Search results for ""layoffs""
CREATION: More layoffs at Grey's Beyond
For the second time in months, Beyond Interactive has taken the axe to its payroll, chopping staff numbers by 30 per cent globally. The Grey Global Group company blamed a softening online advertising market for its second round of sackings. About 100 staff from Beyond Interactive offices around the globe were let go this time around. However, according to Beyond Interactive Asia-Pacific co-founder and CEO, Viveca Chan, the layoffs did not affect Hong Kong operations, which is in the process of boosting staff count. Ms Chan blamed the slump in online advertising for the latest cutbacks. "This is a dotcom problem. There are no layoffs in Hong Kong and China. We are actually hiring more people. We had a very short dotcom boom over here ... so there is little reliance on dotcoms for revenue by Beyond Interactive. By the time we had launched, we had missed out on all the hype. Our clients are blue chip multinationals," Ms Chan said. The agency laid off 63 employees believed to be mostly junior staff, globally in October last year. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, the company has offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, New York, and London among other locations.
CREATION: More layoffs at Grey's Beyond
For the second time in months, Beyond Interactive has taken the axe to its payroll, chopping staff numbers by 30 per cent globally. The Grey Global Group company blamed a softening online advertising market for its second round of sackings. About 100 staff from Beyond Interactive offices around the globe were let go this time around. However, according to Beyond Interactive Asia-Pacific co-founder and CEO, Viveca Chan, the layoffs did not affect Hong Kong operations, which is in the process of boosting staff count. Ms Chan blamed the slump in online advertising for the latest cutbacks. "This is a dotcom problem. There are no layoffs in Hong Kong and China. We are actually hiring more people. We had a very short dotcom boom over here ... so there is little reliance on dotcoms for revenue by Beyond Interactive. By the time we had launched, we had missed out on all the hype. Our clients are blue chip multinationals," Ms Chan said. The agency laid off 63 employees believed to be mostly junior staff, globally in October last year. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, the company has offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, New York, and London among other locations.
CREATION: More layoffs at Grey's Beyond
For the second time in months, Beyond Interactive has taken the axe to its payroll, chopping staff numbers by 30 per cent globally. The Grey Global Group company blamed a softening online advertising market for its second round of sackings. About 100 staff from Beyond Interactive offices around the globe were let go this time around. However, according to Beyond Interactive Asia-Pacific co-founder and CEO, Viveca Chan, the layoffs did not affect Hong Kong operations, which is in the process of boosting staff count. Ms Chan blamed the slump in online advertising for the latest cutbacks. "This is a dotcom problem. There are no layoffs in Hong Kong and China. We are actually hiring more people. We had a very short dotcom boom over here ... so there is little reliance on dotcoms for revenue by Beyond Interactive. By the time we had launched, we had missed out on all the hype. Our clients are blue chip multinationals," Ms Chan said. The agency laid off 63 employees believed to be mostly junior staff, globally in October last year. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, the company has offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, New York, and London among other locations.
CREATION: More layoffs at Grey's Beyond
For the second time in months, Beyond Interactive has taken the axe to its payroll, chopping staff numbers by 30 per cent globally. The Grey Global Group company blamed a softening online advertising market for its second round of sackings. About 100 staff from Beyond Interactive offices around the globe were let go this time around. However, according to Beyond Interactive Asia-Pacific co-founder and CEO, Viveca Chan, the layoffs did not affect Hong Kong operations, which is in the process of boosting staff count. Ms Chan blamed the slump in online advertising for the latest cutbacks. "This is a dotcom problem. There are no layoffs in Hong Kong and China. We are actually hiring more people. We had a very short dotcom boom over here ... so there is little reliance on dotcoms for revenue by Beyond Interactive. By the time we had launched, we had missed out on all the hype. Our clients are blue chip multinationals," Ms Chan said. The agency laid off 63 employees believed to be mostly junior staff, globally in October last year. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, the company has offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, New York, and London among other locations.
