According to an industry source, a small number of staff had been retained in Hong Kong to serve Expresso, its proprietary email marketing solution, while the Taiwan and China operations are likely to be merged into Chinadotcom subsidiary, Ion Global. The Australia and Korea offices are not affected by the cutbacks. The move comes as a surprise as Mezzo, known as 24/7 until its rebranding early last year, had recently signed on new clients, including eBay Taiwan and was close to confirming a deal with Priceline.com.
The changes are believed to be in response to financial problems recently revealed at its China office.
In a separate development, DoubleClick will close its media business following the liquidation of its majority owner Asiacontent.com.
DoubleClick had partnered with Asiacontent.com in 1999 to set up a technology and media representation venture. It will now transfer business in its subsidiaries in Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong to management in those countries.
The company is also seeking alternatives for its China and Singapore operations.
