Powell's Books Makes Layoffs Across Departments - Publishers Weekly

I didn't know they have three stores

Panzer stopped at the Publishers Weekly site and found a post about the indie bookstore Powell's Books.

 

According to Nathalie op de Beeck, to cut expenses Powell's did a round of layoffs this week. Like many brick and mortar bookstores, Powell's has had a hard time recovering from the pandemic sales slump.

 

Panzer says, "This little kitty does remember they did book sales by mail during the pandemic."

 

Note:This is a short medium length post. A cup of tea is all you'll need today.

 

To read the post tootle over to Powell's Books 

Audible Cuts 5% of It's Staff - Publishers Weekly

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishers Weekly site. There our illustrious kitty boy found a post about Audible.

 

They're already slow getting the audiobooks uploaded.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Audible is laying off approximately 100 employees. CEO Bob Carrigan said in a memo to employees the company needs to be more efficient to compete in the audiobook world.

 

Panzer says, "Hmm ... That sounds like less employees doing the work of more employees and doing it faster.".

 

Note: This is a short-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Audible

CEO Jassy's Letter to Shareholders - About Amazon News

Now for a little nap.

Panzer's last stop for today is at the Amazon News site. There he found CEO Andy Jassy annual letter to company shareholder.

 

The letter explains how the company has managed other economic downturns and how it is managing the current one. It describes the necessity for employee layoffs and division closures.

 

Note: This is a long, long post. Bring a large mug of tea, a muffin, two brownies, and three chocolate chip cookies (biscuits) for today's reading.

 

To read the post tootle over to CEO Andy Jassy

Update from CEO Andy Jassy on Amazon's operating plan and additional role eliminations - Company News

 Today, Panzer made a trip to Amazon's news release site. There our intrepid kitty traveler found a post by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.

According to the post, Amazon will be doing 9,000 role eliminations in April. This is in addition to the 18,000 role eliminations announced in January. Amazon is striving to become a leaner company in these uncertain economic times.

It's not a role playing game. They're people.

Panzer says, "This little kitty wants to know why you say role eliminations. Just say you're laying off another 9,000 employees in addition to the 18,000 employees you laid off in January."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to CEO Andy Jassy

HarperCollins Is Cutting 5% of It's North American Workforce - Publishers Weekly

Today, Panzer made a quick stop at the Publishers Weekly site. There he found a post about HarperCollins expense cutting measures. Last week Panzer told you about HarperCollins employee union negotiations.

 

Not a good time to be a publishers.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, HarperCollins has begun another round of employee layoffs. Citing the lack of sales and the increase in expenses as the reasons, the company will reduce its employee workforce by 5 percent by June 30.

 

 Panzer says, "Hmm ... 5 percent is actually a lot."

Note: This is a long-short post or a short-medium post. You decide. Bring a cup of cocoa and two chocolate chip cookies (biscuits) for today's reading.

To read the post tootle over to HarperCollins

To read Panzer's previous post tootle over to Harper Collins and Harper Union

Amazon CEO says company will lay off more than 18,000 workers - NPR

Today Panzer made a trip to the NPR site. There he found a post about Amazon employees.

 

That's a lot of people.

According to Bobby Allyn's post, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced the company will be laying off over 18,000 employees. The layoffs will be centered on corporate workers. The post includes a link to Jassy's announcement about the layoffs at Amazon.

 

Panzer says, "18,000? Employees in what cities? What countries?"

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of cocoa for your reading. If you plan to follow the links in the post, you'll need to decided what else to bring to eat and drink while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to Amazon layoffs

Macmillan CEO John Sargent Is Departing - The New York Times

Today, when Panzer was washing the Panzermobile after our trip to the Bloody Scotland conference, he found something stuck under the windshield wiper. Flattening it out, our fastidious kitty discovered it was a post from The New York Times site about Macmillan CEO John Sargent. Panzer told you about soon-to-be-ex CEO Sargent day before yesterday.

What does it all mean?

