Last rites for MarchFirst

NEWS Chapter 11 bankruptcy does not necessarily mean the end of the road for a business but it's difficult to see a way out for MarchFirst. The company has already offloaded a range of assets, and fired more than half its workforce in a desperate bid to remain profitable. The European businesses are not covered by the Chapter 11 filing, but their future remains uncertain. Specialist internet consultancies on both sides of the Atlantic have been particularly badly hit by the dot-com downturn. Razorfish, Scient, and Viant have all been forced to cut staff in a bid to stay in business.