Lindsay Pollock and Josh Baer are both reporting that Guy Bennett, the head of Christie’s Impressionist and Modern department and architect of some of their biggest sales ever, is leaving the company this Summer. Specialists of Bennett’s stature often become private dealers to capitalize on their relatisionships, knowledge and experience.

A few hours later, Pollock postes a story on Bloomberg announcing a second round of job cuts at Christie’s:

“We are positioning the company for continued long-term profits across all categories and throughout the world,” said Toby Usnik, the spokesman. “Our efforts to reshape the business include potential staff reductions. Such actions will be implemented globally in accordance with local regulations.”

Usnik declined to provide details but said the proposed cuts are smaller than those made in January. He said the privately held auctioneer today has 1,900 employees. That’s down 10 percent from January, when the firm disclosed it had 2,100.

Christie’s Begins Second Round of Job Cuts as Art Market Stalls (Bloomberg)