• December 18, 2000

NEW YORK (AP) - Oxygen Media, the cable and Internet company geared toward women, is cutting 44 full-time and 21 part-time positions and closing its Seattle office in an attempt to streamline its online operations.

The cuts amount to less than 10% of its staff, the company said Dec. 5.

Earlier in the week, Oxygen announced it had received a $100 million investment from Vulcan Ventures, the investment company controlled by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and one of Oxygen's early backers.

The investment "is a powerful vote of confidence in Oxygen, and combined with our online reorganization, keeps us on plan for profitability," chairman and chief executive Geraldine Laybourne said. "We continue to believe that ... our future is built on the convergence of both TV and online."