Monster.com to cut 800 jobs

Workers at Monster Worldwide will now have to use all the skills they've learned at the employment Web site to find new jobs for themselves.

Monster Worldwide (nasdaq: MNST) is the parent company of Monster.com, which is featured on Ohio.com. Monster.com told traders on Monday that it was cutting 800 jobs, or 15% of its full-time staff. The company also reported that its second-quarter profit tumbled 28% as it deals with the consequences of an ongoing investigation into its stock option grants practices.

For the quarter ended June 30, the company said its net income dropped to $28.6 million, or 21 cents per share, from $39.6 million, or 30 cents per share, in the year-ago period, despite a 20% rise in revenues to $331.1 million.

Analysts had predicted earnings of 32 cents per share on $337.3 million in revenue.

Monster's profit was crimped by a 34% jump in total operating expenses to $288.8 million, partly due to legal fees and severance payments, the company said.

To cut costs, it said it will reduce its workforce by 800 employees beginning immediately and into 2008. The company said that the majority of the reductions will occur by the end of this year.

[Source: Forbes online]