MySpace wield New Year axe
MySpace, the struggling social network site, is reportedly preparing to shed up to 50% of its workforce by mid January in response to plummeting traffic.
The savage cuts come despite a prior 30% reduction in staff numbers last summer.
That followed an extensive makeover in which advertising was made less obtrusive and added functionality, including customisation and sharing options were added - even to arch rival Facebook.
According to comScore revenues and traffic at MySpace fell off a precipice last year, as the site lost nearly 30m unique users between September 2009 and November 2010 to 81.5m over the 14 month period.
Faced with falling revenues and traffic owners News Corporation are seeking to cut costs in advance of a mulled sale by the middle of 2012.
News Corp paid $580m for MySpace in 2005 but swiftly ceded its advantage to Facebook.