Dotcom staff face uncertain future

More and more dotcom employees are finding themselves without a job, according to recent research.

Looking at a cross section of 169 internet companies, industry researcher Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CGC) found that job cuts from the start of this year up to last week totalled a massive 11,785. In July alone, 7592 dotcom employees lost their jobs.

Internet retailers were hardest hit, reporting 3562 job cuts during the period. Coincidentally, internet retailer Letsbuyit.com has just announced it will be laying off 20 per cent of its staff in an effort to cut costs.

Martin Coles, chief executive at Letsbuyit, said that the resulting savings on cash burn would leave it holding 61 million euros in the bank, and allow the company to last another six months in the dotcom arena. But he said the company would seek a further cash injection by the middle of next year.

Referring to the layoffs, Coles said: "The company is well positioned to take advantage of market opportunities. This could not have been achieved without the efforts of all our staff."

However, it's not all doom and gloom for the redundant employees. According to the report, they are in high demand and have little trouble finding new jobs in other dotcom firms.

John Challenger, chief executive at CGC, said: "Dotcommers whose company failed should not let that fact worry them as they enter the job market. In fact, workers are even more hireable after having worked in a firm that struggled or did not make it. Prospective employers see it as a valuable learning experience."

First published on uk.internet.com