*TheStreet.com Prunes Staff, Shuts UK Venture
TheStreet.com, a provider of financial news and commentary, will cut its work force by 20 percent, close its United Kingdom operations and "wind down" its joint-venture newsroom with The New York Times later this month, the Internet company said yesterday."In today's environment, companies have two clear choices: chart a direct path to profitability or shut down," Thomas J. Clarke, TheStreet's CEO, said in a statement. "We're in this for the long haul."
The New York-based company will reduce its staff in the United States by about 40 employees.
TheStreet's UK operations would have run out of money by year's end, according to the statement. TheStreet owns 63 percent of www.thestreet.co.uk, which made up for $9 million of TheStreet's consolidated net losses in the first nine months this year.
Additionally, TheStreet reached an agreement with The New York Times to cease operations of a joint newsroom by the end of November. The New York Times owns a 5.7 percent minority interest in TheStreet.
TheStreet's announcement is the latest in a long line of dot-com companies that have had to reduce their staffs or shut down entirely.
