Rowman & Littlefield has furloughed their entire staff of 450 people—”management team and all”– for two weeks, without pay, “with the exception of a skeleton crew working to print books and ship orders,” ceo Jed Lyons confirmed to PL on Tuesday. “As I explained to the team last week,” he told us, “a temporary furlough is the best way to preserve jobs for everyone going forward.” It “keeps everyone on the payroll and with health care.” Lyons underscores, “We have not laid anyone off” and says that they “will reassess a week from Friday.” Elsewhere, staff cutbacks are underway at […]
ALA Cancels June Conference; Simon & Schuster Also Withdraws from Book Expo
The American Library Association’s executive board announced Tuesday that the scheduled June 25 to 30 ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition in Chicago has been canceled. President Wanda K. Brown said, “As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, it’s become clear that in the face of an unprecedented situation, we need to make tough choices.” It’s the first time since 1945 that the ALA has not held an annual conference. But Reed Exhibitions is still hoping to hold a delayed Book Expo and Book Con in New York in late July. Simon & Schuster joined PRH and HarperCollins on Tuesday afternoon in announcing […]
Penguin Random House Gained On Foreign Exchange, Acquisitions, And A Little Growth
Bertelsmann reported sales for 2019 on Tuesday, with Penguin Random House showing gains in sales and profits, primarily from the stronger US dollar and a continuing string of acquisitions, plus decent “organic growth” of 1.5 percent. Topline sales of €3.636 billion were up €212 million from 2018, rising 6.2 percent. Operating EBITDA of €561 million was also up 6.2 percent, or €33 million, compared to €528 million a year ago — though here the result was lifted by an accounting change regarding lease expenses that looks to have provided a one-time boost on the order of €28 million. (Per our […]
Bookstore Needs and Relief, and Publisher Layoffs
Ceo of Canada’s Indigo Books Heather Reisman deserves extra attention for her current stance as their stores are closed chainwide, telling the Toronto Star “she is continuing to pay her employees during the shutdown.” Indigo continues to ship online orders, and “when we close 200 stores it has a very significant impact on the company.” She expects stores will have to stay closed longer than initially planned, and is also expecting a need for substantial government assistance: “If it did go on for a couple of months the only response is a massive injection of cash into the system by […]
WH Smith Changes Position and Will Close Many of Their Stores
Following Monday’s closure of Waterstones stores across the UK, competitor WH Smith will close approximately 60 percent of their high street bookstores as well. Initially the company resisted closing any locations, with employees complaining about the risks to the media (“It’s putting the general public and ourselves at risk. We don’t want to be there, but we feel like we have to”). But after a televised address by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday night, the chain announced it would close many stores, while keeping open locations that provide Post Office services and other key support functions: “At this critical […]
As Maryland Closes Non-Essential Businesses, Penguin Random House Will Operate Westminster Warehouse
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan ordered the state’s non-essential businesses to close on Monday, though “warehousing and distribution companies” are among the many entities that are allowed to remain open. Penguin Random House told employees in its big Westminster, MD warehouse and distribution center that the facility would remain open as “an essential business and part of critical infrastructure.” The company extended an extra benefit to the employees who continue to come in to work: “To support those of you during this time whose jobs require you to be physically present, we are adding an additional 40 hours of paid time […]