are part of our ongoing strategy to best position Yahoo for revenue growth and margin expansion and to support our strategy to deliver differentiated products and experiences to the marketplace.  We’ll continue to hire on a global basis to support our key priorities."

    YahooAlso, to clarify (a little) about how many employees are losing their jobs, Yahoo said, "Today’s action impacts approximately 1 percent of the global employee base."

    Check back at WebProNews later to see how Yahoo performed in the fourth quarter of last year.

  • MySpace Confirms 47 Percent Staff Reduction

    If you happen to know anyone who’s employed by MySpace, today’s a good day to keep them in your thoughts.  MySpace CEO Mike Jones confirmed that heavy layoffs will occur, with 47 percent of the company’s employees (or roughly 500 people) due to be affected.

    While it’s hard to imagine that half of MySpace’s workforce contributed absolutely nothing, and it’s extra suspicious that Jones made his announcement at a time when the Verizon/iPhone hoopla was distracting everyone, the CEO did try to indicate that MySpace is in good shape now.

    Mike JonesJones explained in a statement, "Today’s tough but necessary changes were taken in order to provide the company with a clear path for sustained growth and profitability.  These changes were purely driven by issues related to our legacy business and in no way reflect the performance of the new MySpace."

    He later added, "[T]he new MySpace is trending positively and the good news is we have already seen an uptick in returning and new users.  Since the worldwide rollout of the new MySpace, there have been more than 3.3m new profiles created."

    The layoffs will make running MySpace a less expensive proposition for News Corp., in any event, and if News Corp. attempts to sell the property (as some rumors have indicated), they also could help convince potential buyers to step forward.

    Good luck to the affected individuals.

  • MySpace Layoff Rumors Intensify

    MySpace Layoff Rumors Intensify

    Rumors concerning the possibility of drastic layoffs at MySpace first surfaced on New Year’s Eve, and it seems that the start of 2011 hasn’t improved the situation.  A new report holds the percentage of employees who may be affected between 33 and 50, and even indicates that the layoffs could occur in the next few weeks.

    There’s not much more to tell at this point.  Jessica E. Vascellaro and Russell Adams just wrote, "One person familiar with the matter said the site could lay off between a third and a half of its roughly 1,100 employees.  Another person said the moves could be announced as soon as this month."

    Harsh as that may sound, the layoffs would arguably represent a less drastic measure than other possibilities, as well.  Consider that, less than two months ago, News Corp.’s COO said MySpace’s losses "are not acceptable or sustainable."  Talk of a sale resulted, but no potential buyers came forward.

    Talk of a shutdown began to circulate, too, with not many people coming to MySpace’s defense.

    Credit for first reporting the likelihood of another major round of layoffs at MySpace goes to Liz Gannes, in any event.

    We’ll be sure to keep an eye on the situation.

  • Yahoo Puts Pre-Tax Cost Of Layoffs At $33-$38 Million

    Shareholders may grumble, but there’s perhaps a bit of good news regarding the four percent of Yahoo’s employees who were laid off last week.  Yahoo’s calculated the pre-tax cost of the layoffs at somewhere in the neighborhood of $35 million.

    A form the company filed with the SEC explained, "In connection with the worldwide workforce reduction, the Company expects to incur pre-tax cash charges of $33 million to $38 million for severance pay expenses and related cash expenditures."  That should add up to some very nice exit packages.

    Then Yahoo also shared something to help take the bite out of things for investors.  The form continued, "The estimated pre-tax cash charges are expected to be offset by a $4 million to $6 million credit related to stock-based compensation expense reversals."

    YahooAnyway, most of the severance charges should show up on paper during the fourth quarter of this year, and Yahoo will finish officially recognizing them before the end of the first quarter of 2011.

    A quick note regarding the company’s short-term performance: Yahoo’s stock is down 0.98 percent this morning, which puts it in significantly worse shape than the Dow (down 0.36 percent) and Nasdaq (down 0.20 percent).

  • Significant Yahoo Layoffs Rumored

    Significant Yahoo Layoffs Rumored

    At a time when people should be decorating their offices in a festive manner, it seems that a large number of Yahoo employees will instead have to carry away their belongings in cardboard boxes.  Multiple sources indicate that Yahoo intends to conduct another round of layoffs in December.

    Indeed, it’s almost certain at this point that layoffs will occur.  The big question is how many people will be affected.  Michael Arrington, who broke the story, claimed that 20 percent of Yahoo’s employees – or around 2,500 individuals – will get cut, and he stuck by that figure even after Yahoo called it "misleading and inaccurate."

    Kara Swisher, meanwhile, wrote, "[T]he layoffs . . . will be closer to 10 percent and be almost completely centered on the product organization under Chief Product Officer Blake Irving, said sources close to the situation. . . .  That would mean layoffs of about 650, since that part of Yahoo has about 6,500 employees."

    So we’ll see what happens.

    YahooEither way, though, it looks like the company is preparing to slim down quite a bit.  And although that should save Yahoo some money, investors don’t appear too excited about the idea, given that Yahoo’s stock has fallen 1.58 percent so far today.

    In comparison, the Dow and Nasdaq are only down 0.79 percent and 1.03 percent, respectively.