Meredith Corp. is expected to let
go of up to 300 employees as early as this week.
The cuts, which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal, are unlikely to affect editorial staffers at the former
Time Inc. brands. Meredith is believed to be considering the sale of Fortune, Time, Sports Illustrated and Money; it would want to leave staffing decisions to the potential new
owners.
The cuts are expected to hit Time Inc.’s corporate employees in New York the hardest, in a move to reduce duplicate positions in the legal, human resources and
financial departments.
Meredith acquired publisher Time Inc. for $1.85 billion in January. The publisher has since sold off Time Inc. lifestyle titles Sunset and
Essence.
The upcoming cuts are part of Meredith’s plans to shave off up to $500 million in costs over the next two years.
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Meredith is also expected to
reveal a new sales structure, putting a greater focus on each of its magazine brands and promoting its new, massive scale. Time Inc. had recently changed its sales approach to emphasize specific ad
categories, rather than individual brands.
Meredith is now the owner of 40 magazines and 50 websites, with a total revenue of roughly $1.7 billion.