TechCrunch: "Massive" Layoffs Coming at MySpace

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 11, 2009 - 10:12am.

San Francisco - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace online social network is preparing for a "massive" round of layoffs, a source tells TechCrunch, while another pegs the number of cuts at between 300 and 500. The sources did not say whether the layoffs would affect parent company Fox Interactive Media -- which also includes IGN, Photobucket and Flektor -- but MySpace accounts for some 1,600 of the unit's 2,900 employees.

MySpace co-founder and CEO Chris DeWolfe stepped down in April, shortly after former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller assumed the role of CEO of Digital Media at News Corp.

"Like any company with new leadership, Fox Interactive Media is reviewing every aspect of our operations, performance and structure," a Fox Interactive Media spokesperson told TechCrunch, when asked about the layoff rumors.

Worldwide page views at MySpace went from 47.4 billion in March 2008 to 38 billion in March 2009, a decline of 20%.

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http://snipurl.com/jxj82 (TechCrunch)