RealNetworks Laying Off 130 Employees; 7.5% of Workforce

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 5, 2008 - 11:27am.

Seattle - Media delivery technology firm RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) announced on its blog this week that it is laying off 7.5% of its global workforce, or about 130 employees, "as part of a budgeting process that is intended to bring expenses in line with current and prospective economic realities. While our business has not been affected as much as many others, we aren't immune to what's going on in the broader economy," wrote Bill Hankes, vice president of corporate communications at RealNetworks.

In an internal memo, posted by All Things D, chairman and CEO Rob Glaser noted that one third of those affected will be departing the company's Seattle headquarters, while the remaining two thirds will be cut from the company's U.S. and international operations, respectively.

The company said that laid off employees will remain on the payroll through the end of the year, in addition to being offered a cash severance package based on their length of service.

RealNetworks also maintained that, despite the restructuring, it expects to report record revenue for the year.