Layoffs Hit MySpace

MySpace has let go of as many as 45 employees in the last week, we’ve confirmed. Sources close to the company say that the exact figure may be smaller, but that MySpace has definitely laid off a significant number of people. MySpace has refused to comment on the matter, so it isn’t clear if this was the result of a canceled project, general layoffs, or performance-based cuts. A source says that early signs indicate that the open positions will not be filled by other employees.

The news comes only a few weeks after MySpace suddenly dropped founding CEO Chris DeWolfe and brought on a new executive team led by Owen Van Natta. It’s unclear if the cuts are directly related to decisions made by the new team or if they were already set in motion prior to DeWolfe’s departure. In any case, we’ll probably hear about more restructuring as Van Natta and team slash the projects they don’t want to continue pursuing.

Last July MySpace was rumored to have laid off as much as 5% of its workforce, though the company later said that the cuts were performance based and amounted to “less than 5%” of the company.