YIKES! MYSPACE CEO ANNOUNCES LAYOFFS VIA MEMO

YIKES! MYSPACE CEO ANNOUNCES LAYOFFS VIA MEMO

Submitted by Cristina Calzadilla

You would think that CEOs know better than to communicate a layoff via memo. In the case of Brooklyn Brothers, the proposed memo to staff seemed almost incredulous, as if no one in their right mind would ever put out a communication like that (not in the real world anyway) but I was wrong.  Below you’ll find a memo that was circulated to all employees of Myspace the day the company announced that it was to be acquired by Specific Media. In all fairness, sometimes the legal team counsels the CEO on the wordsmithing of these memos in order to protect themselves from any labor disputes, but still, this memo doesn’t evoke any sense of empathy.  If anything, it almost seems as though the CEO is jumping ship, leaving everyone else behind to suffer the full burden of this acquisition and subsequent layoffs.  I particularly dislike the call to action at the end, inviting staff members to read a press release regarding the acquisition.

Myspacers,

Today, we are announcing that Myspace will be acquired by Specific Media, one of the world’s leading online media and advertising platforms. Over the next few days you will be hearing from the team at Specific, including their CEO, Tim Vanderhook, regarding their exciting plans for Myspace and how it fits in with the overall vision of their company.

In conjunction with the deal, we are conducting a series of restructuring initiatives, including a significant reduction in our workforce. I will assist Specific with the transition over the next two months before departing my role as Myspace CEO.

I wanted to take a minute to thank you all for the incredible experience it has been to lead this company and to work closely with all of you over the past several years. While I regret we won’t be working together at Myspace any longer, I am very proud of the work we have done here and believe we have performed with excellence – even under extremely difficult circumstances.

My time here at Myspace represents the most engaging and challenging time of my professional career. I have found our team to be comprised of the best people I have come across in our industry.

You can read the press release below. Once again, thank you for all of your hard work and dedication.

Thanks,

-M