Cheezhead

Hot off the presses. The following e-mail message went out to Monster employees this morning:

To All Monster Associates:

It has now been more than three months since I was named Chairman and CEO of Monster. In that time, I have had the opportunity to meet with many of you, and appreciate your ideas on how we can improve our organization. Monster is a great growth company and a powerful brand, and I am confident in our ability to build on our track record of growth and deliver on our commitments to customers, associates and shareholders.

Today, we are announcing a game plan for Monster’s future – one that will drive innovation, strengthen our leadership position and empower you to reach your potential. These actions are the result of a thorough analysis by our management team, which looked closely at our business operations, organizational structure, market, and long-term opportunities.

The focus of our efforts is on investing in innovation, to deliver the kind of experience to employers and job seekers that will maintain Monster’s status as the #1 brand in the online career marketplace. To get there, we have to further simplify our organizational structure to eliminate layers of management and share information among our businesses on a global scale. We also need to provide superior products and services, along with effective brand-building programs that will strengthen our competitive position. Finally, we need to manage our business in the most cost-effective and productive way possible.

To accomplish these objectives, we have made the difficult decision to reduce the number of staff positions at Monster by approximately 800 globally beginning immediately and into 2008. While eliminating positions is never easy, we will act in a professional and sensitive manner to ensure a smooth transition for both the Company and the affected employees. As a result of these reductions, a large portion of the savings we achieve will be reinvested in the growth of our business. We also will have a more sharply focused organization that is empowered to respond quickly to market opportunities.

In the next few days, your team managers and the Human Resources department will provide additional information about planned changes in your specific area of the Company. I am also committed to having more frequent communications with you going forward.

Tomorrow I will host an all hands conference call at 7:00 am ET to accommodate our associates in Europe and Asia and we have also scheduled a 12:00 pm meeting in Maynard for our North American associates. The dial-in information is included at the end of this message.

Again, I want to emphasize my confidence in Monster’s future – and my belief that by investing in innovation, streamlining the organization, and improving our cost-efficiency, we are taking the right actions for our long-term growth and success.

Sincerely,

Sal Iannuzzi

Yep, 800 peeps, gone. If my math is right, that’s about 15 percent of their workforce. Times are tough.