CREATION: More layoffs at Grey's Beyond
For the second time in months, Beyond Interactive has taken the axe to its payroll, chopping staff numbers by 30 per cent globally. The Grey Global Group company blamed a softening online advertising market for its second round of sackings. About 100 staff from Beyond Interactive offices around the globe were let go this time around. However, according to Beyond Interactive Asia-Pacific co-founder and CEO, Viveca Chan, the layoffs did not affect Hong Kong operations, which is in the process of boosting staff count. Ms Chan blamed the slump in online advertising for the latest cutbacks. "This is a dotcom problem. There are no layoffs in Hong Kong and China. We are actually hiring more people. We had a very short dotcom boom over here ... so there is little reliance on dotcoms for revenue by Beyond Interactive. By the time we had launched, we had missed out on all the hype. Our clients are blue chip multinationals," Ms Chan said. The agency laid off 63 employees believed to be mostly junior staff, globally in October last year. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, the company has offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, New York, and London among other locations.
MEDIA-I: Rumours of Delirium layoffs rattle Taiwan
TAIPEI: The fragile confidence of Taiwan's interactive industry has been dealt another blow by a fresh round of layoffs, this time at recently merged web shop DeliriumCyberTouch. The company laid off 10 people, after earlier saying that it expected to grow by 50 per cent in Taiwan this year. The merger, which took place in early May, saw the 80 staff of Delirium join forces with the 20 of Cybertouch. The company has been dogged by recent rumours of massive layoffs, causing panic in the country's internet community. General manager Linda Yu admitted that there had been a streamlining, but said that 10 people had gone, rather than the more extravagent figures that had been rumoured. Last January, director of the Institute for Information Industry's Market Intelligence Centre (MIC) Victor Chan announced that 80 per cent of Taiwan's dotcoms had folded or were lingering on in the hope of being acquired. Even worse, Chan expected only 10 per cent to survive. Then, on June 12, MIC revised its forecast for the year's online advertising growth, cutting it from a cheery 105 per cent to a gain of less than 50 per cent. In 2000, online ads totaled NTdollars 870 million (USdollars 25.4 million). MIC added that most online ads will be placed on Kimo, Yam and Yahoo and other large portals, leaving most content sites in the cold. "We are already halfway into the year and the industry outlook is poor," said Jack Lee, business director, OgilvyInteractive. "All we can hope is that it holds at the current level. "It's a necessary restructuring," Lee added. "Many of the experienced marketing people who entered the field during the boom are realising that the concepts and methodologies are different. To make money, there has to be more than clicks. There also has to be some serious bricks and mortar involvement." The industry still has core clients, such as P&G or Unilever, that are committed to interactive marketing. Other business sectors, such as telecoms, are continuing to use the web aggressively, said Lee. But the drying up of online advertising is forcing most consultancies to move away from the front-end to the back-end of the business, and focus on technology. Managing director of Ionglobal Taiwan, Mike Rogero, expects "the major focus of 2001" to be enterprise information portals. His company has started its first such Taiwan project for Mercedes Benz. DeliriumCyberTouch's Linda Yu agrees. "We are seeing a move away from e-branding and websites," she said. "This year most of the value is coming from consulting and implementation of applications services." This general view is shared as well by the advertising community. Soh Yew Peng, director of interactive marketing at Saatchi & Saatchi, said: "The age of pure web design and banner production is over, and the new business model seems to be total integrated internet solutions."
