Laptop charity lays off staff, blames weak economy

BOSTON (Reuters) - A U.S.-based project that aims to place low-cost laptops in the hands of children in developing nations is cutting half its staff, or about 30 jobs, citing tough economic times.

Salaries for the remaining 32 staff at the One Laptop Per Child Foundation will be reduced, said Nicholas Negroponte, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who founded the project.

"Like many other nonprofits that are facing tough economic times, One Laptop per Child must downsize in order to keep costs in line with fewer financial resources," he said in a post on his blog. (blog.laptop.org)

The group will also scale back operations, spinning off an organization that supports laptops sold in Latin America and focusing attention on expanding sales to countries in the Middle East as well as in Afghanistan and Pakistan, he said.

The foundation has yet to achieve its goal of selling the laptops at a price of $100 each, but about 500,000 of the rugged, kid-friendly machines are being used around the world. Donors pay $199 at www.amazon.com/xo to give a child a laptop.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle, Editing by Jason Szep, Leslie Gevirtz)