DOWNSIZING

Acxiom/DMI Lays Off 30 ACXIOM/DIRECT MEDIA, Greenwich, CT, laid off 30 employees-some 5% of its work force-last month. The terminations came as part of a company restructuring following Direct Media’s March 1996 acquisition by Conway, AR-based Acxiom, said Acxiom/Direct Media CEO Steve Brighton. Various severance and separation packages were to be offered to employees based on tenure, he added. Among those terminated was Chris Page, vice president of the international list management division and a 13-year employee. “It was a bit of a shock,” Page said. At press time, sources claimed that Rich Mercado was also leaving Direct Media and would relocate to Madison Direct in Greenwich. Mercado could not be reached for comment or confirmation. Brighton said the layoffs were part of an “exercise” conducted over the last 60 days to determine the jobs that were critical and those that could be combined. As a result, positions in list management and brokerage, accounting and data processing were either cut or incorporated. “We took a 5% hit in our expenses and we downsized our positions to be in line with what our needs are,” he said, pointing out that Direct Media has 620 employees and no further layoffs were expected.