Boston- and New York-based Daily Deal Company BuyWithMe is Saying Goodbye to 100 Employees
Posted by erik devaneyAs the childhood saying goes, first is the worst, second is the best and third is the one that ends up firing approximately half of its employees.
Of the major online companies currently peddling coupons in the “daily deal” space, Groupon leads the pack, LivingSocial takes second place and BuyWithMe ranks in a distant third.
Despite going on a recent six-month, six-company acquisition spree, 3rd-place BuyWithMe has reportedly laid off 100 employees. These employees represent approximately 55 percent of the company’s staff.
BuyWithMe CEO James Crowley made this official statement about the matter, which was sent out through a third party PR agency:
BuyWithMe did have a significant reduction in staffing this week. We did this so the company is in the best position to continue to serve its merchants and members. As an organization we’re continuing to pursue our business and to support our customers throughout the country.
The tech blog BetaBeat was the first to break the story. However, news of event first leaked on the website DailyDealMedia. An anonymous comment on the site stated the following:
I’m a former BuyWithMe employee and I was laid off today. The company was not able to raise money in time due to their incompetent CEO, and founder Andrew Moss. There obsession with being the 3rd player, and emulating the giants in the industry led them to making decisions based on some delusional greedy dream. Andrew Moss has no vision and is incapable of innovating. BuyWithMe is a prime example of a company that exists solely to benefit a couple of connected individuals. They are not about the consumers, the merchants, or the team. At this time BuyWithMe is laying off 75% of their workforce in a last ditch effort to make these assholes money.
Ex-employees, who chose to remain anonymous, would later reveal that BuyWithMe laid off closer to 55 percent of its workforce.
The underlying reason for these recent firings is — reportedly — that the company was unable to raise the new funding that it needed. According to one ex-employee, BuyWithMe was seeking $100 million at a $500 million valuation, but no investors would bite.
Related posts:
- Google Strikes Deal to Acquire Daily Deal Service
- UK-Based Tech Company to Create 100 Mass. Jobs Over Two to Three Years
- LivingSocial Offers Daily Deal on Kennedy Tour. Didn’t Know There Was One
- Boston-Based Company Finds ‘Perfect Fuel’ for Athletes
- Cisco Systems to Acquire MA-Based Software Company, BNI Video, for $99M
Short URL: http://www.newenglandpost.com/?p=6112
Posted by erik devaney
on Oct 20 2011. Filed under Featured - For home page featured article.
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