marchFIRST Cuts More Employees

eServices company marchFIRST seemed to be getting a handle on its $100 million shortfall and the financial turmoil stemming from failing market conditions by the recent investment of $150 million by Francisco Partners and a $12 million interest-free loan from Microsoft.

But Friday, the Chicago-based company revealed it was in the process of laying off more employees to meet its financial goals.

marchFIRST spokesperson Kelly Miller told chicago.internet.com that the company was laying off more people, but would not comment on how many. “The lay offs will be across the board,” Miller said.

Layoffs already occurred in the company’s Chicago office, with more on the way.

“We aren’t making an announcement until all the individuals have been contacted,” Miller said.

This round of layoffs is in addition to a previously announced round of 1,000 cuts in November. The company had said at the time that those layoffs, which affected about 10 percent of its workforce, would save approximately $100 million annually, beginning in 2001.

The company appeared in dire straits before its influx of cash from Francisco Partners and Microsoft. In a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the company said that it needed approximately $50 million in additional financing through the end of 2000 and another $50 million in early 2001 to refinance its existing bank facilities and to meet the company’s liquidity needs for the foreseeable future.

The company was created from the merger between management consulting firm Whittman-Hart and Web consultancy USWeb/CKS.