Newsweek Layoffs Begin

Newsweek will begin laying off editorial employees as it prepares to transition to an all-digital format, editor Tina Brown told the magazine's staff on Thursday.

Capital New York's Joe Pompeo obtained the memo from Brown to her employees:

The sad moment has arrived when we must go forth with the editorial staff reductions that we discussed in person with all of you several weeks ago. Employees in the affected positions will be notified today. Much of this has already happened on the business side, and today we will be letting staff on the editorial side know where we will be eliminating positions. This is a very difficult day, and one that we approach with enormous regret.

The layoffs are not a surprise. Brown had already signalled that jobs would be eliminated when the magazine ended its print edition at the end of 2012. It will then become a subscription-based tablet app, operating on what will clearly be a substantially reduced budget. Brown has said that, in hindsight, it was "insane" to expect Newsweek to be sustainable in print.

Insiders told Pompeo that there will be "significant" job cuts.