Thomson Reuters to cut 2,000 jobs — none in newsroom — and take fourth quarter charge

Thomson Reuters Corp. said on Tuesday it would cut about 2,000 jobs worldwide, about 4 percent of its workforce, and take a fourth-quarter charge of $200 million to $250 million to streamline its business, reports Jessica Toonkel of Reuters.

Toonkel writes, “The restructuring across 39 countries and 150 locations would mainly affect the Financial & Risk business and the Enterprise, Technology & Operations Group, the news and information company said. The company employs about 48,000 people globally, a spokesman said.

“The changes come as part of its multi-year effort to streamline its businesses, said Jim Smith, chief executive, in an interview Tuesday.

“‘It’s about simplification and taking out bureaucracy and taking out layers all of which have added complexity and slowed us down,’ he said. ‘These actions are not driven by any reaction to market conditions or in any way coming on the back of underperformance.’

“Thomson Reuters is the parent of Reuters News, which competes for financial customers with Bloomberg LP as well as News Corp’s Dow Jones unit. There will be no decline in headcount in the Reuters newsroom, according to a memo to employees on Tuesday.”

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