The layoffs at Time Inc. have begun.

As we sorta expected [1], executives at the Time Warner's publishing unit moved late Tuesday to begin the process of doling out hundreds of pink slips in advance of Wednesday’s earnings call. The first cuts were made at Sports Illustrated, according to a source. Media Decoder says [2] that “15 to 20 sales and marketing employees were dismissed,” most of them coming from SI.

Meanwhile, according to AOL’s Daily Finance [3], Time Inc. executives “have asked for an “emergency meeting with representatives of the Newspaper Guild to discuss job eliminations.” (Some employees at Time Inc. are members of the Guild, though not all.)

This is just the beginning, as a report [4] last week indicated that the mega-publisher is looking to trim $100 million from its budget. A year ago – nearly to the day – Time Inc. announced a dramatic reorganization that included as many as 600 layoffs [5]. This time around, it looks like the total will be closer to 500.

Time Warner's earnings announcement is expected before the stock market opens on Wednesday, and an earnings call with investors is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. I’m told staffers will be meeting with executives before the earnings call.

Stay tuned.