Petopia Lays Off 120 Workers

The “dot-com” financing crunch has bitten online pet store market Petopia.com, prompting the self-proclaimed “Internet pet paradise” to lay off about 120 workers, or 60% of its staff, company officials said.

Donnelle Koselka, Petopia’s vice president of corporate communications, said she herself was among about 120 staff members of the early entrant into the online pet marketplace who had received layoff notices and ceased working as of Friday. The layoffs at the San Francisco-based company came after a hoped-for financing deal collapsed Wednesday.

Koselka added that the site, which aimed to serve as an online pet store and community for animal lovers, would fulfill existing orders and continue to take new ones.

“We are actively looking for another partner, either corporate or financier, somebody to value our assets,” she said. “Although we know the chances are slim, we are still working toward that.”