The Italian publishing industry reported a decrease in employees of over 4500 units in the five-year period 2011-2015 (equal to approximately 25% of total employees) and achieved a 23% reduction in labor costs in the same period. This is highlighted by the Mediobanca R&D analysis of the first nine Italian groups in the sector which together had 2015 employees in December 13. The most consistent departures occurred in Rcs Mediagroup (2200 of which 600 in France) and in Il Sole 24 Ore (726 of which 436 relating to the software branch sold in 2014) while Cairo Editore was the only one to report an increase in staff (+ 13,7%).
The reduction in the workforce in percentage terms primarily concerned blue-collar workers (-36%) and white-collar workers (-30%) compared to what happened to journalists (-11,5%). The most significant downsizings in the latter category were made by Il Sole 24 Ore (-17%) while Espresso and Mondadori recorded -8% and -9% respectively. The decline in the workforce - notes R&S - was part of a broader cost containment contraction action which, on an aggregate level, can be quantified at 33% between 2011 and 2015 with a 43% reduction in the cost of paper and 35% of other costs, including distribution.
