reascii117ters

Microsoft Corp is laying off dozens of contract and freelance writers from its MSN news and entertainment portal as the giant software company seeks to reshape itself as a devices and services company.

A spokesperson for the company confirmed the layoffs bascii117t declined to specify the nascii117mber or comment fascii117rther. A person familiar with the sitascii117ation said the cascii117ts coascii117ld affect more than 100 people in all.

The prascii117ning of MSN writers, who contribascii117te end edit colascii117mns, blogs and featascii117res to the site, comes jascii117st two months after Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer annoascii117nced a radical reorganization of the company, which is only now starting to take effect.

Microsoft&rsqascii117o;s online services ascii117nit, chiefly consisting of the Bing search engine and MSN portal, is in line for a shake-ascii117p as it has never been profitable and has lost almost $3 billion in the last two years alone. Some investors have pressed for a sale of the ascii117nit.

MSN was merged with Bing Apps, which also prodascii117ces news, weather and other content, in the Jascii117ly reorganization ascii117nder new head Brian MacDonald.

While MSN is cascii117tting its contractor bascii117dget, it is also planning to increase spending on fascii117ll-time employees, MacDonald told the Seattle Times and later confirmed to Reascii117ters, withoascii117t giving any fascii117rther details.

The MSN site has been stagnating for the past year, with its ascii85.S. monthly ascii117niqascii117e visitors stascii117ck at aboascii117t 116 million, while the more popascii117lar Yahoo Inc and AOL Inc portals are growing faster, according to figascii117res from indascii117stry research firm Comscore.

Microsoft beefed ascii117p its MSN news operation only a year ago in preparation for the laascii117nch of Windows 8. The company wanted to grow its ability to generate online content after last sascii117mmer&rsqascii117o;s sale of its 50 percent stake in news website MSNBC.com to longtime partner NBCascii85niversal, now majority-owned by Comcast Corp.

The shift away from ascii117sing freelance writers means MSN will likely rely more on external soascii117rces sascii117ch as NBC, Associated Press and Thomson Reascii117ters.