Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), laid off 34 employees, or about 10% of its staff, earlier this month as part of its effort to cut $3 million in annual operating expenses. In addition, another 38 employees have until December 31 to accept an offer to take early retirement. Before the staff reductions, Augsburg had 240 people at its corporate offices in Minneapolis and 114 people in 16 other locations.
The Rev. Marvin Roloff, president and CEO of Augsburg, said the corporate-wide reorganization is in response to 10 years of steady revenue declines, during which "the company has not responded as well as it should to the needs of our market." Roloff noted that Augsburg expects to have an operating loss this year as well as in 2000.
To better meet the needs of its customers, Augsburg will now consist of four operating units--an ECLA group, an ecumenical group, a professional development group and a consumer group. In addition, new business units are being formed in Canada and for new ventures.
