The staff of Lonely Planet in the travel guide company's Melbourne headquarters is bracing for the upcoming job cuts expected to be announced on Thursday. At least 100 employees will lose their jobs after Lonely Planet will issue the order.

Employees at the Melbourne headquarters located in Footscray were said to have been in crisis talks with company managers. The company has found up to 80 redundancies which it wants to do away with to reduce operating expenses.

Some workers may be redeployed to other Lonely Planet offices around the world, most probably in London. Other employees will be completely terminated and cut off from the redeployment option.

Daniel Houghton, director from Lonely Planet's parent company NC2, reportedly announced to the staff on Thursday morning that there would be "changes" in the company.

While the full implications of the changes in Lonely Planet's Melbourne office remain unclear, the staff members are expected to discuss their fate with managers individually. The job redundancies will include about one-third of current positions Lonely Planet's Australian headquarters.

The company released a statement and said that it had announced to staff and its contributors a series of changers within its operations. Lonely Planet said cutting jobs is a response to the challenges of the external environment. The company also said it wants to position Lonely Planet for continued success.

The statement also indicated that the company will be talking to individuals who will be affected by these changes.

Thursday's job cuts will have the greatest impact on Lonely Planet's offices in Melbourne, Oakland and London.

The news comes after American media company, NC2, bought Lonely Planet in March 2013. BBC announced in March that it has sold the top travel guide book publisher to NC2 Media after BBC decided to focus on BBC brands and extend global results.

BBC Worldwide will receive $75 million for the business with additional AU$60 million upon completion and AU$15 million paid in one year. BBC has been exploring strategic options in 2012, and one of them was to look for a new owner for Lonely Planet.

Paul Dempsey, BBC Worldwide interim chief executive officer, said the travel guide company had showed a poor financial performance during the last few years due to the strong Australian dollar, publishing industry consolidation and the global recession that had great repercussions to leisure travel.

Lonely Planet is the world's most successful travel guide publisher with over 120 million books in 11 different languages. It was established in 1972 by a Melbourne couple, Tony and Maureen Wheeler. The Wheelers has since sold 75 per cent of their ownership to BBC Worldwide in 2007. They gave up their remaining stake in 2011.

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