Barnes & Noble Eliminates 100 Jobs

Wow! What a grueling week for the publishing industry. Not only have major publishers such as Random House restructured, but Barnes & Noble, teetering on financial troubles along with other booksellers, has now cut 100 jobs in its New York headquarters. Here's the story.

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New York, NY (Authorlink News, January 14, 2009) - Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, today announced the elimination of close to 100 positions in its corporate headquarters. The company said most of the job eliminations were due to the reduction in store openings and consolidation of functional areas within its retail and online operations.

"Although our people, from top to bottom, did a terrific job in managing expenses and maximizing productivity," said Steve Riggio, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc., "the current business climate and the downturn in retail sales mandate that we reduce corporate overhead costs as appropriate to our overall sales volume."

"It should be noted, this is the first time in the company's history we've had to do this," Mr. Riggio added. "The business climate in which we are operating is unprecedented, and therefore, the reduction in expenses is inevitable."

Barnes & Noble has further announced that it is providing the affected employees with an enhanced severance plan, as well as offering healthcare benefits for the next 12 months. In addition, the company will be providing outplacement counseling and transition seminars. As a result, the company will record an after-tax charge of $2.5 million, or $0.04 per share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008.

ABOUT BARNES & NOBLE, INC.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 799 bookstores in 50 states. The company is the nation's top bookseller in quality, and for the fifth year in a row, the top bookseller brand, as determined by a combination of the brand's performance on familiarity, quality, and purchase intent, according to the EquiTrend® Brand Study by Harris Interactive®. Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), one of the Web's largest e-commerce sites.