LONDON -- The once cutting-edge, youth-skewed social-networking website Bebo, celebrated for its pioneering online content, is pinkslipping more than half of its U.K. staff and freezing original commissions.
Up to around 20 posts in London are being lost. Headcounts are also being reduced in the U.S. and Australia.
Among those considering her future is London-based head of original production Kelly Sweeney, following Bebo's decision to stop commissioning new content. She is understood to be considering her options after being offered another job at AOL, which bought Bebo for $850 million in spring 2008.
Downsizing Bebo's activities in Blighty, the U.S. and Australia is part of a decision to pinkslip around 100 AOL staff, announced earlier this week, as the outfit prepares to be spun-off from parent Time Warner.
A skeleton staff is expected to remain in the U.K. office following the restructure.
Under the then-leadership of former Google topper Joanna Shields, Bebo made waves by backing web dramas "KateModern" and "Sophia's Diary." In more robust economic times, these attracted lucrative sponsorship coin from blue-chip advertisers keen to reach young consumers.
But Bebo, aimed at teenage girls, has struggled to remain fashionable with such a fickle crowd as rival social-media sites like Facebook powered ahead. The downturn has only made matters worse.
A Bebo spokeswoman said: "We are in the process of re-aligning the Bebo business and need to make sure that our resources are aligned with our new business mode in order to execute effectively against our future vision and stay competitive. We are therefore required to make some difficult decisions about the future of our organization and its people in order to stay competitive."
AOL appointed Stephane Panier to run Bebo's global operations in the summer. He is examining all aspects of the biz as Bebo attempts to reinvigorate itself.
Contact the Variety newsroom at
news@variety.com