As we have reported previously, LSC Communications is expected to file for bankruptcy protection shortly. (According to Bloomberg, they have been working with bankers at Evercore and attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.) In the latest indication, earlier this week the WSJ reported on tightening terms in the debtor-in-possession financing market, as lawyers and advisers “say they expect a deluge of debt restructurings and chapter 11 filings due to the massive disruption caused by the novel coronavirus.” DIP financing usually comes with lots of protection and collateral for the lenders, but these uncertain times are “turning what looked like sure bets […]
Status: Major Layoffs at Lonely Planet, More Agency Pay Cuts, Wiley Reports “Adverse Impact”
Lonely Planet will layoff a significant number of employees in multiple locations. The company said “its operations in London and Melbourne [will] close almost entirely, with impacts in other Lonely Planet locations around the world,” according to communications manager Adam Bennett. Managing director for publishing Piers Pickard said in an email seen by Books+Publisher that “significant numbers of roles are affected globally.” A source tells the Sydney Morning Herald that “up to 80 people would lose their jobs in Australia, ” with only three people said to be retained there. And “according to Pickard, staff in Dublin, London, Melbourne and […]
Influential Senator Tells Internet Archive They Are Acting Outside of the Law
Reaffirming that no serious or informed person believes the Internet Archive’s self-proclaimed “National Emergency Library” is legal, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on intellectual property, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, sent a letter to IA founder Brewster Kahle. “I am not aware of any measure under copyright law that permits a user of copyrighted works to unilaterally create an emergency act,” Tillis writes. “Indeed, I am deeply concerned that your ‘Library’ is operating outside of the boundaries of the copyright law that Congress has enacted and alone has jurisdiction to amend.” Tillis notes, “I deeply value […]
Barnes & Noble Warehouse Workers Say Illness Is More Widespread Than Acknowledged
In addition to the five confirmed cases of COVID-19 among employees at Barnes & Noble’s big Monroe, NJ warehouse, the company acknowledged in a recent memo that they “have had nine employees contact us with confirmed cases” of the virus. The first confirmed case of an employee testing positive was back on March 12 by one account (and April 1 by another), which is part of why workers staging a protest Tuesday insisted the company has not done enough to protect them. NJ.com says about 15 employees participated in the protest. Beyond the nine confirmed cases, a representative for employee […]
As COVID-19 Cases Appear at Barnes & Noble’s Warehouse, Workers Organize Protest
With the first cases of COVID-19 at Barnes & Noble’s big 1.4-million-square-foot distribution center in Monroe, NJ, a coalition of warehouse workers and other advocates have planned a protest outside of the facility on Tuesday afternoon “to demand protections.” The organizers note the facility “employs nearly 800 workers, most of whom are Latino immigrants.” Among their demands are asking for a two week closure of the facility — with paid time-off — for “full sanitization,” with “better safety protections, including sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE), social distancing and cleaning” thereafter along with “hazard pay” and “recognition of the ability to […]
Corporate: In the UK Furlough Is A Gentler Word, WH Smith Reports Deep Declines, Amazon’s Expanded Focus Includes Children’s Books
Hachette UK and Bonnier Books UK are furloughing approximately 10 percent of their staff, the Bookseller reports, and Penguin Random House UK will do the same with an unspecified percentage of their workforce, but furlough is a gentler process in the UK than it is in the US. For Britains, furlough means a temporary layoff under which the government covers 80 percent of wages through the end of May. All three publishers have said they have elected to “top up” the salaries of furloughed employees, so that they will receive full wages. In the US, a furlough means a temporary […]