Oxygen.com plans job cuts, scale back Web site

NEW YORK (AP) _ Oxygen Media said Tuesday it is laying off nearly two-thirds of the staff at its oxygen.com Web site and is scaling back the site's content because of difficult business conditions.

Tuesday, August 27th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Oxygen Media said Tuesday it is laying off nearly two-thirds of the staff at its oxygen.com Web site and is scaling back the site's content because of difficult business conditions.

Twenty-nine people of the 44 workers at oxygen.com are expected to lose their jobs over the next three months, said spokeswoman Kassie Canter.

The focus of oxygen.com will also shift to promoting the Oxygen cable network, rather than original content. Chat rooms, for example, are being phased out.

The layoffs do not affect Oxygen Media's Oprah.com, which employs another 30 people. Oxygen Media has had some small layoffs this year, but this is the first such move at Oxygen.com in 2002.

Oxygen Media was founded in 1998 as an online and cable provider of content targeted toward women. Its founders include Oprah Winfrey.