Time Inc. staffers are bracing for layoffs next week, but the cuts might be lighter than expected and mostly spare some of the company's biggest magazines, which include People, Time and InStyle.
Media
Time Inc. Layoffs Could Be Lighter Than Feared, Largely Spare Some Magazines
But Cuts Still Likely Tuesday: 'The Structure of the Company Is Changing'
Time magazine.
The New York Post reported this week that the company was expected to cut nearly 500 staffers, but people familiar with the matter say the figure will likely be smaller than that.
The cuts seem likely to hit on Tuesday and claim employees in technology and corporate sales roles, including some overlapping functions created when Time Inc. acquired American Express Publishing last year, the people said.
"Jobs are going to be lost because the structure of the company is changing," one staffer said.
Currently, Time Inc. separates its magazines into three groups -- News and Sports, Style and Entertainment and Lifestyle -- which are led by three separate executive VPs, who report to CEO Joe Ripp. Magazine editors and publishers report to their respective group presidents. Corporate roles including sales and custom content exist outside of these groups.
Time Inc. employs roughly 5,000 people in the U.S. and 2,800 abroad, according to a document the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last November.
The anticipated layoffs are part of Time Inc.'s preparations to spin off from parent Time Warner in the second quarter of this year.
Mr. Ripp is slated to address the company's managers next Thursday during a quarterly management meeting. He is also expected to name a chief revenue officer next week.
Real estate moves could be among the topics Mr. Ripp covers next Thursday. Bloomberg News reported Friday that Time Inc. is considering a move from the 2 million-square-foot Time & Life building to locations with roughly 600,000 square feet in lower Manhattan.
The company has also considered moving some employees from its Manhattan headquarters to the 132,000 square feet of office space Time Inc. has in Parsippany, N.J., people tell Ad Age.
"Right now we are exploring all of our options in terms of locations," a spokeswoman said. She declined to comment on layoffs.
Staffers from the former American Express Publishing -- who oversee Travel + Leisure and Food & Wine -- are also expected to decamp from their separate office space and join other Time Inc. staffers. On Thursday, the travel website Skiff said Time Inc. plans to shutter another former AmEx title, Executive Travel. A spokeswoman for the American Express titles said she has "no news on this."
