CondNet To Cut Jobs 'Across The Board'
This story was written by David Kaplan.
About two weeks after its print sibling warned of impending layoffs, CondNet told staffers today that it too will start slashing jobs "across the board," MediaMemo reported. Earlier, SAI reported that Cond Nast's Wired would be shedding seven staffers and "many more" freelancers. In late October, Cond Nast said it planned to slice budgets company-wide by 5 percent, including scaling back the number of Portfolio and Men's Vogue issues it publishes and laying off some staff.
CondNet sources told me two weeks ago that the company didn't know what the layoff situation would be, though job cuts were expected, given the severity of the economic downturn. Executives were expected to get a better sense of the company's financial picture in late November, since CondNet's budget cycle comes later than the print side's. A CondNet rep emailed me this statement:
"Visibility for 2009 is very limited and therefore we are adjusting all costs to prepare for slower revenue growth. The adjustments are across the board and include staff restructuring and some reduction. Despite the current environment, CondNet will end the year slightly up over 2007. These moves will put the company in a stronger position to handle a challenging year ahead and for the business to benefit when the economy and the ad market start to rebound." More to come.
By David Kaplan