Lonely Planet / Laying off several dozen top editors and publishing staff

Lonely Planet, the world’s largest travel guide book publisher, announced last week that it is laying off several dozen top editors and publishing staff. The move leaves many wondering about the future of the company, guide books and travel writing itself.

Theo Sathananthan, Lonely Planet’s Chief Financial Officer, says that through layoffs and redeployment, up to 80 out of 400 staff positions worldwide will be “made redundant” across the company’s five offices worldwide. About 200 authors and 25 others also freelance for Lonely Planet. The three largest offices are in Melbourne, Australia; London; and Oakland, California.

Although cuts are being made across divisions, the departure of longstanding editorial staff is generating the most attention. “It’s like a plane hitting the building,” says one long-serving Lonely Planet author, speaking on condition of anonymity. The biggest concern is over the potential loss of institutional knowledge (of destinations, research methods, journalistic skills, etc.) that has built the brand into one of the industry’s most respected.

“Editorial integrity and quality content is at the heart of Lonely Planet,” reads a message to employees from the executive team.

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via Layoffs At Lonely Planet: Writing On The Wall For Guide Books? – Forbes.