Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Thank you, sir (Operator Instructions). We go to Gary Bisbee from Barclays Capital.
Matt Colady - Barclays Capital
Good morning, this is Matt Colady (ph) on behalf of Gary Bisbee.
I guess within the 15% of employees that are now being laid off, could you provide an approximate range or target within the sales force. And also in terms of the opportunity to improve the sales force, is there the opportunity to selectively hire within that group as well? Thank you.
Thomas Monahan III
Sure, let me start at the philosophical level so you get a sense of how the reductions in force played out. First and foremost we started with G&A. That’s the place where we want to be very aggressive in managing and controlling our cost structure.
Second then we looked at product areas first with an eye toward those things that are supposed to vary with member size. Think here about member meetings, if you have fewer members in a particular program you need to rent fewer hotel rooms, ball rooms, etc.
And then obviously across the year you’ll expect to see the cost to goods sold to come down, where and when we sunset programs or consolidate them into single platforms, so that number will come down.
The marketing and members services line item is the one we paid the most attention to investing in across the year. Obviously it will come down since we’re taking some products off line across the year.
But that is a place we plan to over invest, because we realize that having great professionals out there engaging the market place, solving member and prospect needs in this difficult environment is the surest way to secure relationships that pave the foundation for future growth.
So you will see that line item come down but it is the place we are protecting across time.
Matt Colady - Barclays Capital
Great, thank you.
Operator
We go next to Scott Schneeberger with Oppenheimer.
Scott Schneeberger - Oppenheimer & Co.
Thanks, good morning. I guess Tom could you speak a bit to – I think you mentioned a $10 million spend in an IT overhaul on impersonalizing the offering. Could you just confirm that I’m getting that right and elaborate a little bit more please?
Thomas Monahan III
Sure Scott. Yeah, we are making a major investment in technology with two real aims. One is it is time for us to update the technologies that support people who are engaging members and prospects on a day-to-day basis, as part of our desire and need to more closely tie what we do to the needs and workflows of our members.
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