FT Doing 80 New Layoffs: Online/Print Tie-Ups, Ridding’s Memo

imageThe Financial Times Group is making another 80 redundancies worldwide after opting for further online/print integration and to eliminate overlaps with recently-acquired businesses, which include FTB, Money Media, OCO and Executive Appointments. CEO John Ridding, in a staff memo reproduced below, said the restructure runs across several departments and staff consultation begins today.

FT.com has swelled traffic since making more articles free but subscriptions have remained flat and the paper has been steadily hiking cover price. FT already announced up to 60 layoffs from multiple departments back in October; it also shut its research library and offloaded its stakes in India’s Business Standard and FT Deutchland last year. The publisher keeps boasting that readers will pay for its high-quality financial news, especially in a downturn – but it’s not escaping the downturn itself. Ridding’s memo follows…

“Dear All,

I hope you managed to have a good break over Christmas and the New Year.

It is early days, but it