Citing the long slump in retail bookstore sales and uncertainty as to when book buyers will return, Simon & Schuster laid off 75 employees last week, representing just under 5% of S&S's worldwide workforce of 1,600. Sixty people were let go in the company's domestic operations, while nine positions were eliminated in the U.K. Customer service and accounts receivable positions in S&S Canada are also being phased out. An unspecified reduction in title output is also planned.
The downsizing announcement came three days before parent company Viacom released its results for the second quarter. In the quarter, revenue at S&S rose, led by sales of Living History. There was no mention of S&S's earnings performance.
In a letter to employees that emphasized planning for the long term, company head Jack Romanos said that "even with the recent uplift caused by a number of exciting titles in the marketplace, the fact remains that our industry continues to be challenged by any number of issues, including the most prolonged period of depressed sales in memory."
He went on to say, "It is necessary to make decisions for both the short- and long-term benefit of the company. These are difficult choices that affect what we publish and the overall staffing levels at Simon & Schuster." The company was tight-lipped on which divisions will be affected and by how many titles. Most of the people identified by PW who have been let go were in middle-level positions.
In his letter, Romanos noted that besides publishing fewer titles, S&S "reorganize[d] our corporate staffs" and "every part of the company has been asked to contribute to this initiative, including sales, publishing, finance, production, customer operations, corporate staff and all divisions."
At least a half dozen S&S editors have been let go in the last nine months, and the publisher has reduced titles by single-digit percentages. Romanos has been generally guarded on prospects for this year—in the winter he said S&S might need to cut titles, and in May said he didn't see any chance for a marked increase in adult sales any time soon.
