Gannett furloughs U.S. workers
Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on January 14, 2009 at 9:01 PM
Gannett Co.'s non-union employees in the United States must take an unpaid week off from work during this quarter, the nation's largest newspaper company announced Wednesday, Dow Jones reported.
The unpaid week is an effort "to preserve our operations and continue to deliver for our customers while confronting the issues raised by some of the most difficult economic conditions we have ever experienced," Craig Dubow, chairman and chief executive of the company, told employees in an e-mail.
The unpaid week is an effort "to preserve our operations and continue to deliver for our customers while confronting the issues raised by some of the most difficult economic conditions we have ever experienced," Craig Dubow, chairman and chief executive of the company, told employees in an e-mail.
No exact number of how many employees will be taking a week off was given, but Dubow said in a statement that most U.S. employees, as well as himself, would take the unpaid five days off sometime in the first quarter of the year, Dow Jones reported. Gannett has more than 31,000 employees.
"After much consideration, we decided a furlough program would be the fairest and least intrusive way to meet these fiscal challenges in the first quarter, which is traditionally the lightest time of the year," Dubow said, according to Dow Jones. "We sincerely hope this minimises the need for any layoffs going forward."
In December, Gannett cut 10 percent of its workforce.
"This is an extraordinarily difficult economic time, not only for our business but for all industries. I know that a furlough is a personal burden for employees," said Laura Hollingsworth, president and publisher of the Des Moines Register, a Gannett paper. "But it does allow us the opportunity to avoid layoffs while we assess economic trends beyond this volatile first quarter of 2009."
"After much consideration, we decided a furlough program would be the fairest and least intrusive way to meet these fiscal challenges in the first quarter, which is traditionally the lightest time of the year," Dubow said, according to Dow Jones. "We sincerely hope this minimises the need for any layoffs going forward."
In December, Gannett cut 10 percent of its workforce.
"This is an extraordinarily difficult economic time, not only for our business but for all industries. I know that a furlough is a personal burden for employees," said Laura Hollingsworth, president and publisher of the Des Moines Register, a Gannett paper. "But it does allow us the opportunity to avoid layoffs while we assess economic trends beyond this volatile first quarter of 2009."
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