People magazine just sent out a staff memo soliciting buyout candidates, as part of the 600-person company-wide layoffs announced at Time Inc. two weeks ago. Although People has a large staff, the reporting cuts they seek in both New York and LA—which total 18 editorial employees—would add up to a significant loss of celebrity-watching resources. Click through for the entire memo [UPDATE: and details of similar buyout offers at four other titles]:

Rumors of pending layoffs at Viacom have been floating around for weeks now. The media conglomerate is in terrible debt, and just yesterday announced that it's canceling its holiday parties from coast to coast. Today, a tipster has sent us an internal memo from Bob Bakish, the head of MTV Networks, that grimly alludes to "unprecedented economic challenges" that have caused a hiring freeze, and will affect spending "dramatically" through the entire coming year. Will the company start off the new year with a round of layoffs? Eminently possible. Bakish's full internal email, after the jump:

Ogilvy, one of the world's most famous ad agencies, encourages all of its staffers to vote! "We'd like to remind you that the future of your country depends on making your voice count," they write in an internal email. So how are they helping their employees exercise their rights? By telling them that if the long lines at polling places make them miss the "minimum required hours of work time," then they have to use a vacation day today. Well, they sure are bastards. The full email below:

We hear that the layoffs at Viacom are going to happen, but probably not tomorrow. Viacom just sent an internal email to employees telling them that the Holiday party is canceled—but everyone gets two extra days of vacation instead! To "relax and recharge for the coming year." That's pretty awesome. Unless you come back and get fired. Click through for the full memo.

Yes, it's true: Gawker's sibling sites are laying off 19 people. This site is one of those that will be expanding. The internal memo is after the jump. Gabriel Snyder of W magazine will indeed be replacing me as managing editor and we are hiring two more reporters in short order. But it's generally a miserable day. I'll answer as many questions as I can in the comments.

Passion: it's a word. But for Men's Health editor Dave Zinczenko, it's a word! That exclamation point represents passion—Dave's passion for his book, Eat This, Not That! Yesterday we heard the rumor that Dave, Julia Allison's old boyfriend, was looking for a new publicist to get him back on the Today show (he said no, only his magazine is hiring a publicist, not him). And we hinted at the existence of an internal email in which Zinczenko grandiosely compared his ab-centric book to "Barak [sic] Obama." Well now that email, from February, is in hand! "Who had a better last three weeks-Barak Obama, or Eat This, Not That? Crazy, audacious comparison, I know, but stay with me here." Okay, go:

Microsoft platforms and services president Kevin Johnson addressed employees in an internal memo over the weekend to discuss Yahoo and Microsoft's online strategy. The 11-word version : "We are not where we want to be. Hear more Wednesday." For the superfluous details, see our 100-word version, or, for the gluttons for repetition and passive voice among you, Johnson's entire email, both below:

Happy 2008! Though we're still trying to pry off the confetti stubbornly cemented to various body parts by dried champagne (please, don't press us for details on the exact places we're having a hard time de-spangling), we're ready for whatever Hollywood nonsense the new year holds. But first, we have an announcement to make: Our Defamer family is expanding, as we've brought aboard an old friend to be our first Managing Editor. Please welcome Mark Graham to the fold, who'll be dealing with the administration of the site, spearheading the expansion of some features (photos and videos and what-have-you), and handling all the fun responsibilities that go along with growing our little part of the Gawker Media Worldwide Blogging Concern. Mark's a recent refugee from VH1's online operations, the proprietor of the seminal blogspot Whatevs, and, amazingly, still fascinated with at least one half of the post-conjoined Olsen twins. Please direct all well wishes and gift baskets (hint: he's a red-velvet cupcake guy) here.