Internet service provider Earthlink announced a bold restructuring program which is to include the elimination of around 900 jobs. The ISP will close its Orlando, FL; Knoxville, TN; Harrisburg, PA and San Francisco, CA offices as part of the efforts to cut costs. Its facilities in Pasadena, CA, and Atlanta, GA, will also be shrunk.

EarthLink also noted that it plans to buy back shares, about $200 million's worth. The news helped stock go up by about 10%. The company announced an expected full-year net loss of $79 million to $109 million. The company currently employs about 1,900 people and expects to fire around 900 of them. That doesn't seem that much, considering EarthLink cut 2,600 jobs in 2003 and 2004.

"We expect to announce additional steps as we continue our work over the coming weeks and months," said Rolla P. Huff, EarthLink President and CEO, in an official press release. "While we recognize this is a difficult time for those affected individuals, this was a needed action for the company to better align our cost structure with our existing business," Huff said.

Earthlink, founded in 1994 by Sky Dayton and Reed Slatkin, struggles with a drop in subscribers because it is somewhat behind with its range of offered services. At the same time, the development of municipal Wi-Fi networks which Earthlink won in some cities isn't going as smooth as the company had hoped. Deals such as the one with San Francisco for its planned citywide Wi-Fi network is struggling to overcome tense contract negotiations. Also, Earthlink's joint project with Korean cell phone provider SK Telecom, Helio, sucks the company dry of cash.

A lot of Earthlink's dialup customers have fled to other types of services. Although the company tried to offer DSL and satellite solutions, they were not enough to fight off offers from other competitors such as cable operators.