Disney Publishing to Move 175 Employees to Westchester

By Rachel Deahl, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 5/16/2007

Disney Publishing Worldwide is moving to White Plains. The publishing division of the media giant, currently in offices at 114 Fifth Avenue in New York City, is relocating to a "state of the art" office facility in the Manhattan suburb, according to v-p of communications April Hattori. An announcement about the move, which will send 175 of the division's 225 employees to the new location, was made yesterday through an internal company e-mail. The move is affecting staffers on both the magazine and book sides of the division; Hyperion's adult group is not affected by the move.

Hattori said that 20 editorial staffers from Disney Press, Hyperion Books for Children and Disney Editions will remain in Manhattan relocating to a "midtown location near Grand Central." (Thirty staffers from the magazine division's marketing and sales teams will also be remaining in Manhattan.) The move, which is scheduled to get underway in October and be completed by December, is, Hattori said, being done to "accommodate future growth" at the company.

The new facility is an existing building that will offer a better layout and more conference space, Hattori said. When asked how much cutting rent costs factored into the decision, Hattori said, "While there will be cost savings" the motivating factor was to "find the right space for the company's current and future needs."

While it seems imminent that some employees will defect rather than move, Hattori said the company hopes all staffers will stay on board. She added that "in-person meetings" are underway with members of the book teams and that "transition assistance" will be provided, and may take the form of commuting allowances.