Sotheby’s Restructuring Seems to Have Gone Better than Expected

In relatively short order, enough members of Sotheby’s staff raised their hands to accept buyouts offered last month. Management has chosen 80 of those to receive the benefits which include early vesting and payment of incentives, according to an SEC filing.

The result is shaping up to mean Q4 will be a kitchen-sink quarter for Sotheby’s where it takes a $40m charge for the restructuring and absorbs the reduced commissions from the Taubman sales mentioned on the last earnings call.

Here’s Robin Pogrebin of The New York Times on what the buyouts will cost:

The auction house Sotheby’s has accepted the buyouts of 80 employees, or 5 percent of its 1,600-person global work force, the company reported in records filed on Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result of the buyout offer, which expired Dec. 9, Sotheby’s said in the filing that it expected a charge of about $40 million in the fourth quarter of 2015.

5% of Sotheby’s Workers Take Buyouts  (The New York Times)