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Deseret Book Lays-off 14 From Headquarters Staff
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- In what some employees are calling the first
large layoff in its history, Deseret Book issued pink slips this
morning to 14 employees at its Salt Lake City headquarters. The
sudden layoffs apparently took the staff by surprise and left many
wondering why the 135-year-old company would take such a step.
The employees were let go from several areas of the company,
including its publishing, public relations and marketing areas. One
source says that some areas of the headquarters staff were cut by
almost 50%, and even maintained that some classes of employees were
overlooked in the layoffs.
Reasons for the move are far from clear. Craig Nelson, President of
the Southern California-based Ensign Books chain of LDS stores says
that with the overall economy down this fall, his stores did see a
decline in sales for the year. "Through October our stores were fine,
but in November and December we noticed a significant decline over
the previous year." Nelson says none of the stores equaled last
year's sales, and that overall sales were down about 1%.
But Nelson adds, Deseret Book's products seemed to be doing as well
as ever. Deseret Book's new compilation of LDS Church President
Gordon B. Hinckley's 'counsel and inspiration,' "Stand a Little
Taller" actually set a record for his stores, outselling the previous
record by two or three times. Meanwhile, Deseret Book's fellow
publisher Covenant Communications says it too has heard from
bookstores that sales have been flat.
But flat sales may not entirely explain why Deseret Book has cut its
staff. The company recently finished a nine-month-long process
installing a new computerized inventory system, and it is possible
that the system made some functions redundant. But even that doesn't
explain the cuts in Marketing and publicity staffs, which companies
hire to increase sales.
Sources:
Deseret Book Lays-off 14 From Headquarters Staff
Kent Larsen 4Jan02 B3
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