If Sipa is purchased by DAPD in early July, 34 of the 91 staff members, including 14 photographers, will be fired. After negotiations on Monday, June 27, 2011, the staff voted internally to accept the German company’s terms. Although the buyer maintained its position to conserve only 8 staff photographers, they buffered their departure package, providing non-journalists with increased severance pay and photographers with greater purchasing power for equipment and business training. A similar agreement was reached in 2001 at Corbis-Sygma. It remains unclear, however, what will become of the millions of pictures in the Agency archives, with only a fraction of them to be acquired by DAPD. During a recent visit to Sipa, Martin Vorderwülbecke, one of two DAPD directors, announced that the German agency intends to develop their text and photo wire service here in Paris. Béatrice Garrette, Director of Sipa, who no longer enjoys full staff support (an internal motion recently revealed that nearly 71% of staff voters lack confidence in their manager), chose not to comment on negotiations. You can read the full text of Michel Puech in the French version of La Lettre