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Pomoho.com to Cut Jobs Amid Industry Recession
BEIJING, Nov 21, 2008 (SinoCast China IT Watch via COMTEX) --
Pomoho.com, a popular video sharing site in China, is joining its domestic peers in cutting jobs under increasing pressure from the global economic recession.
The Beijing-headquartered online video sharing service provider is likely to lay off most of the employees at its operation and R&D center in Hangzhou, and keep more than 80 website editors, disclosed people claiming to be familiar with the matter on November 19.
However, an executive for Pomoho.com denied the aforesaid news later, saying that the rumored large-scale job-reduction was "a little bit exaggerated". Pomoho.com plans to cut 10-15% of its workforce this time, according to the executive, who decline to be named.
Aside from employees that fail to outperform their colleagues, the video sharing site will disemploy others in light of its development strategy, said the executive, noting that employees in Beijing and Hangzhou will get involved in the layoff. Currently, the company hires about 180 employees in total.
The decision to reduce its headcount was made known by Pomoho.com chief operating officer (COO) on November 17, several days after the job-cutting scheme was finalized on its board meeting last weekend, according to the executive.
In an e-mailed sent to Pomoho.com employees, the COO said the move was carried out to slash costs amid the lingering financial crisis. Pomoho.com, which will pay more attention to its major business and marketing after the reduction, is expected to exceed the break-even point next June, according to the COO.
Pomoho.com has been providing contents uploaded by netizens in stead of TV series and movies. Such a model enables the company to operate its business at lower copyright and broadband expenses, disclosed the aforesaid executive. Notably, the site lured tens of millions of US dollars from a private investor several months earlier.
Ahead of the Beijing online video service provider, its domestic peers like UUSee.com, PPLive and 6.cn earlier announced similar job-cutting plans in a move to ride out the wintry season in the Internet industry.
The downsizing in the Chinese online video industry, according to an analyst at iResearch Consulting Group, is likely to result in a new round of reshuffle in the market. A host of video sites, especially those with weak capital bases and unclear operation structures, are possibly to be washed out in the global financial turmoil, said the analyst.
Only five venture capital investments flew into the Chinese online video industry since the beginning of 2008, in a sharp contrast to 11 last year.
(USD 1 = CNY 6.84)
From www.hexun.com, Page 1, Thursday, November 20, 2008
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