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MySpace facing 30 percent cut in workforce to improve efficiency

2009-06-16 22:19:13 (GMT) (Caymanmama.com - Business Technology News)

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Fox Interactive Media headquarters, where MySpace is also housed

San Francisco, California (CaymanMama.com) — Popular social networking site MySpace announced Tuesday it will be eliminating roughly 30 percent of its workforce in a move to become more efficient, and to bring its staffing level close to the amount of its rival, Facebook.

This effort, the latest streamlining move for the site, comes less than two months after the unit of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. hired ex-Facebook executive Owen Van Natta, 39, as its new CEO.

The move also closely follows the release of new data from tracking firm comScore indicating Facebook has caught up with MySpace in monthly United States visitors — a first for the sites.

“Simply put, our staffing levels were bloated and hindered our ability to be an efficient and nimble team-oriented company,” Van Natta said in a statement.

The workforce cuts amount to about 420 employees, bringing the total number of MySpace’s staff in the U.S. to 1,000. As of May, Facebook employed global 850 employees, with the most being in the United States.

According to the Associated Press, “MySpace’s user base has stagnated at about 125 million worldwide users, while Facebook said its usage has doubled to more than 200 million in less than a year.”

“Thirty percent is more than a haircut. It’s chopping the head off,” eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson said. “It’s obviously a very aggressive move by Owen Van Natta and Jon Miller to send a message to the marketplace that they’re really taking the turnaround of MySpace seriously. It says, ‘Wow, we’re really going to try to change this culture.’”



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