Twitter to cut 9% of staff, plots new growth strategy

\ New York, Oct 27 (AFP) Twitter announced plans today to\cut nine per cent of its workforce as the struggling socialetwork reaffirmed its strategy to drive growth after failing\to find a buyer.\ \\"We see a significant opportunity to increase growth as\we continue to improve the core service,\\" chief executive Jack\Dorsey said while releasing quarterly results showing more\losses.\ \\"We have a clear plan, and we\\’re making the necessary\changes to ensure Twitter is positioned for long-term growth.\\"\ Twitter reported a net loss for the quarter of USD 103\million, compared with a USD 132 million loss a year earlier.\Revenues meanwhile grew eight percent to USD 616 million, most\of that from advertising.\ The key metric of monthly active users rose only modestly\to 317 million from 313 million in the prior quarter – a\growth pace which has prompted concerns over Twitter\\’s ability\to keep pace in the fast-moving world of social media and\attain profitability.\ Twitter said the restructuring \\"is intended to create\greater focus and efficiency\\" and help move toward\profitability in 2017.\ Twitter was widely reported to be in talks to sell the\one-to-many messaging service, and it held meetings with\Google parent Alphabet and cloud computing giant Salesforce.\But no deal materialised and Salesforce said Twitter was not a\good fit for the group.\ Even though Twitter has never posted a profit, Dorsey\said the results show positive signs.\ \\"The key drivers of future revenue growth are trending\positive, and we remain confident in Twitter\\’s future,\\" he\said.\ The cuts would amount to about 350 jobs based on the\Twitter website\\’s headcount of 3,860 employees worldwide.\Twitter will incur a charge of USD 10 million to USD 20\million for the reorganisation.\ Twitter shares jumped more than five per cent in\pre-market trades, after the results topped most analyst\forecasts and after one financial blog reported that Walt\Disney Co. had reopened talks on an acquisition.\ In a conference call with analysts, Dorsey declined to\comment on the speculated, saying only: \\"Our board is\committed to maximising long-term shareholder value.\\"\ Twitter\\’s 2013 public offering was among the most\anticipated in the sector, but after a brief rise, the shares\have been slumping. Based on its most recent share price,\Twitter\\’s market value is some USD 12 billion.\ Dorsey, one of the co-founders of the messaging platform,\returned as CEO last year as part of an effort to revive\growth.\ Under Dorsey, Twitter added new services such as live\video including partnerships with major sports organizations\and new advertising options. Twitter has drawn large audiences\for events such as the US presidential debates and NFL\football games. (AFP)\SAI\