Signs of a Downturn - Imeem Lays off 25%

San Francisco based music startup Imeem, which has raised about $19 Million in funding, is the latest to lay off staff, asking a quarter of their 80 employees to leave.

Whoops, Yahoo Update

The original rumors were wrong.  (See my original blog post).  Yahoo is cutting 1,50o people (10% of their workforce) instead of 3,500. 

But I feel Yahoo is wrong - they should clean house a bit more, get rid of the people who no longer want to be there.  And then hire new high performers - they will be among a smaller set of companies hiring in this economy.

Voicing Despair - Jaxtr Lays Off 13

Menlo Park based Jaxtr, which offers voice-over IP services (and yes, a social network as well... why not?), has laid off 13 people, about a third of their employees.

Jaxtr has raised a total of $21.5 Million, about half of that this June.  As such, they seem to be in a good position, as long as they keep costs contained for a while.   I like Jaxtr, I think they have a great product, and am pulling for them to come out strong on the other side.