MEDIA-I: Rumours of Delirium layoffs rattle Taiwan
TAIPEI: The fragile confidence of Taiwan's interactive industry has been dealt another blow by a fresh round of layoffs, this time at recently merged web shop DeliriumCyberTouch. The company laid off 10 people, after earlier saying that it expected to grow by 50 per cent in Taiwan this year. The merger, which took place in early May, saw the 80 staff of Delirium join forces with the 20 of Cybertouch. The company has been dogged by recent rumours of massive layoffs, causing panic in the country's internet community. General manager Linda Yu admitted that there had been a streamlining, but said that 10 people had gone, rather than the more extravagent figures that had been rumoured. Last January, director of the Institute for Information Industry's Market Intelligence Centre (MIC) Victor Chan announced that 80 per cent of Taiwan's dotcoms had folded or were lingering on in the hope of being acquired. Even worse, Chan expected only 10 per cent to survive. Then, on June 12, MIC revised its forecast for the year's online advertising growth, cutting it from a cheery 105 per cent to a gain of less than 50 per cent. In 2000, online ads totaled NTdollars 870 million (USdollars 25.4 million). MIC added that most online ads will be placed on Kimo, Yam and Yahoo and other large portals, leaving most content sites in the cold. "We are already halfway into the year and the industry outlook is poor," said Jack Lee, business director, OgilvyInteractive. "All we can hope is that it holds at the current level. "It's a necessary restructuring," Lee added. "Many of the experienced marketing people who entered the field during the boom are realising that the concepts and methodologies are different. To make money, there has to be more than clicks. There also has to be some serious bricks and mortar involvement." The industry still has core clients, such as P&G or Unilever, that are committed to interactive marketing. Other business sectors, such as telecoms, are continuing to use the web aggressively, said Lee. But the drying up of online advertising is forcing most consultancies to move away from the front-end to the back-end of the business, and focus on technology. Managing director of Ionglobal Taiwan, Mike Rogero, expects "the major focus of 2001" to be enterprise information portals. His company has started its first such Taiwan project for Mercedes Benz. DeliriumCyberTouch's Linda Yu agrees. "We are seeing a move away from e-branding and websites," she said. "This year most of the value is coming from consulting and implementation of applications services." This general view is shared as well by the advertising community. Soh Yew Peng, director of interactive marketing at Saatchi & Saatchi, said: "The age of pure web design and banner production is over, and the new business model seems to be total integrated internet solutions."
MEDIA-I: Rumours of Delirium layoffs rattle Taiwan
TAIPEI: The fragile confidence of Taiwan's interactive industry has been dealt another blow by a fresh round of layoffs, this time at recently merged web shop DeliriumCyberTouch. The company laid off 10 people, after earlier saying that it expected to grow by 50 per cent in Taiwan this year. The merger, which took place in early May, saw the 80 staff of Delirium join forces with the 20 of Cybertouch. The company has been dogged by recent rumours of massive layoffs, causing panic in the country's internet community. General manager Linda Yu admitted that there had been a streamlining, but said that 10 people had gone, rather than the more extravagent figures that had been rumoured. Last January, director of the Institute for Information Industry's Market Intelligence Centre (MIC) Victor Chan announced that 80 per cent of Taiwan's dotcoms had folded or were lingering on in the hope of being acquired. Even worse, Chan expected only 10 per cent to survive. Then, on June 12, MIC revised its forecast for the year's online advertising growth, cutting it from a cheery 105 per cent to a gain of less than 50 per cent. In 2000, online ads totaled NTdollars 870 million (USdollars 25.4 million). MIC added that most online ads will be placed on Kimo, Yam and Yahoo and other large portals, leaving most content sites in the cold. "We are already halfway into the year and the industry outlook is poor," said Jack Lee, business director, OgilvyInteractive. "All we can hope is that it holds at the current level. "It's a necessary restructuring," Lee added. "Many of the experienced marketing people who entered the field during the boom are realising that the concepts and methodologies are different. To make money, there has to be more than clicks. There also has to be some serious bricks and mortar involvement." The industry still has core clients, such as P&G or Unilever, that are committed to interactive marketing. Other business sectors, such as telecoms, are continuing to use the web aggressively, said Lee. But the drying up of online advertising is forcing most consultancies to move away from the front-end to the back-end of the business, and focus on technology. Managing director of Ionglobal Taiwan, Mike Rogero, expects "the major focus of 2001" to be enterprise information portals. His company has started its first such Taiwan project for Mercedes Benz. DeliriumCyberTouch's Linda Yu agrees. "We are seeing a move away from e-branding and websites," she said. "This year most of the value is coming from consulting and implementation of applications services." This general view is shared as well by the advertising community. Soh Yew Peng, director of interactive marketing at Saatchi & Saatchi, said: "The age of pure web design and banner production is over, and the new business model seems to be total integrated internet solutions."
