Motley Fool cuts jobs

February 8, 2001: 3:12 p.m. ET

Investing and personal finance company trims 1/3 of workforce

NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Investing and personal finance media company The Motley Fool is laying off 115 employees, roughly one-third of its work force.

A spokesman for the company said Thursday the job cuts would be made at its offices in the U.S. and the U.K. The company, which was established in 1993, currently employs 355 people.

Motley Fool also will close down Soapbox.com, a Web site that allows individuals to post and publish their own opinions and ideas on the markets and trading. The company launched that site in June 2000.

All the employees losing their jobs will receive severance packages of at least one month's pay, the spokesman said.

"Our customers have come to expect a high level of service from the Motley Fool," Pat Garner, the company's chief executive said in a brief statement Thursday.

"By streamlining our organization and focusing our resources on products and services that our customers value most, we will ensure than the Fool continues to fulfill its unique role as the 'trusted advisor' for the 30 million people we reach monthly both online and offline," Garner added.

The company, whose products and services are available across a variety of media including its Web site, books, online seminars, and a syndicated weekly column and radio show, is the latest media outfit to announce substantial staffing reductions in the face of weaker advertising sales.

Others that have recently cut payrolls include News Corp. (NWS: Research, Estimates), TheStreet.com (TSCM: Research, Estimates), NBC and AOL Time Warner (AOL: Research, Estimates), the parent company of CNNfn.

The Motley Fool, which is headquartered in Alexandria, Va., is privately-held. It was founded as an investing newsletter by brothers David and Tom Gardner with Erik Rydholm.