Rodale Inc., publisher of Men’s Health, Runner’s World and other wellness-focused titles, is laying off 111 employees, or about 10% of its total workforce.
Outsourcing of information technology, customer service and fulfillment duties will lead to about half of the cuts announced Monday, and about half a dozen editorial positions will also be eliminated, though none will be senior-level.
Cutbacks also will take place at Rodale Marketing Solutions (RMS), which leads the company’s integrated marketing activities. Those duties are being transferred to teams at individual publications.
“Creating integrated marketing solutions that span multiple Rodale brands and platforms is, and will continue to be, a key priority for the company,” said Robin Shallow, a Rodale spokesperson, in a statement. “Given current market conditions, the best way for us to develop and sell these programs is through our brand sales teams and our Sports Marketing and Events group. Key account team leaders appointed at the brand level will be charged with driving integrated sales, and several members of the RMS team will stay on to lend their cross-selling expertise to our efforts.”
Unlike some other publishers that are feeling the pinch of the current market, Rodale has decided to maintain the publishing schedules of every title.
“The decision to shift away from some of our non-core activities provides the opportunity to focus resources into our existing brands, products, and platforms and create new ventures to fuel our growth,” Shallow explained.
Rodale joins Gannett, Condé Nast, Time Inc. and a slew of other publishers in belt-tightening this quarter, but last quarter, the company reported a 7.6% rise in total revenue, compared to the previous year.
