Following their update to the market on 14 March, Future is accelerating a realignment of resource in the US away from print. With these changes, all US print support functions such as consumer marketing and production will move to teams in the UK hub. Editorial leadership for Future's international print brands in the US will now be centralised in the UK, with some limited localised contribution from the US. No brands will be closed as part of this realignment, but US headcount will reduce by approximately one third, says the company.
Future CEO Mark Wood said: "These changes enable Future's US business to focus squarely on profitable operation of our core US digital brands, which have increased traffic by 40% in the past year and draw over 22 million unique user visits a month."
Future CEO-designate Zillah Byng-Maddick said: "We are absolutely focused on driving a significant reduction in the cost base of the business to deliver sustained margin improvement. With this activity we have moved decisively to realign resources and build efficiencies while taking a major step towards being a 100% digital business in the US. This is just one example of our determination to right-size Future for long-term success."
Future announced on 26 March 2014 that CEO Mark Wood will step down from his current role, and will become a non-executive Director of the Group, on 1 April 2014. CFO Zillah Byng-Maddick will take over as CEO at this time. Future will provide a full update on progress when results for the half-year ended 31 March are announced on 23 May 2014.
