After thirty years at Time Inc., Jim Kelly is stepping down as the magazine group's managing editor, according to an email he just sent out, reproduced after the jump.

Kelly's current job was invented for him in 2006, after the longtime editor concluded his tenure as Time magazine's managing editor. He'd been with the publication 28 years.

After being moved upstairs to the mother ship, Kelly was to oversee "standards, practices and ethics" and the "pre-publication vetting of controversial stories." He reported to Time Inc. Editor In Chief John Huey.

The reasons for his departure aren't clear, but one imagines that after laying off 600 staffers, Time Inc. has been looking for redundancies in the executive suite. As always, if you have any inside knowledge, we'd love to hear from you.