The Wall Street Journal cut between 20 and 40 staff members in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter, as part of a re-evaluation of its newsroom that came at the end of its financial year, reports Ravi Somaiya of the New York Times.
Somaiya reports, “Some of those laid off were informed at the end of last week, which also marked the final days of the newspaper’s fiscal year. The layoffs have not been announced to the newsroom staff, according to two people familiar with the matter.
“Dow Jones, the Journal’s parent company, declined to answer specific questions on the layoffs, or confirm the details, but provided a statement saying it had been evaluating the newsroom ‘to target areas for growth and deploy our resources globally.’
“As a result, Dow Jones said, ‘we will be eliminating certain positions.’ Those laid off include veteran reporters and editors at the newspaper.
“The layoffs follow the abrupt departure of Lex Fenwick as chief executive of Dow Jones early this year. Mr. Fenwick had embarked on an ambitious project to unify all Dow Jones products — including newswires and financial databases — under the name DJX. The high-priced product proved unpopular with customers, and likely put a dent in the company’s bottom line.”
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