Thomson-Reuters: how many jobs will be erased for this new company to be born?

By SDH Thomson-Reuters will become real on April 17th 2008, a new management structure will start to take shape. A new logo will be unveiled followed by a massive re-branding campaign across all businesses and products. But on a sadder note, huge layoffs are expected and may already be cocked and ready. Some employees will no doubt be offered buyouts and some will just be canned, and both the Thomson and Reuters side seem eager to get the ball rolling. The ThomsonReuters.com domain already points back to the Thomson website. However another domain Thomson-Reuters.com may have to be secured in some kind of back door deal so the new company can maintain control of its brand across the web. How will this all play out, how many heads will roll from both sides? This marriage could easily lead to inside bickering like the bickering that unfolded after the AOL-Time Warner merger which as we all know, crashed and burned. Thomson is the one doing the buying, but it’s the CEO of the company being bought that will lead the combined company. This may not be sitting well with some senior level Thomson execs. Reuters CEO Tom Glocer at the top may be a threat to many on the Thomson side fearing he may want to ease them out to bring over his Reuters lieutenants. But then again there is probably something in the deal that says he can’t do this. Usually the CEO of the company that is doing the buying leads the new company and the CEO of the company being bought comes in as the number two or is pushed out. But perhaps Glocer being named to run the combined company was a must, in order to get the deal done. So besides the possibility of massive job cuts to eliminate redundancies, what else will Thomson-Reuters look at to cut costs? Well there are the many buildings around the world that bare the Thomson and Reuters logos. Thomson’s current New York headquarters is located at 195 Broadway, in the heart of the financial district. Will the headquarters of the new company move to Times Square to the Reuters building? There are many places where the new financial media giant can squeeze cash from. One major vehicle for cash may be in the sale of some businesses on both sides. God knows they will need it to cover re-branding costs. So who will roll with Glocer under the new company? We know Reuter’s CFO David Grigson is out, at least out as CFO. That job will reportedly stay with current Thomson CFO Robert D. Daleo. Reuters’ group director of Human Resources, Stephen Dando, may have a spot under Thomson Executive Vice President Bob Bogart. It will be a game of “You’re in and you’re out” and we can’t wait to see how this new financial media behemoth comes together.

What is Reuters CEO Tom Glocer blogging about?

-YOSH Tom Glocer is about to become CEO of the biggest financial media firm on the planet when the Thomson-Reuters merger closes but in the meantime he is blogging on everything from the music industry to what a CEO should be doing with his/her time. Well at least we know how he uses his down time. Don't get used to it though Tom because you are going to have a lot of people to layoff soon. Tom on the music industry: I am optimistic about the music business for several reasons: First, good music continues to be created - it is a natural human impulse. Second, digital technology has cut to near zero the costs of duplication and distribution (although also the cost of piracy). Third, great portable devices like i-pods and mobile phones have increased the consumption of music on the go. Fourth, social networking and video sites have increased the demand and the ability to share music. Fifth and finally, advertising is gaining acceptance as the payment to consume "free" content. He sounds more optomistic than the heads of the major record labels. Tom on what a CEO should do with his time: Over the past several years, some in the British media have suggested that I should have better things to do than spend my time on Facebook or other social networking or web services. I would certainly agree with them if this amounted to more than an hour or two a week, or occurred mostly during "work" hours. However, I believe it is a very worthy investment of my "free" time to explore the latest interactions of media and technology, or indeed to write this blog when I feel I have something worthwhile to say. Tom Glocer's Blog