Excite cuts staff by 13%

Excite@Home announced that it is cutting about 380 employees, 13% of its workforce, to better align its operating expenses with its revenue

This is the second round of staffing cuts for Excite@Home this year. In January, the company let 250 employees go.

The latest round of layoffs will occur across all divisions of the company, but will be more heavily weighted to Excite@Home’s media operations, which, due to soft on-line advertising sales, have been a drag on the company’s balance sheet.

For the first fiscal quarter the company’s net operating loss was up 72% to about $61.6 million compared with the previous quarter. Its net loss per share was up about 6 cents to 15 cents.

The layoffs—which come only a week after the company announced telecom veteran Patty Hart as its new chairman and CEO—follow a company statement in mid-April that outlined a plan to conserve capital and raise additional funds. Included in the plan was the need to lower expenses, which this move helps accomplish said a company spokeswoman.

The plan also acknowledges the need for the company to address its floundering media business. “What we looked at, and what we are still looking at, is the sale of certain media assets,” said the spokeswoman.