Company formerly known as study guide publisher Barron's facing possible layoffs

Hauppauge-based B.E.S. Publishing, which was known as Barron's Educational Series until parts of its business were acquired last week, has filed a notice of a possible layoff covering its remaining 62 employees, according to the company and a state regulatory filing. 

Lonny Stein, senior director of marketing at B.E.S., said he wasn't certain the company would have to lay off workers but the filing of the notice was a legal necessity.

"It's a formality, and we are told by our attorneys that we had to send it to our employees," he said.

The notice was posted on the state Labor Department's website on Thursday, two days after Kaplan Test Prep, the Manhattan-based company best known for its SAT tutoring, announced that it had bought the Hauppauge company's name and about 650 of its more than 2,000 titles.

In an interview earlier this week, Maureen McMahon, president and publisher of Kaplan Publishing, said that Barron's had about 100 employees on Long Island. Some would join Kaplan, while others would remain at B.E.S., she said.

Some of those 100 employees already lost their jobs, Stein said Thursday.

"We had to also lay off some employees," Stein said on Thursday about the earlier job losses. "We have to make an attempt to stay profitable."

Barron's, known for its Regents study guides, among other products, was founded in 1941 by Manuel Barron, who at 98 was still chief executive of the company at the time of the transaction. He has said he planned to "remain active" in B.E.S.  

Under New York’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, companies with at least 50 full-time employees must file a 90-day notice of a mass layoff or closing.