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Rumors: MySpace to lay off more staff this week

The social network will reportedly lay off at least 150 employees on Wednesday, one report claims. The company currently employs about 400 people.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
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Don Reisinger
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MySpace is nearing another major round of layoffs, multiple reports suggest.

Gawker first reported on the possible layoffs yesterday, saying that rumors swirling around the company suggested that major layoffs are coming this week. One Gawker source told the blog that some employees "are actually hoping" for layoffs.

Following that, TechCrunch reported late last night that it had "confirmed" with a source that at least 150 employees will be laid off on Wednesday. In addition, the source told TechCrunch that 150 more employes will be placed on a "transition plan" that will allow them to work while they try to find another job. MySpace currently has about 400 employees, TechCrunch says.

If MySpace does lay off employees this week, it would mark the second major staff cut this year for the embattled company. In January, MySpace implemented a "significant organizational restructuring" that saw 47 percent of its staff cut around the world.

MySpace once stood atop the social-networking mountain. But after people jumped to Facebook, the company fell far behind and was finally forced last year to undergo a massive redesign that stripped away its former social-networking roots and focused the site around pop culture for younger users.

In January, MySpace said its redesign was catching on. The company said that 3.3 million new profiles were created and that its mobile users were up 4 percent to 22 million since the change. According to the company's site, it currently has 100 million users worldwide.

However, things aren't turning around enough at MySpace, and The Wall Street Journal reported in April that the site's owner, News Corp., had hired investment banks to sell off the company. According to the report, News Corp. wouldn't accept anything less than $100 million for MySpace. The company bought MySpace in 2005 for $580 million.

MySpace did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment on its rumored layoffs.