Monday November 27 11:20 AM ET
Dot-Com Layoffs Hit Record in November
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A record number of job cuts were announced in the Internet industry in November, surpassing the 5,677 job cuts seen in October by 55 percent, according to a report released by recruitment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. on Monday.
Since last December, when Challenger began tracking dot-com job cuts, about 31,056 jobs have been cut in the sector. A total of 8,789 jobs were cut in November.
The layoffs have come from 383 companies, of which 20 percent have gone out of business. Services such as consulting, financial and information suffered the most cuts since December and accounted for 40 percent, or 12,551, of the total layoffs in the sector. Retail was second with 7,863 cuts.
``Following the stock price plummet, many companies are running on fumes when it comes to cash. Prospects for a pre-New Year IPO are slim. Meanwhile, pre- and post-IPO dot-coms still have not been able to turn the corner to profitability,'' Said John Challenger, chief executive of the firm, in a statement.
He added that the fallout will likely continue in December and January with more dot-com closures and layoffs.
Recent casualties included:
--Internet access provider ZipLink Inc. (NasdaqNM:ZIPL - news), which said it would suspend operations and lay off up to 80 percent of its 1,000 employees after failing to raise needed capital and failing to find a buyer.
--Online financial news provider TheStreet.com Inc. (NasdaqNM:TSCM - news) , which cut 111 jobs in another attempt to accelerate its move toward profitability.
--Online advertising network 24/7 Media Inc. (NasdaqNM:TFSM - news), which said it would cut 200 jobs.
--Internet Capital Group Inc. (NasdaqNM:ICGE - news) , which said it would cut 35 percent of its staff. |
