=CareerBuilder acquired by Apollo Global Management (APO) (6/17)

• CareerBuilder cut 120 employees, or 4 percent of its workforce, including 30 workers in its head office in Chicago.

The layoffs this week follow a purchase of the digital job-listing company in June by private-equity firm Apollo Global Management and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board. Private-equity firms often reduce staff to reduce costs and improve profit margins.

CareerBuilder got its start in the mid-1990s as an online classified advertising site formed by a group of newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, that wanted to have a digital presence and preserve advertising revenue tied to job listings. It was one of the first websites tailored to help job seekers and employers find each other online, and to provide advertising alongside that function.

Before the cuts, the company had about 3,300 employees worldwide, including 1,230 in Chicago. It reported annual revenue of $714 million last year.

The online human resources arena has expanded significantly over the past 20 years, creating significant competition for CareerBuilder, including from Indeed.com, Monster.com and HotJobs.com. LinkedIn and, more recently, Glassdoor also have evolved into important job-posting sites for employers and job seekers.