AltaVista to Cut 225 Jobs to Become Profitable

AltaVista Co., a unit of CMGI Inc., said it will cut 225 jobs, or about a quarter of its work force, as the Internet search service seeks to become profitable before selling shares to the public. AltaVista will take a charge of about $7.5 million in the quarter ending Oct. 31 for the job cuts and for consolidating its four offices into one in Palo Alto, AltaVista Chief Executive Rod Schrock said. He said he expects the business to be profitable by Jan. 31. The new focus will make AltaVista a cross between Inktomi Corp., whose software speeds the flow of information on the Internet, and Google Inc., a Web-search site, Schrock said. AltaVista will expand its service to more than 35 countries from the current seven, he said. Andover, Mass.-based CMGI, an Internet venture fund company, bought AltaVista last year from Compaq Computer Corp. Shares of CMGI closed at $37.75 down $2.38 on Nasdaq.