Publishers Weeklyreports that Perseus Books Group is going to layoff 20 employees, about 3% of its workforce. The layoffs come on top of a salary freeze that had already been instituted.
In a letter to employees last week, Perseus president David Steinberger said that despite earlier efforts to reduce costs, including a pay freeze, "it has become clear that we need to take additional steps now in order to be financially prudent and pursue opportunities to grow." Those steps include sharpening the company's publishing program, and Steinberger said that most of the 20 jobs being eliminated are in the publishing operations, with a few touching the distribution side.
Lots of publishers are having to lay off workers because of the recession. Reduced sales make it difficult for publishers to continue without cutting costs.
Publishers Weekly 
