Oxford University Press has confirmed a reorganization that has led to the layoff of 35 employees. The publisher was not specific, but a key area said to be hit was the offline reference department, which OUP has reportedly consolidated in favor of its expansive online efforts.
The publisher has offices in North Carolina, San Francisco and New York, all of which were affected by the downsizing. In a statement, publisher Laura Brown said only that OUP is "making significant investments in our higher education and professional publishing and our on-line activities, areas where we see exciting growth opportunities."
As part of the reorganization, OUP announced several personnel changes. Casper Grathwohl was named publisher, reference division. Karen Day, associate publisher, reference, will integrate Oxford's print and online editorial programs. Tim DeWerff has been named director, reference development and production. In addition, Evan Schnittman was named senior director, online product and business development, described by OUP as "a new department, which will handle online product and business development for all divisions of the press, and the development and management of Oxford's public Web site."
