• Ad Age, Wednesday, July 12, 2006 12:46 PM

The new owners of Vibe magazine, who fired six top staffers within hours of taking control, just dropped the hammer on more workers, reports Ad Age. "There's just things that are happening that are so unnecessary," said an unidentified Vibe employee before being fired. "New owners, new personnel, no problem. But there's a professional, dignified way to do this with some class - and then there's the way they're going about it, which is just incredible in its clumsiness." Among the Tuesday casualties: the managing editor; the executive director-events and artist relations; the design director; the associate music editor; and the director of manufacturing. New CEO Eric Gertler says reducing staff is "the worst part of managing," but declined to say more. A New York private-equity firm announced July 5 that it had acquired the magazine and replaced top editors that very day.

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