Net consulting firm restructures, cuts staff

E-business consulting firm Luminant announced on Thursday that it is cutting its staff by 18 percent as part of a companywide restructuring.

Gartner analysts Lorrie Scardino and Frances Karamouzis say the difficulties many specialty e-business consulting companies now face matter less than how they plan to respond. see commentary

As part of the layoffs, the Dallas-based company said that it would reduce the size of its Seattle, New York and Washington, D.C., offices. The layoffs affect some 174 of the company's 950 employees.

"What we've done is take a step back and say, 'What are the characteristics of a business that is going to be successful in the Internet professional services marketplace?'" said Richard Scruggs, Luminant's executive vice president. These changes "are going to mean a company that is steadily growing, more profitable and very focused."

The layoffs are only the latest in a slew of job cuts in the Internet industry. This week, Evite.com, Respond.com, eBay-owned Butterfields, Amazon.com-backed Pets.com, and Furniture.com also laid off staff.

The layoffs are the second job cuts at Luminant in two months. Last month, the e-services firm announced a 7 percent staff cut as part of an effort to reduce expenses and move toward profitability.