The Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey has halved its newsroom staff in the past year, and its editor just announced his retirement. Now the paper is asking for 50 more buyouts, Editor & Publisher reported Tuesday.

A memo to staffers from publisher George Arwady published Tuesday by The New York Times promises involuntary layoffs if the stated buyout goal is not met. For many years, the Newhouse-owned newspaper kept unions at bay by promising lifetime employment, but the recent difficulties if the journalism industry in the United States has resulted in substantial qualification of that commitment, as well as an outright reversal in some instances.

Just one year ago, the Star-Ledger threatened to shutter its presses for good if non-editorial staff refused certain concessions of employment benefits. Since then, media analysts have praised the paper's handling of salary reductions, conducted in a graduated fashion.

All, however, are not as pleased with the paper and its periodic "accept less or else" missives. For example, some expressed their belief that the stair-stepped pay cuts exhibited age discrimination, hurting the most loyal employees the worst.

Meanwhile, one U.S. paper, after fighting the same difficult economy and online migration of readers, has drawn a line in the sand regarding cuts, and has vowed to fight back with quality, according to the Editors Weblog, SFN's partner site. The Dallas Morning News has raised subscription rates, and in turned promised better quality.