Penguin Random House's Berkley Publishing Group has confirmed that a number of employees were laid off. The downsizing at the mass market division, which comes on the heels of a number of cuts, is likely a reaction to the steady decline in the sales of mass market paperbacks.
A spokesperson for Berkley told PW that “a number" of positions at Berkley/NAL had been eliminated. The spokesperson said that due to corporate policy, he would not comment further about "the specific positions or individuals affected.”
However, sources said the layoffs included at least four editors, in addition to an a number of support staff.
This round of layoffs is just the latest to hit the division. The first round happened last summer, when Penguin Publishing Group merged Berkley and New American Library—both mass market paperback units—into a single division, called the Berkley Publishing Group. The merging of the imprints resulted in the layoffs of an unspecified number of employees.
In January, Penguin merged Berkley into the unified Putnam and Dutton division under the direction of Ivan Held. This move resulted in the departure of Leslie Gelbman, who had been named president of Berkley.
