Layoffs at Thomson Reuters confirmed

Thomson Reuters carried out a round of layoffs last week within its Singapore operations, as part of a global move to manage costs.

While the number of staff affected both locally and globally has not been confirmed, Human Resources understands the layoffs involved the editorial, training and sales divisions.

Reuters’ Singapore office refused to comment when contacted this morning, but a number of editorial and sales employees within the company have confirmed some local staff have been affected.

Barb Burg, vice president and global head of communications at Reuters, told Talking Biz News the restructuring was in line with the company’s “need to simplify and ensure we have the skills and expertise within our organisation… [to] continue to contribute maximum value to the business and our customers”.

US sources speaking to Talking Biz News said editorial staff who were laid off were those who received a rating of four of five in their annual review (a score of three onwards is 'achieved').