Tom
Doug Henwood wrote:
> WSJ.com - November 22, 2000
>
> Walker Digital Lays Off Most of Headquarters Staff
>
> By STEPHANIE MILES
> WSJ.COM
>
> Walker Digital Inc. has laid off most of its headquarters staff in a
> drastic restructuring, the latest setback for Jay Walker, the founder of
> Priceline.com Inc.
>
> Walker Digital was conceived in 1995 by Mr. Walker as an intellectual
> property laboratory and Internet business incubator, and is responsible
> for developing the name-your-price technology that Priceline.com uses.
>
> On Tuesday, the closely held company laid off at least 100 out of 125
> employees at its Stamford, Conn., headquarters, according to a spokesman
> for Mr. Walker.
>
> Walker Digital also is shutting down three early stage start-ups, which
> are located in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Atlanta. The remaining 200
> Walker Digital employees include a skeleton staff in Stamford, and
> workers at Retail DNA Inc. and Skill Games Inc., two Walker Digital
> companies.
>
> "After extensive internal review, Walker Digital is restructuring its
> headquarters staff," said Kevin Goldman, spokesman for Mr. Walker.
>
> Mr. Goldman emphasized that Walker Digital isn't shutting down
> operations, but will instead focus specifically on its invention
> laboratory and the licensing of its intellectual property portfolio. The
> company holds about 50 patents and has 300 patents pending.
>
> Some employees laid off this week said executives told them that the
> company is indeed winding down operations.
>
> Mr. Goldman, speaking for Mr. Walker, vigorously disputed that
> assertion. "We're not shutting down," he said.
>
> Laid-off employees also said they were offered no severance pay or
> continuing health insurance, although Mr. Goldman said that after
> considering the logistics of the issue, Walker Digital will in fact
> offer some type of severance.
>
> The layoffs come after Walker Digital's latest round of funding fell
> through this week. The company had raised $200 million from investors,
> which include venture-capital firm General Atlantic Partners, according
> to the company's Web site. General Atlantic declined to comment on the
> status of its relationship with Walker Digital.
>
> Mr. Walker, meanwhile, has seen Priceline's shares plummet from a
> 52-week high of $105 in March to a 52-week low of $2.21 this week.
>
> In the last few weeks, Priceline has lost both Chief Financial Officer
> Heidi Miller and the head of its auto-services business, Maryann Keller.
>
> Priceline announced layoffs when it released third-quarter earnings
> earlier this month. In October, Priceline shut down its name-your-price
> grocery business, Priceline Webhouse Club, which had burned through $363
> million in funding.