The $1.2 billion on the books of GRPN is a bit misleading as they owe $600 million to their vendors. Even if Groupon were able to either sell off or wind down their operations, the ensuing litigation would cloud any value the shell might have. Anyway, Groupon might eventually be in the position where their most significant competitors have fallen by the wayside.
LivingSocial expected to lay off 400 in U.S.
Washington Business Journal by Bill Flook, Staff Reporter
Date: Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 2:55pm EST - Last Modified: Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 3:18pm EST
LivingSocial Inc. is slated to launch a major round of layoffs Thursday, with as many as 400 job cuts expected across its U.S. workforce, according to sources with knowledge of the daily deal giant’s plans.
Those cuts are expected to span a wide range of positions and markets, including in LivingSocial’s home turf of D.C., the sources said. It is not known how many will occur in D.C., where LivingSocial maintains six offices downtown.
A LivingSocial spokesman declined to comment.
The layoffs raise a host of questions about the future. First and foremost: LivingSocial in July won an up-to $32.5 million tax break from the D.C. Council on the promise that it would stay based in D.C. The legislation calls on the company not only to maintain and expand its 1,000-employee base in the District, but to move into a new headquarters of at least 200,000 square feet. With a smaller local staff, opening up a larger D.C. office becomes far less practical, raising questions about whether LivingSocial will be able to claim that credit when it takes effect in 2016.
For the 5-year-old social commerce company, the long-rumored layoffs reflect a struggle to stabilize itself financially after a frenzied headcount expansion in 2011. LivingSocial, which has raised more than $800 million in funding, entered 2012 with a staff of roughly 5,000. The company’s most recent publicly disclosed headcount stands at “more than 4,500 employees,” according to its website.
LivingSocial posted a net loss of $566 million in the third quarter, $496 million of which stems from a massive write-down of some of its acquisitions from 2011. Its revenue fell to $124 million in the three-month period, down from $138 million in the second quarter.
LivingSocial Inc. is slated to launch a major round of layoffs Thursday, with as many as 400 job cuts expected across its U.S. workforce, according to sources with knowledge of the daily deal giant’s plans.
Those cuts are expected to span a wide range of positions and markets, including in LivingSocial’s home turf of D.C., the sources said. It is not known how many will occur in D.C., where LivingSocial maintains six offices downtown.
A LivingSocial spokesman declined to comment.
The layoffs raise a host of questions about the future. First and foremost: LivingSocial in July won an up-to $32.5 million tax break from the D.C. Council on the promise that it would stay based in D.C. The legislation calls on the company not only to maintain and expand its 1,000-employee base in the District, but to move into a new headquarters of at least 200,000 square feet. With a smaller local staff, opening up a larger D.C. office becomes far less practical, raising questions about whether LivingSocial will be able to claim that credit when it takes effect in 2016.
For the 5-year-old social commerce company, the long-rumored layoffs reflect a struggle to stabilize itself financially after a frenzied headcount expansion in 2011. LivingSocial, which has raised more than $800 million in funding, entered 2012 with a staff of roughly 5,000. The company’s most recent publicly disclosed headcount stands at “more than 4,500 employees,” according to its website.
LivingSocial posted a net loss of $566 million in the third quarter, $496 million of which stems from a massive write-down of some of its acquisitions from 2011. Its revenue fell to $124 million in the three-month period, down from $138 million in the second quarter.
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