RealNetworks to cut 7.5 percent of work force

NEW YORK - The digital-entertainment company RealNetworks Inc. said Thursday it will lay off about 7.5 percent of its workers, joining a growing list of technology companies forced to trim staff in a difficult economy.

The Seattle-based company said it will cut 130 jobs across most of its locations and business units and also eliminate about 30 contract employees and consultants. The company's Web site said it had about 1,700 employees worldwide as of Dec. 31.

Its shares shed 22 cents, or 6 percent, to $3.44 in Friday morning trading.

In a note to investors, Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt said the job cuts should help the company keep up a positive cash flow even in a weaker economy.

He added that the move "can only be helpful to the share price outlook."

The announcement came on the same day Dallas-based AT&T, the nation's largest telecommunications company, said it will cut staff by 12,000 positions and Viacom Inc., the media company based in Los Angeles, said it would eliminate 850 jobs.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, RealNetworks said the job cuts are designed "to reduce operating costs in light of slowing consumer and business spending due to the current economic downturn."

The company reported in October that it swung to a loss for the third quarter and said it may post a bigger loss for the last three months of the year than Wall Street analysts expected.

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