News emerged late this week about CBS laying off CNet staff to streamline business and cut costs. Reports suggested the layoffs would be focused around CNet’s entertainment properties, including TV.com, MP3.com, and GameSpot. CBS also supposedly planed on merging several aspects of itself and CNet, the biggest being CBSNews.com and CNet News into one portal.

According to MediaMemo, CBS execs won’t release specifics on what exactly is involved in the CNet restructuring. However, MM does have a memo from Quincy Smith, CEO and Neil Ashe, President of CBS Interactive, explaining the changes that will take place with CBS and CNet in the near future. While positive, the memo details which departments will be merged with others, something which nearly always results in an overlap of personnel.

Quincy and Neil congratulate the team on a great year and assure them that their work is definitely something to be proud of. After a couple of paragraphs detailing the company’s progress with advertising, promotions and deals, they move onto the “Organizational Promotions and Changes.”

Of course, the big one, the merging of CBS and CNet into one news portal.

“Our Technology&News division will bring CBSNews.com and CNET News.com into a single CBS Interactive News Group. Each site will maintain its own brand identity, while benefiting from shared resources in design, product and engineering to deliver deeper and more comprehensive coverage of major stories and events.”

CBS will also combine sports, games and music into one group. CBS’s lifestyle properties, CHOW and UrbanBaby, to the entertainment group (TV.com, CBS.com, The CBS Audience Network and TheInsider.com) to capitalize on the similarities in audience and advertisers.

Check out MediaMemo for the full mail.