The New York Times is ramping up its presence in London at the expense of its long-term European headquarters in Paris, a shift it attributes to France’s inflexible employment laws.

The company has merged its London bureau with the London office of the International New York Times, adding digital editors and a branded content studio, while departing editorial staff at its Paris operation are not being replaced, according to people familiar with the matter.

Paris has been the home of the newspaper’s international operations since 1967 when it bought a stake in the International Herald Tribune, a title which reflected America’s enduring romance with the city. An early incarnation featured in Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises and also appeared in the seminal Jean-Luc Godard movie A Bout de Souffle .