Groupon Ousts CEO Andrew Mason

"I was fired today," Mason told employees in a letter, Bloomberg reported

Struggling Chicago online deals company Groupon has ousted its founder and CEO Andrew Mason, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

Mason's position had been in question ever since the company went public and is stock plunged.

The decision comes after Groupon Inc. posted a larger fourth-quarter net loss on Wednesday, and its weaker than-expected revenue outlook sent its shares down 24 percent after-hours.

The guidance fueled investor worry that people are tiring of the myriad of online restaurant, spa and Botox deals that Groupon built its business on, and that the company's efforts to broaden into an e-commerce powerhouse haven't been paying off.

Mason, a Pittsburgh native, moved to Chicago in 1999 to attend Northwestern.

He founded a company called The Point in 2007, which morphed into Groupon a year later.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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