More Bad News From Daily-Deals World

LivingSocial to lay off 400, Grouponers may want CEO ousted
By Liam Carnahan,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 29, 2012 10:19 AM CST
More Bad News From Daily-Deals World
This Oct. 21, 2011 file photo shows the Groupon logo inside the online coupon company's offices, in Chicago.    (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

Things still aren't so cheery in daily-deals land, with two of the biggest players in the space—Groupon and LivingSocial—taking a hit in the press after taking a hit in the wallet. The latest:

  • LivingSocial will announce today that it's cutting almost 9% of its staff, sources tell the Washington Business Journal. That's about 400 jobs. The news comes on the heels of a depressing Q3, in which the company reported a $565 million loss and saw revenue fall by $14 million to $124 million.

  • And in the case of Groupon, the chopping block could be placed at the CEO's door. With its stock having crashed 80% since its IPO, the board may be looking to boot Andrew Mason. It meets today, reports the Wall Street Journal.
  • Mason appeared at a Business Insider conference yesterday, and one soundbite is getting a lot of play, per the Los Angeles Times: "It would be weird [if the board didn't question my leadership]. ... It would be more noteworthy if the board wasn’t discussing whether I’m the right guy for the job. If I ever thought I wasn't the right guy for the job, I'd be the first person to fire myself."
  • Investors apparently liked the idea of Mason giving himself a pink slip, writes Adam Clark Estes for the Atlantic Wire, because the company's stock closed up 12% at $4.42. "That's still a long ways from $28, but the price is certainly not as close to 0 as it was before Mason ostensibly offered to show himself the door."
(More Living Social stories.)

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