Boston-based textbook publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt said Thursday it is laying off 525 employees as the coronavirus pandemic accelerates the shift to digital learning tools.
The company disclosed in a public filing that the reduction comes as part of Houghton Mifflin’s “ongoing assessment of its cost structure amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” and it is in line with the digital strategy the company first proposed to investors last October. The company’s stock closed up over 16 percent on the news.
A company spokesperson declined to break down how many Boston employees have been affected.
The layoff — along with a recently introduced early retirement program, which 166 employees opted into — means the company has trimmed its workforce by 22 percent. That figure accounts for an undisclosed number of newly added digital-first jobs.
“As districts embrace new remote learning formats and rely more heavily on digital solutions than ever before, HMH