Economic crunch spurs ADL layoffs

Organization has laid off 18 employees, 17 of whom worked at the New York headquarters, a spokeswoman said.

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
Facing a tight economic crunch, the New York-based Anti Defamation League has laid off nearly 10 percent of its staff at its national headquarters, the organization said Wednesday. The cuts at the non-profit organization, which like other American Jewish groups is reliant on private donations, were the starkest indication to date on how the US economic malaise has forced these groups to carry out staff cuts. The organization has laid off 18 employees, 17 of whom worked at the New York headquarters, a spokeswoman said. "In anticipation of the economic crunch we have to be financially responsible," ADL spokeswoman Myrna Shinbaum said. She added that the layoffs did not affect any of the ADL's 30 regional officers across the US, although the spokesman of the Jerusalem office was among those let go. In all, more than 300 people work at the organization. The ADL is only one in a string of American Jewish groups feeling the brunt of the economic difficulties, even though they have taken the most extreme measure to date. American Jewish Committee spokesman Kenneth Bandler said his organization had not carried out any staff cuts so far, but it was looking at other ways to cut costs, including reduced travel worldwide.