Recruiting in China

Social networking Web site MySpace will cut its staff by about 30 percent so as "to return to an environment of innovation," company executives confirmed on Tuesday.

The job cuts will affect about 425 employees across all its U.S. divisions, the company said.

The company took the move after it had been steadily losing ground to rival Facebook, MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta said.

"Simply put, our staffing levels were bloated and hindered our ability to be an efficient and nimble team-oriented company," said Van Natta.

"I understand that these changes are painful for many," he said." They are also necessary for the long-term health and culture of MySpace. Our intent is to return to an environment of innovation that is centered on our user and our product."

MySpace's corporate offices are based in Beverly Hills near downtown Los Angeles.

Jonathan Miller, an executive with parent company News Corp., said MySpace "grew too big considering the realities of today's marketplace."

"I believe this restructuring will help MySpace operate much more effectively both structurally and financially moving forward," he said. "I am confident in MySpace's next phase under the leadership of Owen and his team."

The job cuts will leave MySpace with about 1,000 domestic employees.