NPR is laying off 10 staffers in its member partnership and digital services divisions while creating five new positions as part of an internal restructuring.
The decisions were made “after consultation with NPR and member station stakeholders” to “more closely align both divisions’ resources,” according to Member Partnership VP Gemma Hooley and Digital Services GM Bob Kempf, who outlined the changes in a memo sent Wednesday to member station A-Reps.
The member partnership division will absorb seven of the layoffs. Director Marguerite Nutter’s position will be eliminated, along with those of senior managers Si Sikes, Patricia Cervini and Marc Pultuskier and associates Kristen Hartmann, Jeff Cabiness and Emily Dagger. Another senior manager, Jeff Nemic, has accepted NPR’s voluntary buyout package and will leave next month. His position will be eliminated.
NPR is expanding the role of its currently vacant senior director of member partnership position to lead more collaborations with stations. It will also hire three additional senior managers: two senior managers of business partnership and one senior manager of sales solutions. The division will also add the positions of project manager and project associate.
Digital Services will lay off three station relations managers: John Ryan, Joe Orlando and Jackie McBride. The member partnership unit will absorb their duties. The move is part of an effort for the Boston-based division to break even on its budget by fiscal year 2015, as NPR’s business plan indicates. “No services will be eliminated as a result of these changes,” the NPR memo said.
NPR invited laid-off staffers to apply for the new positions.
“This work will build on many combined years of service from colleagues whose positions have been eliminated,” Hooley and Kempf wrote. “We are grateful for their professional contributions and we know you will join us in wishing them all the very best in their future careers, in public radio or elsewhere.”