Machinima lays off 42 in company restructuring

Entertainment website Machinima was hit with another around of layoffs today as the company undergoes restructuring, Polygon has learned.

Employees have taken to Twitter to share the news of the layoffs. Machinima also provided the following statement to Polygon, but declined to comment further:

"Machinima, Inc., the number one global video entertainment network for young males, today announced a restructuring in and around its sales organization in an effort to create greater focus internally on selling creative ad solutions and branded entertainment, while better leveraging its longstanding partnership with YouTube to drive media sales. In connection with this, the company is releasing 42 employees."

Variety reports that the 42 affected employees — 23 percent of the company's work force — were from Machinima's sales division. The company is also still looking for a new CEO in the wake of co-founder Allen DeBevoise departure last November.

Recode reports that Machinima is slated to be on the receiving end of a $18 million funding round led by Warner Bros., with some participation from earlier investors including Google, MK Capital and Redpoint Ventures. The latter three were part of a $35 million funding round held for Machinima last May. Rumblings of the investment began last week when The Wall Street Journal reported WB was interested in investing or outright purchasing Machinima.

In December 2012, 23 people — 10 percent of the company's employees — were let go, with editor-in-chief Rob Smith telling Polygon at the time the cuts were part of a company-wide refocusing effort.