Canada's National Post offered voluntary buyouts to its entire staff as part of its Postmedia Network Inc. restructuring plan. The employees have until Friday to accept the proposal, which includes three weeks of pay for each year on the job up to a maximum of C$125,000, The Globe and Mail informed yesterday.

"It's a decision at the local level, so National Post management developed a voluntary buyout program for their operation," Postmedia's director of communications Phyllise Gelfand said to Reuters.

Postmedia bought Canwest's newspaper division in July after the media group filed for bankruptcy. However, two weeks ago, the publisher announced a reduction of the staff in all its titles as a way to cut costs. So far, 50 workers have been laid off.

The Post is "going through the same process the other 10 major newspapers are doing," chief executive officer Paul Godfrey said, The Globe and Mail quoted. According to The Canadian Press, the company has offered buyouts at The Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, The Vancouver Sun, the Victoria Times Colonist and the Vancouver Province.