Week of Grim News for Book Industry

This week's book industry headlines were peppered with words such as "layoffs," "reorganization" and "cuts" as publishers responded en masse to the effects of the slumping economy. Among the announcements made this week:

• Random House (RH) Chairman and CEO Markus Dohle, who assumed his position in June, announced a new organizational structure for the company's adult publishing divisions by issuing three memos to all RH North American staff Wednesday. As part of the restructuring, Irwyn Applebaum, president and publisher of the Bantam Dell Publishing Group, and Steve Rubin, president and publisher of the Doubleday Publishing Group, will step down from their positions, as their respective groups will be absorbed by other RH divisions.