MEDIA-I: Rumours of Delirium layoffs rattle Taiwan
TAIPEI: The fragile confidence of Taiwan's interactive industry has been dealt another blow by a fresh round of layoffs, this time at recently merged web shop DeliriumCyberTouch. The company laid off 10 people, after earlier saying that it expected to grow by 50 per cent in Taiwan this year. The merger, which took place in early May, saw the 80 staff of Delirium join forces with the 20 of Cybertouch. The company has been dogged by recent rumours of massive layoffs, causing panic in the country's internet community. General manager Linda Yu admitted that there had been a streamlining, but said that 10 people had gone, rather than the more extravagent figures that had been rumoured. Last January, director of the Institute for Information Industry's Market Intelligence Centre (MIC) Victor Chan announced that 80 per cent of Taiwan's dotcoms had folded or were lingering on in the hope of being acquired. Even worse, Chan expected only 10 per cent to survive. Then, on June 12, MIC revised its forecast for the year's online advertising growth, cutting it from a cheery 105 per cent to a gain of less than 50 per cent. In 2000, online ads totaled NTdollars 870 million (USdollars 25.4 million). MIC added that most online ads will be placed on Kimo, Yam and Yahoo and other large portals, leaving most content sites in the cold. "We are already halfway into the year and the industry outlook is poor," said Jack Lee, business director, OgilvyInteractive. "All we can hope is that it holds at the current level. "It's a necessary restructuring," Lee added. "Many of the experienced marketing people who entered the field during the boom are realising that the concepts and methodologies are different. To make money, there has to be more than clicks. There also has to be some serious bricks and mortar involvement." The industry still has core clients, such as P&G or Unilever, that are committed to interactive marketing. Other business sectors, such as telecoms, are continuing to use the web aggressively, said Lee. But the drying up of online advertising is forcing most consultancies to move away from the front-end to the back-end of the business, and focus on technology. Managing director of Ionglobal Taiwan, Mike Rogero, expects "the major focus of 2001" to be enterprise information portals. His company has started its first such Taiwan project for Mercedes Benz. DeliriumCyberTouch's Linda Yu agrees. "We are seeing a move away from e-branding and websites," she said. "This year most of the value is coming from consulting and implementation of applications services." This general view is shared as well by the advertising community. Soh Yew Peng, director of interactive marketing at Saatchi & Saatchi, said: "The age of pure web design and banner production is over, and the new business model seems to be total integrated internet solutions."
MEDIA-I: Lycos revamps model after layoffs
SINGAPORE: Lycos Asia will revamp its business model to lessen its dependence on online advertising as the economic climate worsens. The shift in strategy follows its move to retrench 200 staff, representing 60 per cent of its workforce, and centralise its regional operations in Shanghai and Singapore. The company will maintain a minimal head count in its other offices in Asia. The cutbacks took place earlier in the month and included around 28 people being retrenched in Hong Kong and another 28 people in China. This will leave four positions in Hong Kong and around 80 staff in China. The Singapore office will service the Lycos portals for South Asia including Singapore, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Philippines and India. Shanghai will service China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The company is cutting costs so it can become profitable sooner and counter the global economic downturn. It has also been earning revenues from developing corporate sites - such as My Singtel and SingNet - and by charging firms wishing to put content on Lycos' portals. But it plans to focus more on email and wireless marketing as it remakes the company to offer advertisers a more complete digital marketing service. Additional revenues will come from ecommerce and by charging web users for some services and content. Contrary to news reports in Hong Kong, Lycos Asia's evenly-split joint-venture partners - Terra Lycos and Singapore Telecommunications - remain committed, said Andy Pe, Lycos Asia corporate affairs manager. He said the firms injected more funds into the business following Lycos' take-over earlier this year of Myrice.com, a mainland China web portal. The extra liquidity increased Lycos Asia's market capitalisation to more than US$50 million, according to Pe. Some of Lycos Asia's major clients - including online advertising firms BMC Media and Engage - have either gone out of business or heavily downsized their Asian operations.
