Hearst plans to lay off 145 at Pennsylvania publisher

EMMAUS, Pa. – Hearst Magazines plans to lay off 145 employees at the Pennsylvania publisher that owns Men’s Health and Runner’s World.

Hearst announced the planned layoffs at Rodale Press on Tuesday and notified borough officials and the state labour department in a letter dated Thursday.

The reductions will occur at the former Rodale headquarters and other facilities in Emmaus, and a distribution centre in Upper Macungie Township will also be closed.

Hearst agreed in October to purchase the publisher of health and wellness books and magazines, which also include Women’s Health and Prevention.

The book business published bestsellers such as “An Inconvenient Truth” by former Vice-President Al Gore. The family homestead just outside Emmaus has been a force in the nation’s organic farming movement.