Job Cuts Survey

U.S. Internet companies cut 4,805 jobs in September as commercial Web sites--from services to retailing--tried to reduce costs, according to an employment firm survey. That was 14.6% more than the 4,193 “dot-com” jobs cut in August and more than double the 2,194 in July, according to the statistics compiled by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. of Chicago. Dot-com founders “started the business with a exit strategy, either by an IPO or selling the company outright,” said John Challenger, the firm’s president. “Companies are now struggling to control costs through job cuts.” Since December, there have been 5,054 cuts among service providers on the Internet, followed by 4,563 in retail, 1,670 in portal businesses, 1,430 in entertainment and 1,052 in health and fitness, the survey said.