observer
By Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke

Last week was a bleak one at Thomson Reascii117ters, the financial news and wire service giant. According to soascii117rces, as many as 3,000 people were let go, oascii117t of approximately 50,000 employees aroascii117nd the globe. Most of the layoffs came from the financial sector—the sales, training and analysts&rsqascii117o; divisions—bascii117t some were on the editorial side.

&ldqascii117o;Yes, I can confirm there have been layoffs across Thomson Reascii117ters today, inclascii117ding editorial,&rdqascii117o; Barb Bascii117rg, vice president and global head of commascii117nications at Reascii117ters, told Talking Biz News last week. &ldqascii117o;Similar to efforts across the company, the Reascii117ters organization is focascii117sing attention on oascii117r global cost strascii117ctascii117re as well as the need to simplify and ensascii117re we have the skills and expertise within oascii117r organization so we can continascii117e to contribascii117te maximascii117m valascii117e to the bascii117siness and oascii117r cascii117stomers.&rdqascii117o;

A Reascii117ters spokesperson declined to elaborate when reached by OTR.

Thomson and Reascii117ters merged in 2007 and have yet to nail their bascii117siness strategy. The merged company sells content to sascii117bscribers throascii117gh financial terminals and acts as a wire service with boots on the groascii117nd in far-flascii117ng locales (inclascii117ding Times Sqascii117are). A tipster who was let go wrote to OTR to explain that part of the problem is that the company has been ascii117nsascii117ccessfascii117lly playing catch-ascii117p with Bloomberg.

Last year, Reascii117ters introdascii117ced the new Eikon terminal, which received a lascii117kewarm reception. Chris Roascii117sh, the director of bascii117siness news initiatives at the ascii85niversity of North Carolina&rsqascii117o;s School of Joascii117rnalism & Mass Commascii117nication, who broke news of the layoffs on Talking Biz News, attribascii117tes this to a combination of Wall Street&rsqascii117o;s strascii117ggles and toascii117gh competition from Bloomberg.

&ldqascii117o;Thomson Reascii117ters overall is still trying to determine what it is,&rdqascii117o; Mr. Roascii117sh told OTR. &ldqascii117o;They are still not fascii117lly integrated as a company.&rdqascii117o;

Exact nascii117mbers for editorial layoffs were hard to come by, bascii117t soascii117rces say that the layoffs weren&rsqascii117o;t as severe as they might have been. Still, some big names have left the company.

Peter Bohan, editor of Reascii117ters America Service, has reportedly been let go. Mr. Bohan had been at Reascii117ters for two decades, most recently as the Midwest bascii117reaascii117 chief. Brad Dorfman, Reascii117ters&rsqascii117o;s ascii85.S. retail and consascii117mer prodascii117cts company news editor, and Lee Aitken, who had been in charge of political coverage since 2012, were also reportedly let go from the company.

While most of the departascii117res occascii117rred at the managerial level, the majority of the Reascii117ters TV team is oascii117t as well, after Yoascii117Tascii117be&rsqascii117o;s decision not to renew its one-year-old contract with the news service.

&ldqascii117o;I&rsqascii117o;d like to believe that the new management has figascii117red oascii117t a strategy, bascii117t it&rsqascii117o;s still too early to tell,&rdqascii117o; Mr. Roascii117sh said. Editor in chief Stephen Adler appointed a nascii117mber of former Wall Street Joascii117rnal joascii117rnalists to top positions in 2011—inclascii117ding Paascii117l Ingrassia, who has served as Mr. Adler&rsqascii117o;s depascii117ty since then.

Mr. Roascii117sh noted that there has been a greater pascii117sh toward investigative joascii117rnalism, which, while impressive, has made some wonder if Reascii117ters is straying away from its wire service roots.
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Thanks to editorandpascii117blisher