CNET, one of the largest and oldest publishers of online technology news, is laying off ten percent of its workforce, or 120 employees.
The move, announced this afternoon in an internal memo obtained by PaidContent, is most likely intended to show that the company is serious about operating more efficiently. It is facing an increasingly threatening hostile board takeover effort led by hedge fund firm Jana Partners.
San Francisco-based CNET, a public company, has been fighting back against exploding competition from independent blogs. Most recently, it has re-arranged its editorial structure to put veteran reporter Dan Farber in charge, and it has given its rank-and-file editorial staff more freedom to blog.
One Comment
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Ian Bell said:
“San Francisco-based CNET, a public company, has been fighting back against exploding competition from independent blogs. ”
I have my doubts about this statement - particularily since it’s a blog making it. Would love to see some proof to back this up. I doubt Cnet reviews, downloads have been affected by blogs. Perhaps News.com, but the demographic there is slightly older anyways which is why blogs probably have had minimal impact. If anything, Cnet’s “blog wannabe” pages are probably designed to attract a younger audience rather than to keep their current from leaving.
2 Trackbacks
8:59 pm
Tech Bloggers Leaving CNET Dead In The Water said:
[...] that CNET was forced to lay off 120 U.S. workers as they reorganize in the face of serious competition from tech bloggers. The geometric explosion [...]
8:53 am
CBS to buy CNET Networks for $1.8 billion » VentureBeat said:
[...] The move comes after CNET’s management had come under attack by shareholders for not doing enough to increase its market value. CNET is one of the earliest movers to embrace an online only format, and is one of the largest online publishers. Hedge fund firm Jana Partners had attempted a hostile board takeover of the company, and CNET recently laid off 10 percent of its work force. [...]