Zefer Lays Off Another 100

In a second wave of cuts in as many months, Boston Internet consulting firm Zefer has laid off 100 employees, or nearly 15 percent of its workforce, as it tries to endure the dot-com downturn.

“Zefer, like all businesses today, is feeling the impact of a slowed economy and needed to realign its cost structure with current market demand,” Zefer spokeswoman Sara Buda said.

The company, which also has offices in Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh and San Francisco and London, declined to detail which locations and departments were hardest hit.

Last month, privately held Zefer let go as many as 120 people in another 15 percent headcount reduction. It cited the same reasons.

A general slowdown in spending among dot-coms and traditional firms alike, have hurt companies throughout the consulting sector over the past three quarters.

That, plus the crash of consulting stocks, led Zefer to scratch its $50 million IPO in September.

Changing its tack, the company has continued to raise venture capital ($120 million to date) and is focusing on Global 2000 customers rather than Internet outfits that were unable to pay their bills and offered little chance of repeat business.