Fox Interactive Media is eliminating more than just free lunches. News Corp’s digital arm is trimming nearly 100 jobs across several business units, including Photobucket, MySpace, Scout Media, Rotten Tomatoes, and corporate. The total comes to a little under 5 percent of FIM’s domestic U.S. workforce, and about 3 percent of its global workforce of 2,900. We have added the amount to our Layoff Tracker.
Although MySpace employs 1,600 of those workers, a check with sources close to FIM suggests that the vast majority of job cuts (80 to 90 percent) are happening elsewhere. One of the hardest hit business units is Photobucket, where 22 people are losing their jobs. The corporate offices are also absorbing a substantial portion of the layoffs.
In an official statement, FIM acknowledges:
Several of the groups within FIM are eliminating some jobs and repurposing others. It is important to note that we continue to hire in many areas.
Separately, a spokesperson for MySpace notes that, on a net basis, MySpace plans on ending its fiscal year with more people than it currently employs. And other sources confirm that MySpace is still hiring in key positions such as business development, whereas the other FIM business units are not hiring as much or have actual hiring freezes.