MySpace To Terminate 2/3 Of universal Staff
June 23, 2009 ·Filed Under Technology News
MySpace is planning to lay off 300 of its 450 non-U.S. employees, it announced that , confirming our earlier report. Just one person in three gets to keep his or her job. The company has now announced that by 700 of it’s 1,800 total employees have been or will be laid off - 30% of U.S. staff last week, and 66% of non-U.S. staff today.
The company will not confirm whether Managing Director Travis Katz is still with the company (we reported earlier that evening that he has left the company). Update: sources at MySpace are saying that Katz will remain with MySpace and that “his role hasn’t changed.” The company will still not reply to an on-the-record ask for comment about Katz.
TechCrunch Europe has the press release and e mail from MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta to what’s left of staff.
The company additionally says that it will close “at least 4 of its offices outside the United States,” adding “Upon completion of the proposed plan, London, Berlin, and Sydney would become the primary regional hubs for MySpace’s worldly operations. Under the proposed plan, MySpace would place all existing offices in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, and Spain under review for possible restructure. MySpace China, a locally owned, operated, and managed company, and MySpace’s joint venture in Japan would not be affected by the proposed plan.”
The newsletter to employees notes absurdly that the “restructuring steps we have taken have laid the groundwork for an exciting new chapter of innovation for MySpace” (with nearly half of MySpace staff now laid off, the few that are left are thinking about everything except innovation). He additionally says “I look forward to working with you all and speaking with you in the coming days.” I’m certain he’ll get something less than a warm reception.
From: Owen Van Natta
Sent: martedì 23 giugno 2009 11.30
To: FIM MySpace All
Subject: fundamental: PROPOSED worldly RESTRUCTURE
Importance: High
Everyone,
Last week we made a number of changes to MySpace’s domestic structure in order to create a leaner, more nimble organization. Today, we are announcing the next step in our overall restructuring effort - a proposal to streamline our operations abroad.
Unlike our recent domestic restructuring announcement, what we are announcing today is a formal proposal we mean to implement, rather than an executed plan. As called for by laws in countries where we operate, we will not implement the plan until we have consulted with potentially affected employees. As a
Similar to our domestic restructuring, our worldly plan is designed to rein in growth in staff and expenses that we cannot sustain. Our proposal would reduce MySpace’s worldly staff from 450 employees to approximately 150 employees and close at least 4 of our offices outside the United States.
Upon completion of the proposed plan, London, Berlin, and Sydney would become the primary regional hubs for MySpace’s worldly operations. Under the proposed plan, MySpace would place all existing offices in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, and Spain under review for possible restructure. MySpace China, a locally owned, operated, and managed company, and MySpace’s joint venture in Japan would not be affected by the proposed plan.
We are focusing on London, Berlin, and Sydney for two very simple reasons: (1) these are markets where we have a lot of MySpace users as well as the resources to allow us to compete effectively and (2) these are major universal commerce centers where a robust MySpace presence can help our company develop new and innovative business partnerships.
As with the domestic changes we made last week, these proposed worldly reductions and eliminations will be extremely challenging – professionally and personally. These are difficult decisions and they are fundamental to our financial well-being and the re-establishment of our overall growth strategy.
Our goal to tap into as many universal markets as possible drove us to create too many offices around the globe, and with them came inefficiencies. Under the new plan, we will refocus our efforts on regional business partnerships and integration in a smaller number of territories, while retaining a robust worldly presence. We remain steadfast in our commitment to reaching a global audience.
The last two weeks have been hardy for everyone. The employees who leave us played an crucial role in the successes of MySpace in these worldly markets, and I thank them for their hard and committed work. The restructuring steps we have taken have laid the groundwork for an exciting new chapter of innovation for MySpace. I look forward to working with you all and speaking with you in the coming days.
Thank you,
Owen
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