In a rapid-fire burst of painful moves, Israeli Interent and finance companies announced a series of high-profile layoffs and shutdowns in the last few days that in some cases is causing executive heads to roll.

In a rapid-fire burst of painful moves, Israeli Interent and finance companies announced a series of high-profile layoffs and shutdowns in the last few days that in some cases is causing executive heads to roll. High-speed Internet hardware developer Orckit is expected to lay off scores of workers, published reports said Sunday. Also on Sunday, Versaware chief executive officer Harry Fox announced his resignation from the Jerusalem-based e-book company in an email to employees. In the letter, parts of which were obtained by israel.internet.com, Fox said that he and the board disagreed about the company's direction. Fox remains a major shareholder in the company, and said in his email that he hopes to return. The company declined to comment on Fox's email. On Thursday, digital recording provider Nice Systems announced the resignation of its chairman and the firing of 220 workers, 20 percent of its workforce. Also on Thursday, LanguageWare.net, formerly Accent Software, announced its liquidation, and Wholetree.com, its U.S. subsidiary, filed for bankruptcy liquidation in the U.S. Furthermore, Israeli Internet startup accelerator THCG announced that it is in danger of being delisted from Nasdaq.