MySpace axes hundreds of international employees

Today, social-networking giant MySpace announced organizational restructuring that will reduce its international staff by two-thirds, from 450 employees to approximately 150. Just last week, the company announced plans to layoff 30 percent of its domestic staff, bringing total employment in the States to around 1,000 people. According to today's release from the company, London, Berlin, and Sydney will be the primary regional hubs for MySpace's international operations. “It was clear that internationally, just as in the U.S., MySpace's staffing had become too big and cumbersome to be sustainable in current market conditions," said MySpace Chief Executive Officer Owen Van Natta, who said last week that the company intends to return to a "start-up culture."