By Frank Cho
Advertiser Staff Writer
Honolulu’s WorldPoint Interactive Inc., once one of the state’s most promising high-tech startups with plans to hire hundreds of employees, said yesterday it is planning a restructuring that could result in layoffs.
The company has been under pressure from the state to restructure operations and cut costs to pay back nearly $800,000 in principal and interest on a 1995 loan by the Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.
A company official declined to give specific details of the restructuring, but said last night that an announcement will be made Tuesday.
"The only thing I can tell you is the company is going through some kind of restructuring and, yes, there might be some layoffs," Ron Pettay, WorldPoint’s director for human resources, told The Advertiser last night.
Pettay said WorldPoint, like many other companies, is reacting to competitive pressures in the Internet sector.
"Everyone knows the pressure we have been under the last 90 days," Pettay said.
The market for technology companies burst last March, slowing down venture capital financing. Since then, hundreds of Internet-based companies have burned out of existence.
Founded in 1995, WorldPoint was considered one of the shining stars of Hawai‘i’s fledgling high-tech industry when it received its state loan. It has about 125 employees, 75 in Honolulu and the rest in offices in Texas, California, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
The company translates Web sites into different languages for foreign markets.
Frank Cho can be reached by phone at 525-8088, or by e-mail at fcho@honoluluadvertiser.com
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