MySpace cuts two-thirds of global workforce

The move comes a week after the News Corp. unit said it would cut nearly 30 per cent of its domestic work force accounting to 420 jobs in the U.S. Combined, the cuts will reduce MySpace's employee base by nearly 40 per cent to about 1,150.

"Our goal to tap into as many international markets as possible drove us to create too many offices around the globe, and with them came inefficiencies," chief executive Owen Van Natta, a former executive at rival Facebook, said in a memo sent to employees as quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald.

MySpace has 34 localised versions in 28 countries. MySpace said it would close at least four of its 15 overseas offices, while the company is reviewing its offices in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, and Spain.

MySpace will focus to develop London, Berlin and Sydney as the main regional hubs and MySpace China and MySpace Japan, a joint venture with Japanese Internet company Softbank, would not be affected by the plan.

The company has been trying to trim its payroll, bringing its staffing level more in line with its more popular rival, Facebook.

As of May, Facebook said it had about 850 employees worldwide, the vast majority in the United States. While it is available in nearly 100 languages - largely translated for free by its users.

Before the latest cuts, MySpace employed nearly 1,900 worldwide.