Dot Com News from Week of April 23, 2001
- 4/27/01 - EVineyard acquired rival Wine.com, a closely watched e-commerce company that was backed by prominent venture capitalists.
- 4/27/01 - WorldPages.com agreed to be acquired by telephone-directory publisher TransWestern for about $141 million plus $73 million in debt.
- 4/27/01 - A week after laying off most of its staff and completing a 1-for-50 reverse stock split, Quokka Sports filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
- 4/26/01 - Web hosting company Exodus Communications Inc. reported a first quarter loss and said it would make staff cuts and take other cost cutting measures to help it through the tough business climate.
- 4/26/01 - Pilot Network Services, Inc., the first provider of highly secure, subscription-based e-business services, announced that the Company has laid off all of its employees. Pilot has, however, retained a small number of key employees to assist in client transition activities. Pilot's management is currently evaluating the Company's alternatives in light of the decision to suspend normal business operations. However, Pilot does not expect to be able to resume operations in its current condition.
- 4/26/01 - Corning, the world's largest seller of optical fiber, reported first-quarter earnings that topped estimates, but it also announced layoffs. The job cuts will bring the company's total layoffs this year to 4,300 people.
- 4/26/01 - The number of dot-com layoffs nearly doubled in April from the previous month to reach an all-time high of 17,554.
- 4/26/01 - Internet infrastructure software maker Marimba announced that it would cut its work force by 20 percent, or 60 people, and discontinue Marimba.net, the company's managed services division. Other cost-cutting moves included the suspension of executive cash bonuses and reduction of executive salaries.
- 4/26/01 - KB Toys has purchased nearly all of eToys' inventory as part of a bankruptcy proceeding. After its revenue for the holiday season fell far short of expectations, eToys announced that it was running out of cash and would close shop by the spring unless it had a cash infusion. The company laid off all of its 1,000 employees in two separate job cuts in January and February, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month.
- 4/26/01 - Webvan Group Inc., an Internet grocer whose chief executive quit this month, said it will cut 885 jobs, stop service in Atlanta and have a reverse-stock split as part of a plan to stay in business.
- 4/25/01 - VocalTec, an Israeli software concern, said it laid off 63 people, or 16% of its work force, in an effort to reduce costs and implement a path to profitability.
- 4/25/01 - After hoping an automated e-mail system would do the work of laid-off employees, Stamps.com now says it is adding back customer-service staff.
- 4/25/01 - EarthLink has eliminated 900 jobs, cutbacks that stem partly from its merger last year with fellow Internet service provider OneMain.com. The cuts, which leave 6,477 employees, are due to attrition and the closing of some former OneMain offices in the Midwest.
- 4/25/01 - Sun Microsystems will require its employees to take vacation the first week of July as a cost-cutting measure.
- 4/25/01 - Search engine Ask Jeeves Inc. reported first-quarter pro forma losses of $14.4 million, or 40 cents a share, and laid off 15 percent of its workforce. The layoffs, which total 75 employees, will result in a $2 million charge in the current quarter.
- 4/25/01 - The following was posted on the iMotors.com Web site: iMotors, the pioneering direct-seller of certified used vehicles, today announced that it was ending operations due to a lack of sufficient capital to continue to grow the business.
- 4/24/01 - Juno Online Services Inc. reported a narrower-than-expected first-quarter net loss and said it cut about 40 jobs this month, leaving the firm with 259 employees world-wide.
- 4/24/01 - Fiber-optic component giant JDS Uniphase said it plans to lay off 5,000 people, or 20 percent of its work force. The company added that its fourth-quarter earnings would fall well below current expectations, and that it couldn't provide an outlook for its upcoming fiscal year.
- 4/24/01 - The Nasdaq Stock Market delisted Internet community site TheGlobe.com, which set a first-day record share price gain of 606 percent in 1998.
- 4/24/01 - A former Cisco executive has been arrested on charges that he embezzled more than $10 million in schemes related to Cisco's investments in two companies.
- 4/24/01 - iBeam Broadcasting Corp. said it is reducing its work force by 25%, or 140 employees, and has retained investment bankers to explore strategic alternatives that could include selling the company. The Sunnyvale, Calif., company, which provides services to broadcast audio and video over the Internet, said the current economic climate has made the process of raising money more challenging than anticipated.
- 4/24/01 - Agere Systems Inc., formerly the Microelectronics Group of Lucent, posted a fiscal second-quarter loss as revenue growth stalled, and said it plans to lay off 2,000 employees, or 11% of its work force. Agere currently employs about 18,500 people world-wide.
- 4/24/01 - Webvan is closing the less-than-year-old operation in Sacramento and laying off 17 employees there due to the lack of customer demand and the high cost of delivering in the sprawling metropolitan area. The closure leaves the cash-strapped Webvan in only eight cities, a far cry from the company's original plan to operate in 26 cities by 2001.
- 4/24/01 - Flextronics International, the second-biggest contract electronics manufacturer, announced it has cut about 7,000 jobs, or 10 percent of its work force, and trimmed production capacity by 15 percent because of slowing demand.
- 4/23/01 - Web-site hosting and communications services company Convergent Communications has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company said it was unable to raise enough capital to sustain its operations.
- 4/23/01 - Tut Systems, Inc., a leading provider of multi-service broadband systems for multi-tenant buildings, today reported that it has taken steps to reduce its workforce by approximately 28%.
- 4/23/01 - In what may prove to be its final act before being taken over by General Electric, technology and manufacturing company Honeywell has announced earnings per share of $0.05 for the first quarter along with plans to cut 6,500 jobs in an effort to remain competitive.
- 4/23/01 - 3M is planning to eliminate 5,000 jobs - or 7 percent of its work force - over the next 12 months as it restructures.
- 4/23/01 - Microsoft Corp. and NBC are merging their financial Web sites, MoneyCentral and CNBC.com, into a personal finance site expected to launch this summer.
- 4/23/01 - In a dispute with advertisement actors who want to be paid extra to have their voices played online, hundreds of commercial radio stations have stopped streaming their broadcasts over the Internet. Four of the nation's biggest commercial radio companies - Clear Channel Communications Inc., Citadel Broadcasting, Emmis Communications and Jefferson Pilot Communications - ended their real-time audio feeds last week. Clear Channel is the world's largest private radio station operator with 1,300 stations.