NWCN.com

SEATTLE - The real-estate Web site Zillow.com is slashing its work force by a quarter to cut expenses and gird against the ailing U.S. economy.

The company announced yesterday that it plans to lay off 40 employees Tuesday, with most of the cuts in Seattle, where the company is based.

Chief Executive Rich Barton wrote on the company Web site Zillowblog.com that the company has "sizable cash reserves" but determined the cuts were needed to help it weather the economic downturn.

Zillow, launched in 2006, hosts real estate listings and helps visitors find competitive mortgage rates, among other features. Its revenues come from online ad sales.

Despite the housing slump, the company said it had attracted 5.4 million unique visitors to the Web site last month -- a 42 percent jump from a year ago.