Condé Nast Aims To Slash Budget

Filed Under: Icky Icky Poo Business Blitz Vogue

Finally, after three seemingly stagnant months, there is (albeit small) movement at Condé Nast.

The magazine publishing powerhouse has been in talks with McKinsey & Co. since July to get a grip on their shakey finances, reigning in their spending so that the amount of cash going out better reflects their financial standing.

Now, editors are meeting with Condé Nast Chief Operating Officer John Bellando to set 2010 budgets for their respective magazines and apparently each publication is being told to try to cut a major 25% from their budget the year prior.

It's understandable - ad sales are down uniformly within publications, and the luxury market that Condé Nast typically caters to was particularly affected by the recession.

Much of the cuts will be in travel, though there is speculation that many could be in staff and overall spending. Insiders say that headcount cuts will vary from title to title, in which case, W staffers, start sending out your resumes: the fashion glossy is down in ad sales a jarring 46% from last year.

The Bellando meetings began last week and will continue through this week, after which each publication will have three weeks to turn in their new, trimmer budgets. Apparently, after those three weeks, the cuts are expected to take place rather quickly at some point in October. Until then, staffers at all titles wait anxiously to hear their fates. "It's like, instead of ripping off the band-aid all at once and getting it over with, they're ripping it off very slowly," said a source.

Bummer.

Posted: September 23, 2009 at 4:30 pm