LAYOFFS—Variety’s Staff Cut As Parent Slashes Costs Across Units

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Cahners Publishing, the American publishing company of Amsterdam-based media giant Reed Elsevier Inc. and publisher of the Hollywood trade paper Variety, has laid off 140 employees, or about 3 percent of its U.S. workforce of 4,800.

In a statement, the New York-based company said the cuts were made “to maintain profitability in response to U.S. economic conditions, and as part of a continuing commitment to lower its cost base.”

The cutbacks occurred in all business units and departments throughout the company’s stable of publications, including those with offices in Los Angeles.

Cahners spokeswoman Lisa Kitei declined to say how many employees had been laid off in Los Angeles. Variety officials said that none of the paper’s 70 editorial employees were laid off, but that a number of employees from its business unit had been let go.

Cahners is the nation’s largest publisher of business-to-business trade titles its magazine holdings include Variety, Video Business, Trade Show Week, Publishers Weekly and Broadcasting and Cable.

“As you know, we made aggressive attempts to reduce costs,” said Marc Teren, Cahners president and chief executive, in an e-mail sent to employees on May 30 and obtained by the Business Journal. “However, even with these and other measures, the economy has become still more challenging and we must maintain our commitment to strike the appropriate balance between costs and revenue.”

Teren told employees that the company had tried to avoid layoffs by cutting discretionary spending, eliminating many open positions, and deferring capital spending.

Sandy Saka, Cahners office manager in Los Angeles, said the layoffs and cutbacks would not affect the company’s expansion plans in Los Angeles. Cahners recently rented an additional 16,000 square feet of space in the Wilshire Courtyard complex at 5700 Wilshire Blvd.

The offices will be home to 50 employees and several Cahners publications, including LA 411 Publishing, MarketCast and the Ashley Group.

In a statement, Teren said, “While always difficult, these reductions meet a commitment to improved profitability and leave us positioned for growth in our key markets.”

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