The long and somewhat sad downward spiral that is the MySpace social networking web site continues, at least according to the latest Internet reports. TechCrunch reports via unnamed sources that MySpace is expected to lay off at least 150 of its remaining 450 employees on Wednesday. It adds that yet another 150 employees will also be laid off as well but those employees "can work with pay for a few weeks while they search for another job."
MySpace already cut 500 team members from its roster earlier this year. The site, currently owned by News Corporation, has been losing traffic to its big rival Facebook for some time. MySpace recorded "just" 45 million unique visitors in January 2011 compared to a whopping 70 million unique users at the same time period a year ago. News Corporation has been looking to sell off MySpace for a while and it"s been reportedly asking for as much as $100 million to sell off the company. A few weeks ago rumors hit the Internet that an investment group that had Activision CEO Bobby Kotick as a possible member was looking to purchase MySpace.
TechCrunch adds that as a part of this week"s rumored MySpace layoffs, the company itself is also supposed to finally be sold off with the papers signed later this week. The actual sale announcement is supposed to be made on Friday, according to the report. It remains to be seen if anyone can bring MySpace back to its former popularity and status.