So, in an effort to “provide the company with a clear path for sustained growth and profitability,” CEO Mike Jones made the announcement that 47% of MySpace workers (nearly 500 employees) would be getting pink slips. {TechCrunch}

Ouch. Guess they missed the memo on the economic recovery thing.

The job cuts are across the board, and follow a deep 2009 cut that took MySpace’s international staff from 450 to 150 people. {Paid Content UK} Most of the international staff cuts are in ad sales, and though there’s no breakdown by department for the US, sales positions there are expected to be on the chopping block as well.

Though it’s likely not much consolation for the newly unemployed MySpace alumni, Jones ended his official statement on a somewhat more upbeat note.

“While itâ€s still early days, the new Myspace is trending positively and the good news is we have already seen an uptick in returning and new users. Since the worldwide rollout of the new Myspace, there have been more than 3.3 million new Profiles created.  We also introduced Topic Pages, which connect users to entertainment-focused content from news sites and blogs all over the Web. Over 134,000 Topic Pages have been created since the introduction of the new Myspace. There has also been a boost in viral activities, with over 10 million social actions and 90 million “follows” within the Hubs and Topics categories.  In addition, we are seeing Curators driving a lot of the engagement on our site.  Users who “friend” one of our Curators increased their frequency of visits by 35 percent.  Lastly, we have already seen a rise of four percent in mobile users just between November to December, now totaling over 22 million,” he said. {Paid Content}

After the “elimination” of the Vice President of Communications position formerly held by Karen Duffy whose responsibilities are now being divided by Zac Posenâ€s mother Susan and long-time Director of Public Relations and Celebrity, Alexandra Smith, major layoffs are expected to continue to shake the showrooms of Posen and now… Gucci! While it may have been a foreseeable regret for a new label like Posen in these tough times, it’s an even more devastating defeat for fashion powerhouse Gucci. Chanel had a round of layoffs that affected mostly contract workers, and luxury makers in general have had a difficult 2008. There have been glimmers of hope that economic difficulties wouldn’t continue to 2010, but these recent developments make us wonder. If fashion heavyweights are still shedding staff, just how long will it take for a full recovery? With investors in other sectors returning to the table, we hope that retail and fashion aren’t far behind.

Read the full story {Daily News}