Bloomberg sheds senior staff, fueling speculation

Bloomberg News has quietly shed dozens of experienced reporters and editors this year — including some of its most senior staff — fueling speculation that its founder will sell the company, reports Kevin Dugan of The New York Post.

Dugan writes, “In the last week alone, at least four senior editors have been laid off, according to sources.

“They include Bob Brennan, a markets editor first hired in 1993; John Lippert, a senior writer who covered the auto industry, first hired in 1995; Chuck Stevens, most recently an editor at Daybreak, a fast-news product, hired in 1996, and Faris Khan, a senior editor covering corporate finance who joined in 2010, the company confirmed.

“Ty Trippet, a spokesman for Bloomberg, insisted that the headcount at Bloomberg has increased this year. He didn’t comment on recent departures.

“But insiders said they fear that departures of better-compensated employees — and staffing up of younger, cheaper reporters — are part of the game plan as the company primps for a possible sale.

“Older editors at the financial news operation can make upwards of $250,000 a year, while new hires can make about a quarter of that, former employees have told The Post.”

Read more here.