“As you all know, the past year has been a time of transition at Time Inc.,” said Chairwoman-CEO Ann S. Moore in a staff memo Thursday. “While we continue to invest in our core magazines, we are also focused on transforming our work force and broadening our digital capabilities in order to become a truly multiplatform publisher.” Addressing the future direction of Time Inc., Moore added, “But progress brings about change and we need to continue to evolve to meet the cost pressures and challenges presented by our rapidly shifting industry.”
The layoffs represent some 289 job losses nationwide, 172 of which are to be cut from the media giant’s editorial field, the remaining 117 jobs will be cut from its business sector.
Thursday’s layoffs are only the latest wave of job cuts at Time Inc. In February, the corporation cut 100 jobs, followed by another 250 layoffs in April. In September, Time Inc. put its subsidiaries, Time4 Media and the Parenting Group, up for sale. Last month, 27 employees at the consumer marketing division of Time Inc. lost their jobs.
As a result of the cutbacks, People magazine, Time Inc.’s most profitable publication, will be closing down their bureaus in Atlanta, Chicago and Washington.
“Printing news on dead trees with toxic ink is rapidly declining in popularity,” said Mike Adams, creator of NaturalNews.com. “Smart information consumers are increasingly turning to the internet, where information is not only faster and more eco-friendly than with printed magazines, but also far more independent and decentralized. Consumers today trust independent, grassroots news organizations far more than the corrupt, profit-driven media giants that dominated circulation statistics in the twentieth century,” Adams said. “A new era of news and information is upon us, and it doesn’t arrive by snail mail.”
On January 8, Time magazine unveiled the new version of its internet adaptation, www.time.com.
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