Peter Moulson used the word "shock" to describe his feelings when the 13-year marketing director at UNM Press learned he was being laid off along with five other employees.
The cutbacks are part of a reorganization effort by UNM Press Director Luther Wilson to help cut into the $1.9 million deficit accrued during the past 10 years. The layoffs included Moulson and sales manager Joe Wesbrook who had been with the Press for seven years. Wilson added that the two positions will be merged into one job.
Moulson said Wilson told him of his fate in a short meeting.
"The director said, 'Sorry, but you will be laid off in June,' and that was that," Moulson said.
The other four employees who will be laid off, effective on June 30:
— Receptionist Lynn Bluestein, who had worked full-time with the Press for seven months.
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— Administrative assistant Dianne Edwards, an 11-year employee at UNM Press.
— Production manager Dawn Hall, who had been at the Press for three years
— Acquisitions editor Evelyn Schlatter, who was hired 16 months ago.
Wilson said it was not an easy decision to make, but he felt the staff had grown too large for its current productivity.
"We took a look in terms of what our staffing needs were," he said. "With the sales manager and the marketing director positions, we decided those would be combined and be one position, not two."
Moulson said combining the two positions creates a difficult task for the person who inherits the job.
"With almost 100 titles a year to promote and market and to do the publicity and the sales, it's going to be very stressful for the person who takes the job and for the people who had to leave," Moulson said.
Wilson said the staff size grew under his management from 1980-1985. Wilson attributes that period of growth to the success of "The Education of Little Tree" by Forrest Carter.
The book, about an American Indian child sent away to a boarding school, sold 1.7 million copies and reached the number one spot on the New York Times nonfiction Best Seller's List. UNM Press reaped the benefits from the novel for almost a decade. But when sales dried up, revenue plummeted and the Press began to run a deficit, which reached as high as $900,000 in one year.
Upon Wilson's return to UNM Press in 2000, he focused on reversing the $1.9 million deficit. Wilson already had cut the staff from 32 employees to 25 in 2000. In addition to the layoffs, the warehouse that stores many of the Press' books is moving from the south end of Albuquerque International Sunport to the building at the former Bob Turner parking lot. Wilson said the move would save the University about $80,000 because its new location will be rent-free.
Wilson said the cuts were needed to get the Press back in line with its production and to help cut its deficit. He said UNM Press should see a profit of about $40,000 this fiscal year.
"We are an integral part of the University," Wilson said. "It's important for us to stay alive and keep healthy."
Wilson said the cuts put UNM Press on solid ground compared to other university presses that have suffered larger deficits. In 2000-2001, Harvard University Press ran a deficit for the first time in 10 years and Princeton University Press barely met its budget. Wilson said the University of California Press has suffered losses of up to $3 million yearly and had to drastically cut its staff.
"I thought we should get our fiscal house in order and not lose that kind of money and get our funding balance to zero," Wilson said.
Moulson said he's not sure if the cuts will be beneficial. He said many people at UNM Press are worried what will happen next.
"Most people are very depressed and are worried if they are the next in line for cuts," Moulson said. "How much work are they going to do, two or three people's jobs?"
