In an effort to "attain positive cash flow by early
next year," VA-based fantasy sports Web site Sandbox.com
laid off 30 employees yesterday, a 25% cut of its staff,
according to Neil Irwin of the WASHINGTON POST. Sandbox
execs "insist" that they are "trimming expenses from a
position of strength" and the $13M in cash Sandbox has means
they "will survive the accelerating dot-com shakeup."
Sandbox CEO Lawrence Cotter said, "The board and management
team had a goal to turn cash flow positive by the first
quarter of 2001. Market conditions have changed and made
that much more difficult." Most of the employees
"dismissed" were in the company's Phoenix office, which is
responsible for managing Sandbox's sports chat rooms.
Cotter added that the other "area of major job cuts" was the
company's NY-based marketing staff. Cotter said that the
cash reserves allowed "reasonable and fair" severance
packages for the laid-off employees. Cotter also said that
starting in December, "the company will cut the rate at
which it uses up the cash to $200,000 a month" and that "at
that rate the $13 million should last for quite some time."
The company "is left" with about 80 employees, and Cotter
"predicts" the company will achieve positive cash flow by
March (WASHINGTON POST, 11/22). In DC, Michael Bruno
reports that Sandbox projects 2000 revenues of $13M, while
"new product offerings and partnerships" mean 2001 "should
see" revenues of $30M. Sandbox spokesperson Jamie Mottram,
on the lay-offs: "This wasn't something we had to do, we'd
rather do it now when we're strong. It's not something we
wanted to do, but we're trying to shave off as much fat as
possible." Sandbox's $13M in cash is "left" from a $20M
investment from GO2Net and Seahawks & Trail Blazers Owner
Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures (Washtech.com, 11/21).
