MySpace Layoffs: Nearly Half Of Employees Could Be Let Go

Once a social networking behemoth, News Corp.-owned MySpace's rapid descent up against competition like Facebook and Twitter may soon lead to mass layoffs.

The Wall Street Journal, itself operated by a division of News Corp., reported today that MySpace is preparing "a dramatic downsizing of its business." Someone familiar with the matter told WSJ that a third to a half of its 1,100 employees could be let go and another source said the layoffs could be officially announced as soon as this month.

Rumblings of MySpace layoffs were first reported by All Things Digital, also News Corp.-operated, on New Year's Eve, just days ago.

Home to more than 80 million visitors per month in the summer of 2007, its audience has dwindled to under 40 million visitors per month in the past year, according to Quantcast.

In an effort to stay relevant, MySpace has aggressively sought to rebrand itself as an entertainment hub and deepened its relationship with Facebook with a stronger integration between the sites last month. The MySpace logo was redesigned in October, when the site also underwent a significant redesign.

In an earnings call in October, Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey stated that MySpace's losses were not "acceptable or sustainable." Nearly the entire MySpace staff had off the last week of December in an apparent cost-cutting measure, which the company denied, stating it was "an employee perk."

Comments

[lazrfrhr]

08:54 PM on 01/05/2011

Ah yeah, probably! Sorry MySpace, but Facebook is here to stay. & I can put my music on there - what??? Awesome. Just found BandPage on Facebook. So good. http://www.insidefacebook.com/2011/01/05/rootmusic-bandpage-app-funding/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+InsideFacebook+(Inside+Facebook) Very nice.

[harmonikasavingsbonds]

07:01 PM on 01/05/2011

MySpace lost me when they redesigned themselves to look like Facebook, where trite people connect for pointless reasons.

[Dadzilla]

12:39 PM on 01/05/2011

MySpace lost me when they killed groups. Facebook could drive a nail in that coffin by offering them.

[diehard2]

09:17 AM on 01/05/2011

And they will all be chanting the Facebook Creed sooner or later:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akb5NyZaA9c

[cgeorgan]

08:31 AM on 01/05/2011

"MySpace:  Nearly Half of Employees Could Be Let Go."

The other half will remain to sell all of the equipment and lock the doors behind themselves.

[Johnson Schwanz]

07:14 AM on 01/05/2011

MySpace employees, let not your heart be troubled. In three years after the social bubble pops, you will read the same article about Facebook.

[ResearchtheFacts]

04:30 AM on 01/05/2011

They can close the doors.  They are done.

[Amber Marquez]

02:13 AM on 01/05/2011

YOU SHOULD'VE KEPT THE OLD MYSPACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jsarets]

01:34 AM on 01/05/2011

Reminds me of The Onion's tribute to Friendster:

http://www.theonion.com/video/internet-archaeologists-find-ruins-of-friendster-c,14389/

[DRaymond]

03:49 AM on 01/05/2011

Wonderfully droll link.

[Dave Bee]

12:49 AM on 01/05/2011

what did they expect after one of the WORST updates in website history. the new myspace is a god awful sloppy mess of flash and confusing garbage. They should just go back and call it Myspace Classic.

[Undead]

01:21 AM on 01/05/2011

That's actually a really good solution. I've been writing code for web for some 15 years now and am still scratching my head at the new myspace. The one thing Face Book just doesn't have their act together with is music, people still use myspace music to keep up on bands, gigs etc. Old Rupert should concentrate on that than a really poor copy of Facebook which is what MY_______ is now that looks as if a 12 year old wrote and designed it.

[man in the middle]

12:46 AM on 01/05/2011

Why don't News corpse just stop stringing employees along and just end the freaking thing already.

[MikeyJaii]

11:11 PM on 01/04/2011

Myspace is pretty much dead...

[Mr Bad Example]

10:34 PM on 01/04/2011

For a company that is supposedly based on "social interaction", the technogeeks in the back offices at MySpace have gone out of their way to alienate those who are trying to socialize. From limiting the number of times an individual can post in an (undisclosed) timeframe {effectively shutting down written online live discussions} to shrinking the usable space on profile pages to the point where writing groups have given up, to trying to post a note on your page every time you click a mouse button, almost every decision they've made has been horrid. Good luck to those laid off using any of the work they've done as a reference for a new job.

[MG Metiva]

10:33 PM on 01/04/2011

All the 2,500+ Poke'mon fan pages on Facebook get more traffic in a month than MySpace is these days.

[studmoose]

09:46 PM on 01/04/2011

Where's your GOP / Tea Party Fanboys to save you, Rupert?

Oh, that's right. Most of them are in their mid-70's and older and aren't web savvy.