MEDIA-I: Lycos revamps model after layoffs
SINGAPORE: Lycos Asia will revamp its business model to lessen its dependence on online advertising as the economic climate worsens. The shift in strategy follows its move to retrench 200 staff, representing 60 per cent of its workforce, and centralise its regional operations in Shanghai and Singapore. The company will maintain a minimal head count in its other offices in Asia. The cutbacks took place earlier in the month and included around 28 people being retrenched in Hong Kong and another 28 people in China. This will leave four positions in Hong Kong and around 80 staff in China. The Singapore office will service the Lycos portals for South Asia including Singapore, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Philippines and India. Shanghai will service China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The company is cutting costs so it can become profitable sooner and counter the global economic downturn. It has also been earning revenues from developing corporate sites - such as My Singtel and SingNet - and by charging firms wishing to put content on Lycos' portals. But it plans to focus more on email and wireless marketing as it remakes the company to offer advertisers a more complete digital marketing service. Additional revenues will come from ecommerce and by charging web users for some services and content. Contrary to news reports in Hong Kong, Lycos Asia's evenly-split joint-venture partners - Terra Lycos and Singapore Telecommunications - remain committed, said Andy Pe, Lycos Asia corporate affairs manager. He said the firms injected more funds into the business following Lycos' take-over earlier this year of Myrice.com, a mainland China web portal. The extra liquidity increased Lycos Asia's market capitalisation to more than US$50 million, according to Pe. Some of Lycos Asia's major clients - including online advertising firms BMC Media and Engage - have either gone out of business or heavily downsized their Asian operations.
MEDIA-I: Lay-offs hit SuneVision's auction website
HONG KONG: Sun Hung Kei's (SHK) SuneVision has reduced its workforce by 13 per cent as it scales back its online auction operation and closes its software service provider unit. The company said there had been "significant reductions" at its auction website Red Dots, while Super-Office had ceased operations. SHK expects the recent restructuring to result in savings of HK$35 million a year. The layoffs affected 50 SuneVision employees, while the company has relocated its headquarters to its Mega-iAdvantage data centre. Red Dots lost HK$171 million in the year to June, up from $46.5 million during the same period last year. SuneVision managing director, Sheridan Yen, said: "This is a highly-competitive time in the information technology and ecommerce sectors, and we have to adapt to changing market conditions in order to operate efficiently and cost-effectively. "We are continuing with a range of proactive measures suited to a significant period of consolidation and our streamlined operations will act as a new platform for future growth." SuneVision said it has HK$1.84 billion in cash and securities, which will be used to capitalise on new opportunities. It will now focus on data-related operations. Online auction websites are feeling the pinch of the economic slowdown and the slump in online advertising. After failing to generate revenue from online ads, auctioneer Go2HK.com recently dropped advertising altogether on its revamped website, which launched last month in Taiwan and Hong Kong. According to Go2HK.com managing director and co-founder, Alan Chow, the company's revenue model was based on commission from sellers after successful transactions. The decision to eliminate advertising on the site was also made after advertisers requested larger ads for their money. Meanwhile, online auctioneers Emaimai, Yaz and Club citi have either changed direction or closed. Yahoo remains the strongest player in the online auction market.
