AS PENGUIN prepares to move from Camberwell to its new Docklands offices, there are disturbing reports that the multinational publisher won't need quite as much space as anticipated. That's because of ongoing redundancies in the editorial and design areas. While no one would comment officially, it appears that several editors from both the adult and children's publishing departments have gone, along with a number of designers. Some have left and not been replaced; others have taken redundancies. What has been unsettling some people, apparently, is that those leaving are mainly senior, experienced editors and designers. In its results report for 2011, Pearson, which owns Penguin, said it had gained market share in the US, Britain and Australia ''in a very challenging retail environment with the closure of more than 750 stores''. It added Penguin had ''performed strongly in recent years in the context of rapid structural change in the consumer publishing industry. We expect it to perform in line with the overall industry this year, facing tough conditions in the physical bookstore channel but helped by its strong position in digital''.

Illustration - Vintage Dyson