Remaining MySpace employees might want to make sure their resumes are up-to-date. The beleaguered company is rumored to have layoffs planned for this week, Gawker is reporting.
TechCrunch says the News Corp.-owned site will cut at least 150 employees from its staff of about 400 people. Another 150 people will allegedly be placed on a "transition plan," which means they'd still be laid off but allowed to continue to work with pay for a few weeks while they search for a new job.
MySpace kicked off the year by laying off about 500 people, 47 percent of its staff. It appears the company is once again trimming its workforce significantly to make itself look more attractive for a sale, which apparently has been a daunting task, considering potential suitors have been scarce. However, TechCrunch claims that a sale is very near complete, and that an agreement will be signed Tuesday with a formal announcement to follow on Friday.
It's not clear who's buying MySpace; names of rumored buyers include Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, LivingSocial, and Buzzmedia, TechCrunch says. However, All Things D's Kara Swisher reported earlier this month that the investment group that includes Kotick is the sole interested party.
News Corp. bought MySpace in 2005 for $580 million, and it's rumored that the company won't accept less than $100 million for the troubled social site. Perhaps that stance is part of the reason why six months after the news of a MySpace sale first broke, a buyer has yet to be announced.