Viz Media had a major layoff this week, reducing the workforce at the manga giant for at least the second time since the beginning of the Great Recession (the first was early last year, see “Restructuring at Viz Media”). 

The reduction in force reflects the difficult conditions in both the anime and manga markets.  Manga sales are down a third in the last two years (according to ICv2 estimates, see “A Second Bad Year in a Row for Manga”), and sales of anime DVDs have also been hit hard.

The downsizing was about 60 people, or around 40% of the Viz workforce, according to Publishers Weekly.