According to The New York Times post by Alexandra Alter, there seems to be more to CEO John Sargent's exit from Macmillan than was originally reported. It appears there were more problems in Macmillan than the general public was aware of. While the post lists the library embargo as part of Macmillan's problems, it also highlights recent employee layoffs, employee walkouts and book publishing disagreements. Also included in the post is some interesting information about John Sargent's parents.

 

 Panzer says, "It just gets more interesting every day."

 

Note: This is a long post. Bring two cups of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Macmillan

To read Panzer's previous post tootle over to John Sargent

 

 

 

B&N Makes HQ Layoffs - Publishers Weekly

Not what I would call good.

Today, Panzer made a quick trip to the Publishers Weekly site. With a little digging in the posts our illustrious kitty found one about Barnes and Noble.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Barnes and Noble has done some layoffs in the U.S. headquarters. Among those let go (fired) are the literary fiction and the science fiction/fantasy book buyers. The company also took advantage of the Covid-19 shutdown to re-arrange the stores' interiors, furniture and books.

Panzer says, "This little kitty wants to know if this means Barnes and Noble won't be selling literary fiction or science fiction/fantasy books any more."

Note: This is a long-short length post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Barnes and Noble layoffs

Macmillan Lays Off Some Staff, Temporarily Cuts Some Salaries - Publishers Weekly

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard crying and shouting coming from outside the Panzermobile. Following all the hullabaloo took our brave kitty boy to the Publishers Weekly site. With a little digging in the posts, he discovered one about publisher Macmillan's cost cutting efforts that was causing all the noise.

It may never be safe to leave here.

John Maher's post says publisher Macmillan has announced the company has laid off some staff members, closed the Thomas Dunn imprint and Tom Dunn has left the company. In addition, salaries for employees making more than $60,000 per year are being cut on an increasing scale ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent depending on the employee's salary amount. These cost cutting measures are in response to Covid-19's impact on closing book stores and the lack of book orders and book sales from those stores.

Panzer says, "That Covid-19 thingy is really impacting the book publishing industry."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Macmillan

The entirely unnecessary demise of Barnes and Noble - Brain Fuzzies

Panzer was shaken awake by shouting coming from the Catosphere. Climbing into the Panzermobile, our poor sleepy kitty followed all the noise to the Brain Fuzzies Tumbler site. It didn't take any digging at all to discover a post about the employee layoffs at Barnes and Noble bookstores was causing all the hullabaloo. Panzer told you about the cost saving layoffs earlier this week.

According to the post, Barnes and Noble's employee layoffs earlier this week as a cost cutting measure to save $40 million was an ill-conceived plan. Audreyii-fic believes these layoffs will lead to the demise of Barnes and Noble. This opinion is based on the premise that by laying off the higher paid employees Barnes and Noble won't be able to provide good customer service. The post includes Twitter Tweets from some of the estimated 1,800 laid-off employees to illustrate who was let go. Also included are three posts from other sites about the layoffs. (One of the included posts is the one Panzer told you about earlier this week.)

Do you understand it?

Panzer says, "Hmm ... 1,800 employees laid-off ... Total of $11 million in severance payments for being laid-off ... Umm ... Who gets the $11 million? ... This little kitty is really confused ... How about you?"

Note: This is a humongous post. Bring two thermoses of tea and two dozen muffins for today's reading selection.

To read today's post tootle over to Barnes and Noble


 

B&N to Save $40 Million Following New Layoffs - Publishers Weekly

Today, Panzer made a stop at the Publishers Weekly site. With just a little digging around our kitty boy found a post about Barnes and Noble's newest employee layoffs.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Barnes and Noble is in the process of making an undisclosed number of employee layoffs. The layoffs are scheduled to be finished by February 16. While the company plans to pay $11 million in severance payments to the employees, it's estimated there will be a $40 million savings in payroll costs.There has been no announcement concerning what departments the layoffs have occurred in.

Why are your plans a secret?

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty wonders which employee classifications were let go."

Note: This is a long-short post. Bring a cup of tea and half a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Barnes and Noble layoffs