TheGlobe.com spins out of orbit
Games Domain, Happy Puppy and other gaming sites up for sale
Chat and gaming site theglobe.com is to shut most of its Web business and axe half its staff after falling victim to the online ad slump. The New York-based outfit said on Friday it would close its community site theglobe.com on August 15. It also plans to shut its web-hosting business webjump.com on the same date.
Meanwhile, the company is "significantly scaling down" its online games operations. Sites up for sale include UK-based Games Domain, as well as Happy Puppy, Kids Domain, and Chips & Bits. It is also to slash another 60 jobs, or 49 per cent of its remaining workforce. At its height, theglobe.com employed around 350 staff. In addition, it will quit its HQ for smaller offices in mid-August.
"The decision to discontinue our community operations, which contribute disproportionately to our operating losses, allows our senior management team to focus solely on theglobe.com's core strength - games," said theglobe.com CEO Chuck Peck.
Peck added that, while the company had faith in the future of online advertising, it was not in a position to stay in business in the long-term. He described the current spending slump as "a temporary pause in market's overall growth," adding that sales bookings at the dotcom had actually increased in July.