Layoffs

Report: Game Publisher LucasArts Lays Off 75-100

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 6, 2008 - 11:14am.

Los Angeles - George Lucas' LucasArts game publishing unit this week laid off 75 to 100 of its employees, including VP of product development Peter Hirschmann and Shawn Storc, producer of its LEGO-themed "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" titles, Kotaku reported.

tags: Games | Movies | LucasArts | Layoffs |

Report: Internet Video Set-top Maker Akimbo Shutting Down

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 23, 2008 - 8:49am.

San Mateo, Calif. - Akimbo, a maker of broadband set-top boxes that delivered video to televisions, and recently received $4 million in new funding to take the company in a new direction, has terminated most staff and is shutting down, VentureBeat reported. Demo.com adds that the company was unable to raise another $4 million from outside investors, and so laid off 14 employees while it hunts for a buyer.

tags: VC | Video | TV | Akimbo | Layoffs |

Media General Will Have Cut 750 Positions By July

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 23, 2008 - 6:44am.

Richmond, Va. - To cope with the major downturn in the newspaper industry, Virginia-based Media General, the large media company that owns dozens of newspapers and television stations throughout the Southeast, announced on Thursday that it will have reduced its headcount by 750 positions by the beginning of the third quarter.

Report: EMI Plans Up to 1,000 Additional Job Cuts

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 13, 2008 - 9:42am.

London - U.K.-based major record label EMI, which under new owner, Guy Hands' Terra Firma, has already announced 1,500 to 2,000 layoffs at its recorded music division, now plans to eliminate an additional up to 1,000 positions, bringing the company's total headcount from around 4,500 to 2,000, The Telegraph reported, citing sources.

AOL Laying Off 100 from Platform-A Ad Unit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 18, 2008 - 10:26am.

New York - Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) AOL is laying off around 100 employees from its new Platform-A advertising unit, which was created through the blending of several acquisitions, including Adverstising.com, Tacoda, Quigo, Third Screen Media, Lightningcast and Adtech, Silicon Alley Insider reports.

Publisher Nielsen Business Media Lays Off 40

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 10, 2008 - 9:05am.

New York - Nielsen Business Media, the division of the ratings, publishing and events company that publishes titles including The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Editor & Publisher, Mediaweek and Adweek, has laid off 40-50 staffers, according to reports on Fishbowl NY and Folio.com.

Google to Lay Off 300 from DoubleClick U.S.

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 3, 2008 - 10:14am.

Mountain View, Calif. - Google (NASD: GOOG) will lay off about 300 employees from its recently acquired online ad firm DoubleClick, or about a quarter of the company's U.S. staff, The New York Times reported, citing a person with direct knowledge of the plan.

Technology Publisher CNET Lays Off 120; 4-5% of Staff

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 26, 2008 - 1:13pm.

*A correction has been made to this story.

San Francisco
- Technology publisher CNET Networks (NASD: CNET) said on Wednesday that it will lay off 120 employees, or about 4-5% of its worldwide staff, as part of a plan to "put greater emphasis on its strategic priorities, which include focusing on its leading brands, driving greater efficiencies throughout the business, and reducing costs," the company said in a regulatory filing.

Motricity to Cut 250 Jobs, Move HQ to Washington

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 4, 2008 - 11:43am.

Durham, N.C. - Motricity, a provider of mobile content delivery services, has announced that it will cut 250 jobs over the next nine months.

Polaroid Plans to Shut Down Instant Film Production

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 15, 2008 - 8:19am.

Norwood, Mass. - The Polaroid Corp. has announced that it plans to wind down its instant film business, a response to the ever-growing popularity of digital photography.

tags: Layoffs | Images | Polaroid |

Report: New York Times to Cut 100 Newsroom Jobs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 14, 2008 - 10:37am.

New York - The New York Times has announced to editorial employees that it will cut 100 jobs from the company's newsroom this year, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

Yahoo Cuts Jobs as Microsoft Vows to "Move Forward"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 12, 2008 - 11:54am.

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Two weeks after announcing plans to cut 1,000 jobs, Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) on Tuesday was expected to notify the affected employees, The Wall Street Journal reported. The cuts come at a time when Yahoo is attempting to stave off a hostile takeover by Microsoft (NASD: MSFT), which on Tuesday vowed to "move forward" with its acquisition efforts after Yahoo's board on Monday officially rejected its $44.6 billion offer.

Sega to Cut 400 Employees Amid Growing Losses

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 8, 2008 - 9:20am.

Tokyo - Struggling video game and pachinko machine company Sega Sammy Holdings announced this week that it will lay off 400 employees at its game software division, or about 5% of its workforce, after stating that it expects to report a $242 million loss for its fiscal year.

tags: Games | Layoffs | Sega Sammy |

Movie Gallery to Close 400 Additional Rental Stores

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 5, 2008 - 8:56am.

Dothan, Ala. - Movie Gallery, the nation's second-largest video rental chain behind Blockbuster, on Tuesday announced plans to close an additional 400 underperforming and unprofitable Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores.

Yahoo to Cut 1,000 Jobs; Names CTO, Signs Ad Deal with AT&T

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 30, 2008 - 8:37am.

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) said yesterday that it will lay off 1,000 employees, or about 7% of its staff of 14,300, as part of a company realignment, after reporting that its fourth quarter profit was down 23%. The company said it would take a charge of between $20 and $25 million to pay for costs associated with the layoffs, which along with other cost-cutting measures are expected to reduce its annual expenses by over $100 million.

Yahoo Reportedly to Lay Off "Hundreds"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 22, 2008 - 11:57am.

San Francisco - Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) will lay off "hundreds" from its staff of 14,000 employees as part of a plan to increase profitability and narrow its scope of offerings, The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing people close to the company. News of the impending layoffs was first reported by Silicon Alley Insider.

tags: Video | Music | Yahoo | Layoffs |

DVR Maker Digeo Cuts Half of Staff; CEO Fidler Steps Down

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 15, 2008 - 10:44am.

Kirkland, Wash. - Digeo, a maker of digital video recorder devices and services under the Moxi brand name, announced on Tuesday that it will lay off nearly half of its staff, or 80 employees, and cancelled plans to release two new product lines. Kirkland, Wash.-based Digeo, which is majority-owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, also announced that CEO Mike Fidler has stepped down, and been replaced by president and COO Greg Gudorf.

tags: TV | Movies | DVR | Layoffs | Digeo | Moxi |

EMI Restructuring Plan Includes up to 2,000 Layoffs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 15, 2008 - 8:38am.

London - Major record label EMI Group on Tuesday announced a major restructuring, that will see between 1,500 and 2,000 of the company's 5,500 employees let go, and other initiatives the company says will reduce costs by $393 million annually. "We have spent a long time looking intensely at EMI and the problems faced by its Recorded Music division which, like the rest of the music industry, has been struggling to respond to the challenges posed by a digital environment," said EMI chairman Guy Hands, whose private equity firm Terra Firma acquired EMI last year for $4.7 billion.

Online Video Broadcaster ROO Details Restructuring, Layoffs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 14, 2008 - 11:30am.

New York - Online video broadcaster ROO Group on Monday further detailed its restructuring efforts, announcing it will shutter its business solutions unit and lay off 10 employees.

tags: Video | IPTV | Layoffs | ROO Group | CDN |

Virtual Worlds Developer Electric Sheep Co. Lays Off 22

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 20, 2007 - 8:04am.

Washington - The Electric Sheep Company, a creator of 3D virtual world content, has laid off 22 employees, or about one-third of its staff, Virtual Worlds News reports.