Viz Media Snips Staff

Viz Media, one of the biggest publishers of creepy manga in the U.S., pruned some of its staff on Wednesday. Publishers Weekly reports that "as many as 55 people were laid off at Viz’s San Francisco headquarters and it appears its small New York office, which had about 5 staffers, has been closed. The number of staff released represents about 40% of the employees at Viz Media." Why? Well, one reason, according to figures, was a decline in sales by 20% in 2009. [via PW]