Dow Jones & Co. is digging deep to save money.
The publisher of the Wall Street Journal will lay off another 150 employees today as part of an ongoing effort to slash costs. The company laid off 16 editorial staffers on Monday following an earlier round of 225 cuts in April.
But its not just staffers getting let go – now they’re axing indoor plants.
In a memo dated yesterday, the company said it is discontinuing the ownership and maintenance of indoor plants at its offices at the World Financial Center and in South Brunswick, N.J.
This move affects several hundred leafy, green plants, said Steven Goldstein, company spokesperson, and will save the company more than $40,000 each year.
Goldstein said the $40,000 saves one job.
“In an effort to save some costs, we’re eliminating the service that maintains and waters the plants,” he explained.
“We’ve given employees three choices – they can take the plants home, they can water the plants themselves, or they can take the plants and redistribute them to another office that is willing to maintain them.”
Associates were directed to attach a yellow Post-It note on the plants they were willing to maintain.
By the end of day, yesterday Goldstein said, “There were quite a few Post-It notes on the plant containers.”