Hearst Set to Buy Paris-based Lagardère… and Fire 30 Percent of Workforce

Hearst is set to buy the magazines published outside of France by Paris-based Lagardère for about $900 million, the New York Post reports.

Lagardère’s, whose U.S. division Hachette Filipacchi publishes such titles as Elle, Woman’s Day, and Car and Driver, and Hearst, which publishes Cosmopolitan and Esquire, among a number of other magazines, are expected to announce the deal as early as today.

The deal, which would bring under one roof the Hachette media group and Hearst magazines, would make Hearst the clear leader in the international magazine business, so, watch out Time Inc.

But in case you think this is great news for the magazine business, think again: the Post reports that the merger is expected to result in a massive bloodletting of 30 percent or more of the work force. No word yet on where the layoffs are expected to occur.

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