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Monster Tight-Lipped About Rumored Layoffs; Stock Takes a Hit

by
John Zappe
Jul 7, 2009, 1:06 pm ET

Monster stock is taking a beating today, following the company’s acknowledgment it will be laying off workers in its product and technology group.

Joel Cheesman reported Monday that he received a tip from a Monster worker who claims to have seen a multi-page list of about 200 names, including the tipster’s own.

In response, Monster issued a statement that was short on details, but said, in part, “we continue to restructure, reorganize. This means that roles and skill areas that are no longer needed to support the business are restructured,” says the statement from Kathy O’Reilly, senior manager of media relations at the notoriously tight-lipped company.

The announcement contains no direct confirmation of an impending layoff, nor does it provide any numbers or other specifics. It also has not, so far, been distributed on any of the financial or business services that companies typically use for announcements of this sort. Nevertheless, at lunchtime today the company’s stock was trading just under $10 a share, down almost 7 percent from Monday’s close of $10.68. Meanwhile the market as a whole was down much less, with the Dow off 1.2 percent and the NASDAQ off 1.4 percent.

O’Reilly said she doubted the company would have more to say than what was in the emailed announcement, though she agreed to try to obtain clarification on the reference to the restructuring being in support of “the changing needs of our customers.” We asked what those changing needs are and what the company’s strategic direction is now.

In the first quarter of this year, Monster posted a $10.3 million loss on revenue of $132 million compared to a profit for the same quarter the year before of $22.6 million on revenue of $228.7 million.

This article is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to offer specific legal advice. You should consult your legal counsel regarding any threatened or pending litigation.

  1. Monster Confirms Layoff But Says It Is Also Hiring : ERE.net

    [...] today confirmed rumors of a layoff, saying 160 jobs will be eliminated. But the company tempered the news with the announcement that [...]

  2. Lorraine Russo

    Not surprising. Monster and their ilk are going the way of the dinosaur. It has failed to serve the very people it claims to be helping – job seekers – and gouging the companies that have kept it alfloat for so many years.

  3. Scott Jackson

    I dont think they are down and out yet. A company like Monster will be back. But yes, they are obviously hurting just as much as the next company due to the cedit crisis.

  4. Rob Bradley

    Well a large company such as monster needs to keep upto date with the times, its brand image is not exactly in keeping with web2.0 – could it be time for a rebrand of this monster of a company…

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