Beyond.com to Cut 75 Jobs; CEO Quits

Beyond.com Corp. said that Chief Executive Mark Breier has quit and that it will cut 20% of its staff as the Internet software retailer shifts away from consumers to focus on business and government sales. The company will cut 75 jobs, move workers from its consumer division and consolidate offices, resulting in a first-quarter charge of $2 million to $3 million.

Breier, 40, joined Beyond.com as CEO in March 1998 from Amazon.com Inc. Beyond.com, which went public in June 1998, originally aimed to sell software that consumers could download. It struggled to lure shoppers even after spending an estimated $82 million last year on sales and marketing.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company stopped advertising to consumers at the end of the third quarter to concentrate on the business-to-business market. Breier, former vice president of marketing at Amazon.com, led Beyond.com’s move to boost its name recognition and expand customer reliance on software downloads, unveiling national television and radio advertisements in 1998. He now plans to advise and invest in other new Web businesses.

Chief Financial Officer Rick Neely, 45, will be interim CEO while Beyond.com searches for a permanent replacement. Beyond.com shares closed up 56 cents at $8.50 on Nasdaq. They’ve dropped about 78% from a high of $38.50 last January.