MySpace Cuts Three Senior Tech Execs

MySpace has cut three senior tech executives from its staff, we’ve learned. We’re hearing that those affected are VP of Media & Entertainment Technology Kevin Freund, VP of Engineering Lucas Buck (who writes on his LinkedIn page that he was one of the original programmers who built MySpace), and VP of Engineering Sheetal Patel.

We’ve confirmed that those individuals are no longer with the company. MySpace provided the following statement:

“Our intent is to foster an environment of innovation and nimbleness that is centered on our user and our product. Today we’ve realigned our technology team against specific product lines to make it more efficient and allow us to bring new experiences to our users faster.”

We’re hearing that the cuts are part of a restructuring of technology and product that’s being conducted by Chief Product Officer Jason Hirschhorn and Chief Technology Officer Alex Maghen. Both are still fairly new to the company — Hirschhorn joined last April as part of the massive MySpace top management reshuffle, and Maghen joined in September. Hirschhorn, in particular, has made no secret of his desire to kill off products that no longer fit with MySpace’s core strategy.