Future Publishing to Cut 10% of UK staff

According to an internal memo, publishing group Future Publishing UK is to cut up to 10% of its 1,000 staff as the company restructures its print and digital operations both locally and in the United States.

MCV understands that following the release of Future's Interim Management Statement today, "An internal memo to staff from Future Publishing's UK CEO Mark Wood has broken the news to staff."

The round of redundancies will commence on a voluntary basis. If this does not reach the target number of people with no jobs, enforced layoffs will be used.

Not only are staff going but the Wood memo to staff also states that Future is "reviewing the future of some titles".

All of this is apparently due to, "challenging trading conditions in print."

The management statement is, of course, more upbeat in an attempt to gloss over the bottom line that, "Group revenues for the nine months are estimated to be down 5% on last year, continuing the decline reported for half-year to 31 March 2011."

The report also states that, "During the year to date, UK revenues in total have held up well. Circulation revenues are down 3%, whilst digital advertising revenue growth continues to offset print advertising decline."

However, "Digital products are performing ahead of management expectations, and our continuing progress in this field has been recognised by the award to Future by the Association of Online Publishers as Consumer Digital Publisher of the Year.

"We have seen an acceleration of sales of digital magazine replicas (on platforms such as Zinio); iPad successes continue; and digital advertising revenues (which comprise around a third of advertising revenue) have achieved growth of 40% to date; May was our first £1m digital revenue month in the UK."

Intriguingly, "In addition, a digital product launch planned for the second half-year has been further delayed."