Reuters parent names COO, layoffs could be coming

Thomson Reuters Corp., the parent of the Reuters news service, named Jim Smith as chief operating officer and said it would merge its two main divisions, Markets and Professional, as it streamlines to better compete in tough financial markets.

Jennifer Saba of Reuters writes, “The news and information company has undergone a series of shakeups this year as revenue growth slowed in the Markets division and it struggled to persuade traders and bankers to adopt Eikon, its new flagship desktop.

“Chief Executive Tom Glocer said the revamp, which puts Smith in a strong position to eventually take over as CEO, was meant to ‘capture operating efficiencies from scale.’

“There may be some management layoffs as a result, he said, although he declined to give a number.

“Smith, whose appointment is effective immediately, was previously the CEO of the Professional division, which sells legal, tax and accounting products such as WestlawNext.

“Glocer said that having two big standalone organizations within Thomson Reuters had been an impediment to running the company, which was created in 2008 when Thomson Corp bought Reuters Holdings Plc.”

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