The Bookseller.com

20th November 2008

UK 'largely spared' Reed cull

20.02.08 Tom Tivnan

Reed Elsevier, the Anglo-Dutch media group, is poised to shed more than 1,000 jobs in a massive cost-cutting drive that aims to save the company £100m. The information giant's UK publishing business is understood to be largely spared from the cull, with the bulk of the cuts to come from the restructuring and centralising of functions such as human resources and IT across the group. The company employs nearly 37,000 people worldwide.

The move was first mooted in July as part of Reed c.e.o. Sir Crispin Davies' "One Company" efficiency programme. The first details of the cuts are expected to be announced tomorrow (21st February) as part of the company's annual results. Reed had been under pressure from the City and shareholders to trim costs.

The group's share price had fallen nearly 12% since the start of the year, from 668p to 591.5p on 19th February.

One City analyst said the savings were "vital." He added: "With an upcoming slowdown, Reed's publishing and subscription based services like LexisNexis will continue to perform fairly well. I'm less certain about its exhibitions and magazine business. I think if we see anything less than £100m in cuts, the market will respond unfavourably."

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