Skyhorse Publishing has laid off 30% of its workforce due to declining sales caused by the outbreak of the new coronavirus. The layoffs were announced to staff yesterday. In addition to declining sales, Skyhorse’s decision to delay publication of some titles to later in the year has hurt its cash flow, Skyhorse CEO Tony Lyons explained to employees on what necessitated the cuts.
“It’s so sad to have to do this. We had to let a terrific group of publishing professionals go, but there was no alternative under the circumstances,” Lyons said in a statement issued to PW. “We believe these staff cuts will enable us to continue to succeed as a company in the long run.”
Lyons said that, just a few weeks ago, with the signing of the Woody Allen memoir (released yesterday) and plans for Skyhorse to publish its first edition of the World Almanac, “we were expecting to have a terrific year. But to paraphrase William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech, I believe book publishing will not only endure; it will prevail. Because books are the 'props, the pillars' that help us all 'endure and prevail.' By any measure, they are as ‘essential’ as any staple I can think of."