MEDIA-I: Lay-offs hit SuneVision's auction website
HONG KONG: Sun Hung Kei's (SHK) SuneVision has reduced its workforce by 13 per cent as it scales back its online auction operation and closes its software service provider unit. The company said there had been "significant reductions" at its auction website Red Dots, while Super-Office had ceased operations. SHK expects the recent restructuring to result in savings of HK$35 million a year. The layoffs affected 50 SuneVision employees, while the company has relocated its headquarters to its Mega-iAdvantage data centre. Red Dots lost HK$171 million in the year to June, up from $46.5 million during the same period last year. SuneVision managing director, Sheridan Yen, said: "This is a highly-competitive time in the information technology and ecommerce sectors, and we have to adapt to changing market conditions in order to operate efficiently and cost-effectively. "We are continuing with a range of proactive measures suited to a significant period of consolidation and our streamlined operations will act as a new platform for future growth." SuneVision said it has HK$1.84 billion in cash and securities, which will be used to capitalise on new opportunities. It will now focus on data-related operations. Online auction websites are feeling the pinch of the economic slowdown and the slump in online advertising. After failing to generate revenue from online ads, auctioneer Go2HK.com recently dropped advertising altogether on its revamped website, which launched last month in Taiwan and Hong Kong. According to Go2HK.com managing director and co-founder, Alan Chow, the company's revenue model was based on commission from sellers after successful transactions. The decision to eliminate advertising on the site was also made after advertisers requested larger ads for their money. Meanwhile, online auctioneers Emaimai, Yaz and Club citi have either changed direction or closed. Yahoo remains the strongest player in the online auction market.
Real Media joins sales teams and cuts head count
HONG KONG: The PubliGroup's online advertising network Real Media has merged its sales operations with its parent company, citing the business slowdown. The move has resulted in the layoff of 30 per cent of Real Media staff from its regional head office in Hong Kong, with all the redundancies in ad sales. Patty Keung, managing director of Real Media, said the Singapore operations were not affected by the layoffs. "The online ad market is depressed and there is just not enough business. Our parent company is very strong in print and it makes sense to merge the sales operations."
Real Media joins sales teams and cuts head count
HONG KONG: The PubliGroup's online advertising network Real Media has merged its sales operations with its parent company, citing the business slowdown. The move has resulted in the layoff of 30 per cent of Real Media staff from its regional head office in Hong Kong, with all the redundancies in ad sales. Patty Keung, managing director of Real Media, said the Singapore operations were not affected by the layoffs. "The online ad market is depressed and there is just not enough business. Our parent company is very strong in print and it makes sense to merge the sales operations."
MEDIA-I: Web shop shifts focus to joint-venture firms
HONG KONG: Asiacontent.com has closed its internet solutions operations in Singapore, Hong Kong and China, and will spin off its business in Korea and Taiwan, while layoffs have also hit its joint-ventures, DoubleClick and MTV Asia Online. The move brings the company's total head count down to 104 from 278 in the second quarter of this year and almost 600 at its peak last year. Asiacontent.com will now focus its resources on its joint-ventures, DoubleClick Media Asia and MTV Asia Online, and expects to reduce expenses by more than US$500,000 each month. Chris Justice, chief executive officer of Asiacontent.com, said the move was part of a cost-cutting drive. Citing a tough business environment, he said Asiacontent.com was "further reducing costs in these business units (DoubleClick and MTV Asia Online) to more quickly bring the company to profitability". Steve Moss, chief executive officer, DoubleClick Media Asia, confirmed there had been layoffs, but declined to provide an exact figure. "We've always taken a look at the end and at the start of each quarter to increase efficiencies at the company. There have been some layoffs recently and cutbacks in other areas as well, but I can't provide more details. It is part of our continuing ongoing strategy," said Moss. "We are seeing layoffs across the board in every sector. And the redundancies here have not been overly aggressive as what other companies have had to go through." He also stressed that the strategic direction of DoubleClick Media would remain unchanged in Asia and that the company's clients would not be affected by the recent developments. "The changes will allow Asiacontent.com to focus its time on DoubleClick operations as it steps out of web solutions. Our business is not changing in terms of strategic consequences. It is just giving Asiacontent.com more time to invest in us. We have always operated as separate companies," said Moss. Asiacontent.com's Hong Kong headquarters will complete existing projects, while its client work in Singapore will be completed or assigned to a company led by its Singapore-based management. In Taiwan, the company transferred contracts and some assets and staff to a new company led by Michael Wu, general manager for Asiacontent.com's Taiwan operation. An agreement has also been reached to spin off its Korea unit, which will be led by Bryan Lee, country manager for Asiacontent.com. Asiacontent.com will retain a 20 per cent stake in its Korea and Taiwan spin-offs, but this will not extend to its involvement in management or operations. It will also waive all financial obligations.
