Pearson UK 'ahead of plan' on 2016 job cuts

A spokesperson for Pearson UK has said the company is "80% of the way there and ahead of plan" on its latest job-cutting restructure, as the wider company looks to make £250m annualised cost savings globally this year plus a further £100m in 2017.

A total of 500 jobs are expected to go in the UK, as Pearson reduces its global workforce by 10%.

The Bookseller understands that around 200 staff, including Pearson UK managing director Mark Anderson, departed the publisher's UK offices at the end of April. A number of UK roles are thought to have have gone at senior middle management (vice president) level, with sizeable editorial cutbacks, encompassing both commissioning editors and publishers, plus cuts to central marketing, and a 10% cut to the schools operation. In desk editorial, six or seven roles have been outsourced to India. Meanwhile back office finance functions are being transferred to a new Northern Ireland office in Belfast.

Pearson is creating a single global product team across schools, Higher Education and English Language Teaching, run centrally from New York.

"The UK will be doing a lot of adapting US products, or cascading them down," a well-placed observer told The Bookseller.

The publisher is also understood to be focusing on potential growth areas in HE which lend themselves to digital delivery, such as business, economics, finance, management, psychology and law, cutting back on its US social science and arts publishing.

A Pearson UK spokesperson declined to comment on any specifics of the restructure, but said it was "80% there and ahead of plan", with the company looking to complete the majority of UK job cuts mid-year, and to finalise the programme by the end of the year.

Anderson moved to an advisory role before leaving the company, with Rod Bristow now fulfilling his role, the spokesperson said. Bristow, president of Pearson UK, took up a wider role with responsibility for core markets in a 2013 restructure.

"Pearson has also set up a finance services centre in Belfast as part of plans to unify its global finance function, simplify the business and position itself for growth in major markets," the spokesperson confirmed.
 
He also said the company was "making good progress" in investment areas outlined in its January trading update, including the production of adaptive, personalised "next generation" software, new qualifications and certifications, and online programme management partnerships with universities, such as with Kings College London to offer online masters degrees.