Cuts begin at Portfolio

Peter Kafka of All Things Digital, the Wall Street Journal site, has some of the people being let go from business magazine Conde Nast Portfolio, including senior editor Ken Wells, senior editor Jeff Garigliano, associate editor Jeff Van Dam, reporter Mary Bridges and staff writer Paul Smalera.

Kafka writes, “Ken Wells is the most high-profile name of bunch. He’s a Pulitzer finalist and a longtime Wall Street Journal vet (like many of Portfolio editor Joanne Lipman’s hires).

“He’s also a prolific author; his most recent book, “The Good Pirates of the Forgotten Bayous: Fighting to Save a Way of Life in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina,â€? came out last month. Portfolio hosted a book party for him just this week, an incredulous colleague tells me.

“Meanwhile, employees at Portfolio.com still don’t know who’s staying and who’s going. One of them tells me that half the 23-person staff will be let go at the end of November and the rest will stay through December.”

Read more here.