MySpace Fires Nearly Half Their Staff

First they tried new profiles, then they focused their core business around entertainment and music and now MySpace has fired 47% of their staff…talk about mixing it up at the headquarters for the one-time internet darling.

MySpace CEO Mike Jones said in a statement that the company would layoff 500 employees, positions that will be eliminated both in the United States and in other locations around the world.

“With our recent relaunch as an entertainment destination for Gen Y, we introduced a much tighter focus, a significantly streamlined product and an updated technology platform,” Jones revealed in a statement on Tuesday.

The move shouldn’t surprise anyone who has been following the company as MySpace has been planning to localize their advertising buys with the help of company’s in the UK, Germany and Australia. MySpace has also streamlined their focus, which means less people are needed to make the site run in the areas for which it focuses on at this time.

According to Mashable:

Additional rumors concerning MySpace say that the site is still suffering from declining traffic and revenue — and that it may even be sold some time this year.

Ironically the layoffs come at a time when several top trending company’s have found “positive trending upswings” for the company after their move towards being an entertainment hub.

The layoffs shouldn’t come as a surprise our own Kim LaCapria reported about the company’s layoff plans yesterday.