Angie’s List lays off 97 employees

Angie’s List laid off 97 members of its sales force team today.

The largest reduction, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, will come from the Big Deal sales team.

The online review site reported a second-quarter loss of $18.4 million July 23 amid rising expenses.

In a written statement, Chief Operating Officer Mark Howell said the business decision was extremely difficult to make. However, he said Angie’s List still is a sound business

“This painful step is part of an overall plan to improve our sales productivity and performance and establish a new performance-based measurement system by which we will evaluate our sales teams,” he said.

Stock prices on the Nasdaq opened at $8.05 today and were trading at $8.11 mid day. The company’s 52-week high is $25.18.

Call Star reporter Chris Sikich at (317) 444-6036. Follow him @ChrisSikich.