COMPANY TOWN ANNEX

Warner Records Cutting Jobs: Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. Records, in another sign of sluggish music markets, said it is cutting the national staff of its black music division by 35% to 40%. The cutbacks, which amount to fewer than 20 people, come just days after PolyGram announced Wednesday that it is laying off 400 people and taking a $90-million charge in 1996 to restructure its music operations. The cutbacks at Burbank-based Warner also follow the more than 60 job cuts announced this month at Time Warner’s Atlantic Group, which also dropped several bands and solo artists from its roster. A Warner spokesman said the moves at Warner Bros. and Atlantic are unrelated to each other or to Time Warner’s recently completed takeover of Turner Broadcasting System Inc.