Yam.com decides to lay off 13 workers

Yam.com (蕃薯藤), Taiwan's second-largest Internet portal, axed 10 positions yesterday as part of a plan to restructure its business model to focus more application services.

Of the 13 employees shown the door, 10 were laid off and three were given the option to resign from positions in departments deemed no longer vital to the company's operations, said Wu Kuo-wei (吳國維), senior vice president of the company. The downsizing eliminated staff positions in business development, as well as search engine data base builders and content editors, Wu said, adding that the total number of staff would drop to 207 after the layoffs.

Wu said that a change in market conditions making it harder to turn a profit had also played a hand in the company's decision to layoff workers. Web companies generate most of their revenue from advertising, which has tapered off with the slowing economy.

"There have been dramatic changes in the Internet sector recently," Wu said. "Not just at Yam but all Taiwan Net companies have to face that reality," he added.

That reality has dawned bright and clear for hundreds of dotcom start-ups around the globe this year as the so-called Internet bubble burst and stocks in Web firms fell in the wake of disastrously poor profit performances. This latest readjustment comes a week after a joint Internet news site venture between Yam.com and English-language daily Taiwan News folded due to inefficient management and tough market competition.