Redundancies at Laurence King Publishing following Hachette buy

Hachette has confirmed that it is in consultation with members of Laurence King Publishing staff, following its acquisition of the arts and gifts specialist earlier this autumn. 

More than 30 jobs at LKP are thought to be considered for redundancy. However, a spokesperson for Hachette said the publisher could not confirm numbers or comment further "in the middle of the legal process".

When the publisher changed hands after three decades in September, it was decided it would be split into three components, with its gift, trade and art publishing becoming an imprint of Orion Publishing Group under the LKP name; LKP's student and professional publishing becoming a Quercus imprint; and its children’s publishing segment becoming part of Hachette Children’s Group.

The Bookseller understands that as many as half of LKP's 65 full-time staff are involved, with close to 35 roles in consultation set to go across the entire business. Roles earmarked for redundancy are not only in the company's back office, but in sales, rights, editorial, design, production, marketing and publicity, sources told The Bookseller.

Those whose roles are transferring to Hachette are mostly those with specialist skills, and it appears the portion of the business devoted to gifts publishing is the area least impacted by the changes, The Bookseller understands.

One insider, who preferred to speak anonymously, said: "Initially I wasn't too worried about [the acquisition by Hachette UK]. It started to unravel around a month ago. Then the scale of it became clear. You might expect the finance department would be hit, but it's across the entire company. All of the back office is going automatically, nearly all the sales people and maybe half of the editors, designers and managers. Marketing is nearly all going. The company won't be the same as it was... The culture is going to change and it's just an outrage for all of those people who are really good at their jobs and, despite being in a profitable company, are just being thrown out. And at such a time when it is so tough out there."

Another source who preferred not to be named said it had been a "difficult" time, describing the redundancy process as particularly "painful" during the pandemic, when everything was being done remotely.

"I think it's fair to say that staff are feeling very upset by the fact this has happened at all," they said. "A lot of people have been at Laurence King a considerable amount of time and feel that the whole situation hasn't been handled particularly well. We feel as though Hachette has, not exactly bought us under false pretences, but perhaps not made their intentions crystal clear about how they were going to handle the business."

It is understood that the first tranche of LKP staff leaving the business will be departing at the end of December.