We've heard from two sources that the London headquarters of Time Europe laid off just under 20 of the nearly 30 editorial staff, including, one said, Time Europe editor William Green and writer senior editor James Graff. Elsewhere, bureau chiefs Andrew Purvis in Berlin and Tim McGirk in Jerusalem are said to be gone after their contracts expire. This has stoked more speculation that the magazine might mimic Newsweek and consolidate to a single international edition — and that London is merely the first in a rolling series of global Thursday layoffs:

"More [to come] in Hong Kong, headquarters of Time Asia, and then the fun starts in the Time-Life building," wrote one tipster.

It appears the layoffs expected Wednesday were pushed forward a day. Or maybe Time Inc. will continue to string the process out. In London, at least, there are staff from Fortune and People who one imagines will likely be used more across titles in CEO Ann Moore's restructured Time Inc. But this does not bode well for the magazine's competitiveness with the surging, global Economist.