Thursday, October 29, 2009

Forbes Cuts 30; Others Told to Work from Home; Bono Screwed

Forbes axed at least 30 editorial people, yesterday -- but the bloodletting isn't over, according to insiders, NyPo is reporting.

Today's layoffs mark the third round of editorial cuts in a year. In January, the dot-com and print were merged and 50 people were let go.

In the latest round, the magazine's bureaus were particularly hard hit. Many of Forbes' offices will be closed around the country and overseas, and those who worked in bureaus and survived the cuts will become correspondents working out of their homes, sources said.

"We -- and the entire media world -- have been hard hit by both the severe recession and the seismic shifts wrought by the web. Given these dramatic events, further layoffs, unfortunately, are necessary across the entire organization," Forbes Chairman Steve Forbes told staffers on Monday in a memo.

All this means that rock star, wannabe businessman, flako save the world type, Bono, has had his butt handed to him compliments of The Capitalist Tool's founding family.

Three years ago (hee, hee, hee),the Forbes family sold an estimated 40 percent of the company to Elevation Partners, a venture-capital firm run by Silicon Valley investor Roger McNamee and U2 frontman Bono.

Notice the significanse of 40%. A very big percentage, which means Elevation paid out elevated amounts of $$$$. However, what is also interesting about 40% is that it is less than 50%, which means all Bono can do is sit and watch from the sidelines as the value of his investment declines. Oh well, maybe he can write a song about the experience.

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