Groupon has fired its founder and CEO Andrew Mason, after the firm saw its shares tumble on disastrous earnings for the fourth quarter of 2012 (4Q12).
The online deals pioneer had seen a 24% slide in its share price. In the fourth quarter, Groupon’s net loss was $81.1m over a net loss of $65.4m during the corresponding quarter in 2011.
Groupon suffered a net loss of $3m in Q3 2012 and its growth rate has continued to slide. The company had a growth rate of 89% year-on-year in Q1 2012, which fell to 45% in Q2 2012 and 32% in Q3 2012.
Mason said: "After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding — I was fired today. If you’re wondering why, you haven’t been paying attention."
Groupon has temporarily appointed executive chairman Eric Lefkofsky and vice chairman Ted Leonsis as joint chief executives until they find a replacement for Mason.
Lefkofsky and Leonsis jointly said: "We all know our operational and financial performance has eroded the confidence of many of our supporters, both inside and outside of the company. Now our task at hand is to win back their support."
