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Report: MySpace Planning Huge Layoffs

 & Leslie Horn Reporter

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MySpace Mashup with Facebook

MySpace is preparing to make huge layoffs. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the social-networking site could be cutting between a third to a half of its staff.

Although reps from MySpace did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the Journal cited a "person familiar with the matter" who said that these changes could be announced this month.

MySpace's staff is currently about 1,100 people strong. The site has been struggling to stay relevant in the past few years as Facebook has eclipsed its popularity.

The last round of layoffs took place in June of 2009 when MySpace cut its staff by 30 percent in the U.S. About a week later, MySpace also reduced its international workforce by 300 people.

Since then, MySpace has been going through a transitional period. After announcing a site overhaul that focused more on entertainment and music, the News Corp.-owned site announced "Mashup with Facebook" which will allow users to link the two services and receive customized, entertainment-based updates on MySpace based on their Facebook preferences.

According to the Journal, Myspace had 54.4 million unique visitors in the U.S. in November, a 15 percent decrease from a year ago. On the other hand Facebook had 151.7 million unique visitors, which was a 50 percent increase from November 2009.

News Corp. bought the site in 2005 for $580 million, but it hasn't exactly been a cash cow for the media company. In the last quarter, the segment of News Corp. that owns MySpace lost $156 million.

"We've been clear that MySpace is a problem," News Corp. chief operating officer Chase Carey said in a conference call. "Current losses are not acceptable or sustainable. Our current management did not create these losses but they know we have to address them."

Whether the rumored layoffs will be part of addressing the MySpace issue remains to be seen.

About Our Expert

Leslie Horn

Leslie Horn

Reporter

Leslie Horn joined the PCMag team as a news reporter in the fall of 2010. She covered a wide range of topics, from digital media to the latest Apple rumor. After graduating with a degree in Magazine Journalism from the University of Missouri, she wrote for Out & About, a travel guide in coastal Maine. One of her favorite reporting experiences was covering the 2008 Olympics from Beijing. She travels every chance she gets; a favorite trip was backpacking along the coast of Brazil. Though she was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Leslie embraces life as a New Yorker.

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