<B>PaperExchange Announces Layoffs</B>

PaperExchange announced layoffs that total  close to 15 percent of the company’s total workforce., an independent Net marketplace for the pulp and paper industry, has taken the ax to 14 percent of its workforce as part of a major retooling of its business plan, according to an article by the online news source Upside Today.

PaperExchange, majority owned by Internet Capital Group (ICGE), fired 17 of 125 employees last week, mainly in its sales, marketing and administrative departments, confirmed Kent Dolby, PaperExchange's CEO.

Dolby says the layoffs were made necessary after the company decided to focus less on its online exchange for excess paper products, and concentrate instead on developing and selling Internet-based business applications for the pulp and paper industry.

"We are focusing our efforts on providing e-business solutions, so we are adding people on the technology side, while we had employee imbalances in other parts of the company," Dolby said.