Fortune and Sports Illustrated will be the hardest hit magazines in the mass layoffs that just began at Time Inc.
About 40 people will be laid off from Fortune, with Managing Editor Andy Serwer looking to cut roughly 24 from the 80-strong edit staff, insiders said.
Although he didn’t reveal numbers, in an e-mail to staffers yesterday Serwer asked for volunteers by Nov. 18. Fortune had already said that starting next year it will go from 25 issues to 18.
SI will be making similar reductions, a source said.
Time Inc. is expected to eventually cut just over 500 jobs. As its parent company, Time Warner, reported that AOL and the magazine unit were the biggest drags on third-quarter results, Time Inc. got the ball rolling on cuts, letting go at least 50 staffers in New York.
Sports Illustrated axed about 15 to 20 people from the business and marketing side on Tuesday night, and Group Editor Terry McDonell is expected to ask for volunteers as well.
Yesterday, Time magazine Managing Editor Rick Stengel told staffers he is looking for about 12 editorial volunteers to step forward or he will be forced to make cuts.
The company also folded Fortune Small Business, a spinoff that had landed in Time Inc.’s custom publishing group and had only one full-timer.
Even People, Time Inc.’s most profitable magazine, is looking to slice at least eight on the edit side.
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said he expects to take a $100 million charge for the restructuring costs in the magazine division.
The company reported lower third-quarter earnings primarily because strong showings by the networks were not enough to offset declines in its two troubled wings, AOL and Time Inc.
AOL, which experienced a 23 percent decline in revenue to $777 million, is going to be spun off by year’s end. Publishing, headed by CEO Ann Moore, posted an 18.2 percent decline in revenue to $914 million compared to a year earlier and a 42.3 percent decline in EBITDA, to $139 million.
On the positive side, the overall company’s earnings beat analyst expectations.
Time Warner posted net income of $661 million, compared to $1.1 billion a year ago, when the since spun-off Time Warner Cable was included.
Total revenue slipped 6 percent to $7.1 billion.
Earnings per share of 61 cents handily beat the Wall Street consensus of 53 cents, and management raised its forecast for next year from $1.98 a share to $2.05 a share.
In New York Stock Exchange trading, Time Warner fell six cents to $30.10. keith.kelly@nypost.com