Friday, May 01, 2009

Layoffs at IDG

I'm hearing word that there have been a number of layoffs today at IDG.
I don't have an exact number. Nor do I have any official confirmation from the company.
But what I'm hearing is that number of folks being cut is substantial.
And I'm hearing that many of the folks being let go are multimedia journalists, not just old-time print folks.
Even more disconcerting is that some of the bigger names in B2B journalism are said to be among those let go. Although I have not confirmed this yet, I'm told that one of discharged journalists is Don Tennant, a winner of the Timothy White award for editorial integrity.

Although I remain convinced that the worst is over in B2B, there can be no doubt that it will be a long time before things have stabilized.

(Update: Folio confirms the layoffs, saying 8 percent of IDG staff was let go.)

7 comments:

  1. Oh hell... unfortunately not the first time ....

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  2. AnonymousMay 01, 2009

    Don Tennant??? Holy cow. I guess that confirms that there really isn't anyone safe.

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  3. Anonymous,
    That was exactly my reaction also when I heard Don's name. (Note: I still haven't confirmed that he's among those affected. But I've heard his name from several folks now.)

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  4. How depressing. :( But I appreciate you keeping us updated.

    -Jessica Hartley

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  5. AnonymousJune 17, 2009

    Hi Paul, love your blog ... any truth to the rumblings that American Business Media just laid off a large chunk of its staff, including several VPs?

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  6. Hi Anonymous,
    Thanks for the tip and the kind words.
    I haven't heard about ABM layoffs... but I've posed the question on Twitter. Let's see what we hear:
    http://twitter.com/paulconley

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  7. AnonymousJune 19, 2009

    ABM rumor confirmed: http://www.foliomag.com/2009/american-business-media-cuts-staff-looks-new-strategic-plan (I believe Jon Holdin was also let go, but not sure)

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