Twitter to axe 300 staff in a bid to reduce losses

CEO Jack Dorsey renews efforts to tart-up Twitter for sale

Troubled social media network Twitter is believed to be planning cuts of up to 300 jobs, or around eight per cent of its workforce, in an effort to cut its losses.

According to Bloomberg, sources close to the company revealed the plans, although they are not definite and the overall number of cuts could be even greater.

The cuts, if and when they do happen, would be the second sizeable round of layoffs at the company since Jack Dorsey returned as CEO, after 336 roles were slashed last October.

"Made some tough but necessary decisions that enable Twitter to move with greater focus and reinvest in our growth," Dorsey said last year.

Since then Twitter has tried hard to find a buyer, as it has struggled to grow the business on its own. However, despite interest from a range of firms, including Google, Salesforce and even Disney, no deal was forthcoming.

This appears to have forced the firm's hands in making the cuts, which may well help present a more profitable business to any future buyers, who may have been unwilling to take on such a large staff for the ailing company.

Twitter, despite widespread awareness on the web, has struggled to grow users from its base of around 300 million, at a time when rival Facebook has soared past the one billion user mark.

This in turn has made it hard for Twitter to attract advertisers, meaning its revenue have stalled, in turn causing its share price to fall.

Twitter itself has started trying new tactics to improve the site and attract and retain users, such as discounting media from posts on its 140-character limit.