jobs.com filed for Chapter 11 protection with the U.S. bankruptcy Court in
the Northern District of Texas in Fort Worth.
A competitive marketplace and a “high burn rate” were the catalysts
behind the filing, according to Eric Villines, director of publication
relations.
“There are 20,000 job boards out there, all of which cater to audiences
with varying degrees of technical expertise” he explained. “Even though our
sales department increased our revenue by 400 percent over the last year, it
was simply not enough.
“Closing our doors now is the mature thing to do,” he continued. “Many
dot-com companies held off closing until there were no other choices.
However, jobs.com has several million in the bank, $40 million in
advertising dollars, a good URL and a good value. Rather than burn our
shareholders monies, we thought it best to file for Chapter 11 and get
general protection.”
The company began laying off employees at the beginning of the new year,
Villines noted. “In our heyday we had 100 employees, about 35 were let go in
January. Additional severance packages were handed out last week. At
present, we have about 11 people on staff fulfilling sales, legal, Web
design and other functions.”
The company will continue operating its core business for the next 60 to
90 days.
Villines anticipates during that time the company will either be sold or,
better yet, a new business plan will be put into effect.
“An additional business plan is not impossible,” he said. “The government
encourages people to find a safe way to get out of this position. A cash
infusion would be nice, but it is unlikely in light of the market downturn.”
The online job board launched in 1999 and, to date, has received more
than $100 million in funding from idealab Capital Partners, CBS/Viacom
and others.
The firm additionally has alliances with a
group of specialized recruiting companies such as Recruiters-Aid,
IMDiversity.com and Scholastic Recruits.
