Pearson eliminating 47 additional jobs in Iowa City

Pearson will continue to reduce the size of its workforce in Iowa City with the planned elimination of 47 jobs.

The third round of layoffs at the educational and professional assessment company brings the total number of employment reductions to about 166 positions. The company previously notified Iowa Workforce Development in January that it was laying off 62 employees, and in March that it was laying off 57 employees.

Pearson has attributed the layoffs to a planned 10 percent reduction in its global workforce by the end of this year. The company has not released specific information on how many jobs will be eliminated in Iowa City.

In comments to Reuters on Jan. 21, Pearson Chief Executive John Fallon said problems in its markets, such as fewer people in the United States going to college, have been more pronounced and lasted longer than the company anticipated.

'We are taking immediate and decisive action to simplify the company, integrate operations and cut costs, all with the aim of getting Pearson growing again,” Fallon said. 'I am very confident that we've made the right strategic calls and that will show so over time.”

Pearson has said the restructuring will involve combining divisions, such as its school testing and professional testing divisions in North America, to reduce back office costs.

More than 180 colleges and universities featured in the U.S. News and World Report's 2015 ranking no longer require applicants to take the ACT or SAT exams. The institutions have cited concerns about access to higher education for underprivileged students in announcing test-optional policies.

Pearson is not alone in its response to changes in the educational testing industry.

ACT plans to gradually eliminate as many as 60 jobs over the next few years by outsourcing some facets of the work done in Iowa City. ACT spokesman Ed Colby said work performed in the McCarrel Center, at 2727 Scott Blvd., is primarily focused on paper-based testing.