Salon Warns of Shortfall, Cuts 20% of Staff

Salon.com(SALN Quote) said Wednesday it will not meet Wall Street's expectations for its fiscal 2001 third quarter and is laying off 20% of its workforce in an attempt to reach profitability more quickly.

The company said it expects to post a loss per share of between 23 cents and 26 cents, wider than the 13-cent loss projected by one analyst polled by First Call/Thomson Financial. The company lost 49 cents a share in the year-ago period. The company also said it expects revenues to be between $2 million and $3 million for the period, compared with $3 million in revenues in the year-ago period.

As part of an overall cost-cutting measure, the Internet media company eliminated 25 jobs. "The market is demanding profitability and we're committed to get there as quickly as possible in 2001," the company said in a statement.

Shares of Salon.com rose 3 cents, or 3%, to $1.06 during regular session Nasdaq trading.