The Boston Globe's deadline for employees to apply for a buyout passed on Friday, but employees still have a seven day grace period to change their minds, the Boston Business Journal reported Tuesday.

The Globe announced in January that it needed to cuts 50 of its 433 newsroom positions in response to the recession and the paper's financial problems. A memo issued by editor Marty Baron explained that he hoped to reach the goal of 50 job cuts "through voluntary departures."

If the buyout packages are not taken by enough employees, the paper will be forced to lay off staff members as soon as this week, according to the Business Journal.

Bob Powers, a spokesman for the Globe, did not disclose when an announcement concerning the layoffs would be made.