Getty contributor Greg Ceo disclosed this bit of Getty Images news on his blog: the Seattle company will no longer produce wholly owned imagery. A Getty spokesperson clarified that the program is only shuttered for 2010.
According to an anonymous source, Ceo wrote, Getty is letting go some staffers on the creative shooting and research teams at the end of this year. Getty director of communications Bridget Russel clarified: “We are canceling the wholly owned program for 2010 in favor of different investment, but that does not mean the program will be gone for good.” Russel added that the company will retain creative direction staff in London and New York, and that contributors will still get assignments.
In a statement to PDN Pulse, Getty spokesperson Molly McWinnie said that demand for highly produced photography has reduced from a few years ago. Getty is evolving its business to align with market changes, which center mainly on lower-priced digital uses and the proliferation of microstock. A U.K. company spokesperson gave a similar statement to the British Journal of Photography, stressing that the company is not “undergoing layoffs.”
The company did not comment on the nature of the different investment, the number of employees losing their jobs or the arrangements under which contributors will get assignments.