The Greenwood Publishing Group has made a series of moves that will cut the number of publications and employees in a bid to "consolidate the gains of our recent growth," according to officials. In all, 40 employees were laid off, including three editors. According to Greenwood spokesperson Elizabeth Neel, the majority of the layoffs were production staff, deriving from the company's recent decision to outsource that function.
Among Greenwood's other actions, the company is closing the Denver headquarters of Libraries Unlimited, the publisher of backlist titles in library and information science. Edward Kurdyla, v-p of Libraries Unlimited, will remain with Greenwood, but will relocate to the publisher's Westport, Conn., offices; the current editorial acquisitions staff will be retained, but will "work off site." Marketing and production personnel were let go, and LU's marketing and production will be integrated into Greenwood's system.
Greenwood Press will also phase out its Ablex, Auburn House, Bergin & Garvey, and Quorum imprints, as well as the Oryx monograph list published in conjunction with American Council on Education. Greenwood officials said the number of monographs published will be "substantially reduced." The moves are part of Greenwood Press's plan to "reposition" itself to focus exclusively on reference and information books for academic, public and school libraries, Neel said. The restructuring comes on the heels of Greenwood's 2000—2001 buying spree, which included acquisitions of Oryx Press and Libraries Unlimited.
