The United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH) has reported that soaring costs and a projected 2% decline in annual sales has forced the company to lay off some of its workforce and make other cost-saving changes, the United Methodist News Service (UMNS) said.

Thirty of UMPH's 1,000 employees were let go earlier this month and approximately 20 vacant staff positions will not be filled, according to CEO and Publisher Neil Alexander.

The 2% sales decline follows a multi-year trend, but higher expenses compounded the impact, he told UMNS.

Other factors cited by Alexander for the layoffs were higher costs for employee pensions, healthcare and manufacturing products, and rising occupancy expenses for UMPH's Nashville headquarters and distribution center and its 70 Cokesbury bookstores, UMNS said.

The UMPH had previously reported a strong financial performance during the first two quarters of the fiscal year, which ended in January.

Company officials said the robust figures were due to new publications for children and adults, including the children's Sunday school curriculum Live B.I.G., the stewardship study guide Treasures of the Transformed Life and the African-American songbook Zion Still Sings, UMNS said.

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