MySpace, Yahoo Layoff Rumors

There are digital business home runs like Facebook and Google. And then there are ones that were successful for years, but are now struggling, such as MySpace and Yahoo where layoff rumors swirl.

MySpace, purchased by News Corp., hasn't been able to position itself in the marketplace as an entertainment site after it seemed to capitulate in it's fight for social networking dominance, with rival Facebook. Sources, ranging from WSJ.com to AllThingsD.com, reports Mike Shields in AdWeek, predict layoffs this month. The estimated numbers are between a third and a half of its 1,100 employees.

Yahoo, which has been in the midst of trying to reinventing itself in order to take on Google, has had several rounds of layoffs, totaling 2,700 employees cut, during the past four years. The company denies the current rumors that it is planning to reduce its staff by about 20 percent, reports Michael Arlington at TechCrunch. Yahoo currently employs about 14,000 employees.