Reuters losing chief operating officer Karle

Stuart Karle, Reuters chief operating officer, is leaving the company and his position will be eliminated, Reuters CEO Andrew Rashbass announced in a staff email this morning.

Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke of The New York Observer writes, “Mr. Karle, who was one of editor in chief Steven Adler’s key hires, came to Reuters from the Journal in 2011.

“‘Stuart Karle has played an important role in creating the organisation we are today,’ Mr. Rashbass wrote. ‘However, my being here, the strong GM team that Stuart put in place, much tighter coordination with other business units, and finance, HR and legal being well covered, mean there is no longer a role for a chief operating officer and Stuart will be leaving at the end of the year.’

“In a separate email, Mr. Adler touted Mr. Karle’s contributions. Following Mr. Karle’s departure, Mr. Adler announced, the position of chief operating officer will be replaced by the newly created role of global head of editorial operations.

“Reuters has had a rough fall. In October, shortly after canceling Reuters Next, the consumer facing website that had been in the works for more than two years, Mr. Rashbass announced that around five percent of editorial staff would be cut.”