MEDIA-I: Web shop shifts focus to joint-venture firms
HONG KONG: Asiacontent.com has closed its internet solutions operations in Singapore, Hong Kong and China, and will spin off its business in Korea and Taiwan, while layoffs have also hit its joint-ventures, DoubleClick and MTV Asia Online. The move brings the company's total head count down to 104 from 278 in the second quarter of this year and almost 600 at its peak last year. Asiacontent.com will now focus its resources on its joint-ventures, DoubleClick Media Asia and MTV Asia Online, and expects to reduce expenses by more than US$500,000 each month. Chris Justice, chief executive officer of Asiacontent.com, said the move was part of a cost-cutting drive. Citing a tough business environment, he said Asiacontent.com was "further reducing costs in these business units (DoubleClick and MTV Asia Online) to more quickly bring the company to profitability". Steve Moss, chief executive officer, DoubleClick Media Asia, confirmed there had been layoffs, but declined to provide an exact figure. "We've always taken a look at the end and at the start of each quarter to increase efficiencies at the company. There have been some layoffs recently and cutbacks in other areas as well, but I can't provide more details. It is part of our continuing ongoing strategy," said Moss. "We are seeing layoffs across the board in every sector. And the redundancies here have not been overly aggressive as what other companies have had to go through." He also stressed that the strategic direction of DoubleClick Media would remain unchanged in Asia and that the company's clients would not be affected by the recent developments. "The changes will allow Asiacontent.com to focus its time on DoubleClick operations as it steps out of web solutions. Our business is not changing in terms of strategic consequences. It is just giving Asiacontent.com more time to invest in us. We have always operated as separate companies," said Moss. Asiacontent.com's Hong Kong headquarters will complete existing projects, while its client work in Singapore will be completed or assigned to a company led by its Singapore-based management. In Taiwan, the company transferred contracts and some assets and staff to a new company led by Michael Wu, general manager for Asiacontent.com's Taiwan operation. An agreement has also been reached to spin off its Korea unit, which will be led by Bryan Lee, country manager for Asiacontent.com. Asiacontent.com will retain a 20 per cent stake in its Korea and Taiwan spin-offs, but this will not extend to its involvement in management or operations. It will also waive all financial obligations.
Billings decline claims HK shop Mason Manda
Hong Kong's economic downturn has claimed its first advertising agency casualty, Mason Manda, while others are chopping head count to stave off red ink. Mason was one of the smaller 4As agency, with about 20 staff. Meanwhile, Bates and TBWA have cut between 10 and 15 people from their payrolls, however, both claimed redundancies were in administration and support services. McCann-Erickson also cut two interactive specialists from its Cathay Pacific team. The lay-offs at Bates occurred as the agency consolidated its operations with Red, the unit set up to handle HSBC. A source at the agency said: "Anything that can be done to save money is being done."
Billings decline claims HK shop Mason Manda
Hong Kong's economic downturn has claimed its first advertising agency casualty, Mason Manda, while others are chopping head count to stave off red ink. Mason was one of the smaller 4As agency, with about 20 staff. Meanwhile, Bates and TBWA have cut between 10 and 15 people from their payrolls, however, both claimed redundancies were in administration and support services. McCann-Erickson also cut two interactive specialists from its Cathay Pacific team. The lay-offs at Bates occurred as the agency consolidated its operations with Red, the unit set up to handle HSBC. A source at the agency said: "Anything that can be done to save money is being done."
CREATION: More dotcom jobs slashed, closures continue
Despite being listed as one of China's hottest Web portals, Sohu.com slashed 126 jobs, about a fifth of its work force. The company said in a statement the layoffs would be felt mainly in redundant administrative and content production positions following its earlier acquisition of Chinaren.com. In Hong Kong, TVB.com sacked 54 of its 150-strong workforce. The closure came just a week after media tycoon Jimmy Lai closed adMart, his online shopping and delivery business, resulting in a loss of 344 jobs because the company was unable to change old economy shopping habits. Meanwhile, Asia Online layed off more staff and closed its operations in the US and Canada.