Bloomberg may lay off about 130 employees in BusinessWeek, which the global financial news and data provider acquired recently, says a media report.

Attributing to sources, New York Post said that Bloomberg is expected to whack up to 130 employees of BusinessWeek, out of a total 400--a staggering 32 per cent staff reduction.

The daily further said that about half the cuts are expected to come on the 200 strong edit side. Citing a source the report said that editorial staffers are being called in one by one.

"If there is a BusinessWeek representative to meet in the meeting, it means you're being fired. If there is a Bloomberg person in the meeting, it means you are being offered a job."

Among those being laid off is On the Media columnist, Jon Fine, who has been on a sabbatical traveling with his wife, Mediabistro founder Laurel Touby. James Leone, the founder of BusinessWeek's online video group, is out, along with his five-person staff.

Earlier, in October, McGraw-Hill had said it is selling BusinessWeek to Bloomberg.