Business

WWF takes hit, to layoff 9 percent of workers
Company news

Associated Press

STAMFORD, Conn. _ World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc. is laying off 39 people, or 9 percent of its work force, and replacing its chief operating officer as the company struggles to recover from a profit slump.

Stuart Snyder, president and chief operating officer, is leaving the company. Pete DiNicola, a senior vice president, will become executive vice president and chief operating officer, reporting to chief executive Linda McMahon.

Several executives who had reported to Snyder will now report directly to McMahon. She said the restructuring, which marked the first significant round of layoffs in about eight years, should save the company about $9 million this year.

McMahon said the company hoped to grow with new television and movie projects and by expanding internationally. The company is planning to open an office in London and is laying groundwork for more live event tours overseas next year.

The Stamford-based entertainment company reported a 21 percent decline in quarterly profits in August, citing lower television ratings and higher administrative costs. Revenues fell 11 percent to $90.7 million from $101.9 million.

WWFE also is trying to recover from the failure of its XFL football league, a joint venture with NBC which folded after one season. In late June the company reported that the failure of the league, which was a 50-50 venture with NBC, cost it $36.2 million.

"Unfortunately, it's necessary," Peter Swan, a stock analyst who follows the company for Pacific Growth Equities in San Francisco, said of the restructuring plan.

Swan said the company was in a good competitive position after buying the ailing World Championship Wrestling business from AOL Time Warner Inc. in March. The move ended an intense rivalry that spanned nearly 20 years.

The reorganization centralizes all marketing functions across the company's core business areas of pay-per-view, television, live event, Internet, and consumer products, and WWF New York, the company's site-based entertainment complex in Times Square.

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NYSE

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RTW Inc., up $1.22 at $2.51; American Physicians Capital Inc., down 62 cents at $15.82

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