DMA cuts staff again

(Direct Newsline) The Direct Marketing Association recently eliminated nine positions from its New York and Washington offices, the fourth staff reduction in under a year.

Of the nine posts, five employees were terminated and four were offered other opportunities within the association, says spokesperson Christina Duffney. The DMA declined to comment on which departments were affected. The organization employs about 160 people.

The most recent November 2001 layoffs were part of a larger, ongoing reorganization to improve efficiency, Duffney said at the time. About nine employees were let go.

Last October, the association, reacting to the downturn in the economy, laid off 19.

And in May 2001, 17 employees from the seminar division were terminated when the association began outsourcing conference registration and data input functions. A 30%-40% drop in conference attendance was cited as the reason for the layoffs.