Want CNET to notify you of price drops and the latest stories?
X

Sporting goods store changes gears

Amazon.com-backed online sporting goods store Gear.com cuts 20 workers as part of a companywide restructuring.

Amazon.com-backed online sporting goods store Gear.com has laid off 20 workers as part of a companywide restructuring.

As part of the restructuring, president Ken Blue has resigned. Chief financial officer Joe Kenny and chief marketing officer Kevin Quigley have taken over as co-presidents of the Seattle-based company.

Quigley said the changes were part of a "mid-course" correction by Gear.com that would ensure the company's survival "well into next year."

"We've gone through a hyper-growth stage," Quigley said. "We're now focusing on planned growth, an operating mentality."

The layoffs affect about 30 percent of the company's work force. The laid off employees were given severance packages, Quigley said.

The news is only the latest in a string of dot-com disappointments. On Friday, jewelry e-tailer Miadora.com closed shop, laying off some 77 employees.

Gear.com is only the latest Amazon.com partner to face tough times. Online grocer Kozmo.com went through two rounds of layoffs this summer. Living.com closed its doors and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month.

Amazon, which owns significant stakes in Living.com and Kozmo, bought a 49 percent stake in Gear.com last year.

Quigley said Gear.com, which raised $12 million in second-round funding in July, has enough cash to last the company until after the holiday season.