Outlook Group has announced the closure of three of its magazines, Marie Claire, Geo and People with immediate effect. The decision came as a surprise even to the employees — the firm’s management has said negotiations are underway on human resource issues.
In an official statement, the group had said: “Outlook Publishing (India) Private Limited wishes to inform its readers that it is discontinuing its licensing arrangements with People, Geo, and Marie Claire magazines with effect from the forthcoming issues […].” The statement added that all other group magazines would be published as usual.
A magazine source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the news came all of a sudden even as editors and journalists were preparing to send one of the magazines to be shut down to press. Employees got to know of the decision through a tweet, and then through media reports.
Outlook Group editorial chairman Vinod Mehta told The Hindu: “We have only shut down the international magazines. These were unsustainable because of the high licensing fees. But the core of the group magazines is still intact.” Asked if employees were being laid off without any notice, Mr. Mehta said: “It would be premature to say that. The Human Resources people are still looking into the matter, and negotiations are underway.”
