Monster Slashes 400 Jobs, Restructures for Profitability

Monster Worldwide (NYSE: [[ticker:MWW]]), the New York parent company of Maynard, MA-based Monster.com, the jobs and recruiting site, said in a regulatory filing that it has laid off about 400 employees, or 7 percent of its worldwide staff of 5,700.

The layoffs include fewer than 100 job cuts in Massachusetts, according to the Boston Business Journal. No more specifics on that were available.

In the Form 8-K, Monster Worldwide says it is taking a “series of strategic restructuring actions” in 2012 to invest in marketing and sales and “improve its long-term growth prospects and profitability.” The company says it is consolidating some office facilities as part of the restructuring.

Monster reported fourth-quarter 2011 revenues of $250 million and a $13 million profit. The company made a $46 million profit for the year, compared to a loss of $9 million in 2010. Monster’s stock is down about 13 percent to $7.80 this morning.

Last spring, Monster.com spoke with me about its recent efforts in mobile apps and social media partnerships. The company has been investing heavily in R&D to keep up with a slew of newer, hip competitors.

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.