Playboy outsources magazine's business operations

Things are so bad at Playboy (PLA), once one of the largest magazines in America by paid circulation, that the company is outsourcing a number of critical functions, including ad sales, to save money.

Several media outlets have reported that Playboy will enter into a five-year partnership with American Media Inc., which publishes Star and Men's Fitness, to handle some key functions of publishing the magazine. Most of the 30 Playboy staffers in those business areas will be fired. The men's magazine firm started by Hugh Hefner says that the move will help its flagship publication return to profitability by 2011.