MySpace to cut 30 per cent of staff

MySpace was recently dethroned by Facebook as the top US social networking site

Struggling social networking site MySpace announced plans on Tuesday to make 30 per cent of its staff redundant.

The layoffs will be made entirely within the company's US operation, and will bring total staff numbers down to roughly 1,000.

The cuts come just weeks after MySpace named Owen Van Natta as its new chief executive. In explaining the move, Van Natta said that the company had simply grown too large.

"I understand that these changes are painful for many. They are also necessary for the long-term health and culture of MySpace," he said. "Our staffing levels were bloated, and hindered our ability to be an efficient and nimble team-oriented company."

The cuts are not the only bad news for MySpace. Data from research firm ComScore suggests that rival Facebook has dethroned MySpace as the top social networking site in the US for the first time.