FT eyes 60 possible layoffs

by John Reynolds, Media Week 22-Oct-08, 12:25

LONDON - The Financial Times could axe about 60 staff, the majority of them from its commercial division, as the business newspaper's owner Pearson looks to streamline operations.

It is thought that the FT currently employs approximately 1200 people in the UK, and 1600 globally.

John Ridding, the Financial Times chief executive, said: "We are continuously looking to streamline our organisation, to make it as efficient as possible and to adapt it to the rapidly changing media industry.

"This has involved creating a global management structure, integrating print and online, and bringing our acquisitions more closely into the FT. We are now assessing further steps in this process."

The publisher is in consultation with staff across advertising sales, finance, IT, conference, marketing and the editorial library. No journalists are to be made redundant as the part of the cuts.

Pearson has defied the recent woes of rival newspaper groups and last week its FT Group subsidiary, which publishes the newspapers, said that sales are up 11% year on year, with advertising revenues 1% ahead of 2007.

The move follows similar cut-backs across the commercial departments of News International and Daily Mail & General Trust. Up to 90 jobs could be on the line following plans to merge the sales department of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday announced this week.