MySpace Slashes Workforce By 50 Per Cent

MySpace has announced plans to slash its workforce in half as part of restructuring proposals.

The job cuts will affect 500 employees across all divisions of the social-networking website.

The cuts come just months after MySpace unveiled a new version, which centered on music and entertainment.

In a statement, Chief Executive Mike Jones denied the cuts were related to the recent redesign.

"These changes were purely driven by issues related to our legacy business, and in no way reflect the performance of the new product,” he said.

MySpace was founded in 2002 and has been credited with helping to launch the careers of Lily Allen and Arctic Monkeys.

But in recent years the site has seen traffic fall as rivals, including Facebook, boosted their audience.