Fring cuts staff by 20 percent

Fring.com, a provider of voice over IP and instant-messaging applications, has laid off 20 percent of its staff, or about 10 people, according to a report Thursday on TechCrunch.

CEO Avi Shechter told TechCrunch that the company was doing well, and that the staff reductions were designed to ensure that the company had enough money to get through 2009. The Israel-based start-up, which had raised $13 million in previous funding rounds, told Tech Crunch that it had recently raised a third round but declined to discuss the amounts or investors.