By: Joe Strupp Downsizing Part Of Company-Wide Restructuring
As part of a plan to cut about $60 million in expenses, Dow Jones
& Co. will layoff an undisclosed number of workers in all areas,
officials said. Among those expected to lose staff are The
Wall Street Journal and WSJ.com.
"The bulk of those cuts can be done in areas that are not people-
related," said Karen Miller Pensiero, a Dow Jones spokeswoman.
"But others must be in layoffs and attrition."
Dow Jones, which also publishes Barron's and
SmartMoney magazines, revealed last month that earnings
for the first quarter of 2001 (due out April 12) would dip below
expectations and be below results for first quarter 2000.
Pensiero blamed the poor revenue forecast and future job cuts on
"the continuing economic uncertainty and related softness in
advertising."
Dow Jones employs 8,550 workers worldwide, with 250 at WSJ.com.
Company officials would not speculate how many employees would
lose their jobs or which divisions of the company would feel the
brunt of the cutbacks. "Most layoffs will not be at WSJ Online,"
she said. "They will be in other parts of the company."
WSJ.com, which launched in 1996, is the largest newspaper Web
site to require paid subscriptions. Pensiero said the site had
535,000 paid subscribers at the end of 2000, a 42% increase from
a year before.
Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is an associate editor for E&P.
Copyright 2001, Editor & Publisher.
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