The chief executive of British information group Reuters, Tom Glocer, ruled out Wednesday separating the news division from the rest of the company despite a steady decline in its core financial business.
”News production and distribution is vital to Reuters. There is no question of separating the news agency unit from the rest of the business. The excellent work of our journalists is central to our financial services,” Glocer said in an interview with the French business newspaper La Tribune.
The daily noted that Reuters’ financial activities — which account for 90% of the group’s revenues — were in difficulty under increased competition from rival US company Bloomberg and the loss of a major contract with Merrill Lynch to
Thomson Financial.
Ten percent of the British giant’s workforce, or 2 000 jobs, had been cut to save 500-million euros, it added. Glocer said that only two percent of the editorial payroll had been affected.
”The duration and size of the crisis in the financial services market has surpassed most forecasts,” he told La Tribune.
He added, however, that Reuters would not become embroiled in a pricing war with competitors to retain clients and predicted that once the world economy picks up, ”Reuters will be ready to profit from it.”
As for persistent speculation that Bloomberg or Thomson were planning a takeover bid for Reuters, Glocer said: ”We never comment on market rumours.” – Sapa-AFP