Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2001/01/31/letsbuyit_ditches_200_staff/

Letsbuyit ditches 200 staff

Just put it out of its misery, please

By Linda Harrison

Posted in On-Prem, 31st January 2001 16:11 GMT

Letsbuyit.com is to lay off 200 staff and scrap operations in some countries in an effort to avoid collapse.

In the never-ending saga of the dotcom that simply refuses to die, around 60 per cent of employees will be shown the door.

Today's announcement follows 27-year-old hacker-cum-new media entrepreneur Kim Schmitz bailing the company out at the last minute. He has promised to cough up the bulk of the £2.5 million needed to salvage it from bankruptcy.

The Dutch registered-business, listed on Frankfurt's Neuer Markt, asked for protection from creditors last month - at the time it was given until today to come up with a rescue plan. It also saw founder John Palmer step into the CEO hot seat after most of its management quit en masse. Schmitz, infamous as the hacker who broke into the Pentagon, is a friend of Palmer's.

The dotcom is still in talks with potential investors to try and wring out its next round of financing, and reckons it needs £25 million to break even. ®

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