February 23, 2004

2 Copy Department Layoffs at Fortune 

Cross-divisional volunteers period begins today  

On February 9, Fortune magazine announced the laying off of two assistants in its copy department. The two are scheduled to have their last day at work on March 19. The action follows last year’s layoff of three copy assistants at People. In the two layoffs, all five targeted employees were women. 

Human Resources (HR) correctly has called this an automation layoff, giving the two employees six months of additional notice pay. The layoff is clearly part of the attempted move away from paper and towards electronic distribution in the magazines, but it seems that our wastebaskets are still full, and the Guild wonders why some of the lesser-paid workers must pay with their jobs to achieve these so-called “efficiencies.”  

The layoff is especially galling because of the opening of the gaudy corporate headquarters of Time Warner just weeks ago. Included in the new digs is a 5,000-square-foot office for Time Warner chairman and CEO Dick Parsons, at a cost of $25 million, according to a February 10 New York Post article. That price is almost 700 times the combined salaries of the two laid-off employees! 

Time Warner’s priorities need some serious rethinking. 

Job-for-package Swaps 

In keeping with the Guild contract provisions, volunteers from other magazines may come forward for the two weeks starting on February 23, for two weeks. (If you come forward after then, management is not obligated to consider you, but it may do so.) Those who are Copy Clerks, Copy Assistants or hold other similar copy-department job titles may indicate their interest in volunteering for a job-elimination package during the next two weeks.  

If you are sure you want to step forward, you may want to go directly to your manager. If you have some interest but are unsure, or if you just want to learn more about what a package may entail, you may want to contact one of the following people: Guild Unit Chairperson John Shostrom (x3965), Guild Grievance Chairperson Edith Fried (x3867) or Fortune magazine HR specialist Lita Cunningham (x8602). HR has told the Guild that the appropriate managers have been notified and instructed to pass the word along to those employees who may be eligible.  

Be aware that no cross-divisional volunteer situation is ever a sure thing. The manager from the department where the volunteer works must interview and accept the person who was to be laid off; the only guarantee in the Contract is that management will “make every reasonable effort” to accept volunteers. If the job-for-package swap works, the volunteer will get the job-elimination package, and the targeted person will get the volunteer’s job. The Guild has been assured by HR that although the two Fortune employees are part-timers, full-timers who volunteer will be considered.  

As always, the Guild regrets that these unnecessary job cuts are being made. The Publishing group at Time Warner had $664 million in profits last year. Surely, a company making that much can pare its staff by attrition, not layoffs. 

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02/23/04