BusinessWeek is combining its print and digital staff to create a single editorial operation. The move is designed to better integrate its print and Web products, the company said. As part of the reorganization, as many as a dozen business and editorial staff members will be laid off.

In an internal memo [0] distributed to the staff on Wednesday, BusinessWeek editor Stephen Adler appointed eight “chief” editors to oversee coverage areas for both print and online and a pair of managing editors—on print, one online—to “preserve the highest possible quality as we produce each product.”

“Unfortunately, in connection with the reorganization, a small number of our editorial colleagues will be leaving BusinessWeek,” Adler wrote. “It’s exceedingly difficult to part with valued co-workers, and decisions to eliminate positions aren’t made lightly.”

Oddly, the reorganization comes at an otherwise fruitful time for BusinessWeek. According to Adler, magazine readership is up three percent; newsstand sales are up 25 percent “while most of our competitors were down or flat”; and BusinessWeek.com [1] set a record with 64.7 million page views in November.

The magazine also recently completed a successful redesign.