About 50 reporters and editors at Bloomberg News were laid off Monday, the largest one-day cuts in the company’s 30-year history.
The job cuts represented about 2 percent of the payroll.
The Monday moves come on top of about 10 cuts at Bloomberg TV last week.
A Bloomberg spokesman maintained that the job cuts weren’t that deep. Some people are being reassigned, he said, putting the total layoffs at “less than 40 people.”
The culture-and-entertainment section was curtailed and the “muse” name that it had operated under is being phased out.
The company said it will no longer match sports reports with its own original reporting. Also, the Washington office, which was being beefed up a few years ago, absorbed at least eight cuts.
The Bloomberg “projects and investigations” unit was also crimped.
Meanwhile, Michael Forsythe, the Hong Kong reporter who was fingered and quickly suspended for leaking embarrassing claims about Bloomberg spiking a story that could have angered China officials, was officially fired.
“Michael Forsythe in no longer with the company,” said a Bloomberg spokesman.
“Morale has never been lower at Bloomberg,” said one insider.
Among those departing were Rich Jaroslovsky, a former executive editor and now a columnist. “Highly unwelcome news. I was just laid off from Bloomberg News,” he tweeted Monday.
“Bloomberg News ended its culture coverage today,” tweeted Jeremy Gerard, the chief drama critic, who was among those pink-slipped.
Charles Babcock, a project and investigations editor who was expected to retire at year-end, was also among those let go, according to Talking Biz News.
Richard Teitelbaum, who worked on the billionaires team, was also out of a job.
Editor-in-Chief Matthew Winkler, in a memo, said that the layoffs stemmed from an October reorganization.
The memo did little to soothe feelings. “He barely acknowledged the layoffs,” said one staffer who called the note “chilly.”