When Are Layoffs Not Really Layoffs?

There's a disturbing trend that seems to be growing with publishing companies cutting staff. Not just the cutting (although that's certainly disturbing enough) but attempts to portray cuts as something other than what they really are.

It happened earlier this year with Johnson Publishing, which denied making layoffs but required employees to reapply for new positions within the company.

Most recently, FOLIO: senior online editor Jason Fell asked Advanstar CEO Joe Loggia about reports of 80 lay-offs and was told, "You can't really categorize things as layoffs when they're more of shift in strategy. [While there were layoffs] you have to remember that it's in context that we've had some geographic shifts in strategy and a shift in strategy in regard to our product portfolio."

While Advanstar has also added some new positions, that specific response sparked some truly vitriolic remarks in our comments section. Nobody is happy with lay-offs and I understand trying to emphasize the positive but a publisher downplaying people losing their jobs is going to alienate the remaining work bees engaged in the daily grind of trying to help that publisher crawl out of the hole.

By Matt Kinsman --

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Nothing Tops Anne Moore ....

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 10/01/2009 - 17:38.

calling the Time Inc layoffs a "real home run" for the company. It is just makes me want to vomit.

Nothing Tops

Submitted by Jason Fell on Thu, 10/01/2009 - 22:45.

see that story here: http://tinyurl.com/d7zwgv

Layoffs

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 10/02/2009 - 12:05.

That's assuming Joke Loggia cares about any employees. While I appreciate your comments in the blog, what's most disturbing is that Folio continues to fawn over Loggia and the others at Advanscar as if they have some unique insights into publishing. Been there. They don't. They're over-leveraged, dufuses who have a long history of telling grandiose stories to venture capital firms, get funding, buy more publications they then run into the ground and borrow more money. The economy has weighed heavily on publishing; people like Joke Loggia are an albatross that keeps publishing down.

just another word for "you're fired"

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 10/06/2009 - 09:10.

as a recent victim of "restructuring," I can tell you that, whatever it's called, it's hard to not take it personally. Some publishers are doing away with entire departments - handing their work off to others, who already had enough to do - believing they're "streamlining" or creating an optimal workflow, when they're really confusing job role with expertise. They all want to think they've discovered some new way of publishing, something no one thought of before now. All so they can show they've saved a couple bucks in costs. Sure, the balance sheet looks better, but the product looks like crap. See, they don't care about the quality of the work you do. And that's because they don't understand it. Most upper management thinks that stuff just happens, by magic, art and layouts just pulled out of the ether. And since they can't sell it for more, they're going to slash anything they consider unnecessary. If your job is making sure nothing goes wrong, do your job well and you'll find yourself out of a job. Because nothing's gone wrong, you appear to be unnecessary. Sometimes, though, it really is just personal - like when they "restructure" your job so, even though the responsibilities are the same, someone else (cheaper) can do it.

Layoffs?!

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 10/06/2009 - 12:37.

This sounds eerily like the Jim Mora rant that was turned into a Coors Light commercial. To paraphrase: "What's that? Ah -- Layoffs? Don't talk about -- layoffs? You kidding me? Layoffs?"

When they're "a shift in strategy."

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