(New York, NY)  --  The holiday season is not looking bright for people at Time Inc., the nation's leading consumer magazine publisher.

   The "New York Post" reports the company plans to lay off about 540 employees in the next few weeks to slash costs and take a charge against earnings.

   It would be the biggest number of terminations in publishing this year and follows recent layoffs of more than 450 people at Time Inc.'s rival Conde Nast.

   Among the magazines that could be hit hardest by the expected layoffs are "Time," "Sports Illustrated," "Fortune," "People" and "Entertainment Weekly."  Time Inc.'s Newspaper Guild union employees targeted by the layoffs would first be offered buyout packages.



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