St. Paul Pioneer Press cuts 11 staffers

Posted by Simon Day on July 2, 2009 at 5:02 AM

The St. Paul Pioneer Press has cut 11 staff members, nine from the newsroom, according to union officials and reported by The Associated Press.

Editor Thom Fladung said the layoffs were a result of the ongoing economic downturn and the extensive industry changes.

"These people are more than just a list of names in an e-mail," Fladung wrote. "They are a talented and productive collection of journalists whose work here included designing dynamic pages, producing memorable photos and videos, covering one of our highest-profile beats in the Twins, writing vibrant headlines and saving us from ourselves by asking good questions and catching and correcting numerous errors of fact and nuance."

Leaders from the newspapers union have estimated cost savings for the paper at around $800,000. However the union believes that the layoffs were not necessary and said members were prepared to negotiate further concessions.

"Instead, late last week, Guild members -- including Guild leaders -- were blindsided by the company's withdrawal of its request for concessions," the union said in a statement.

The redundancies announced on Tuesday were the fourth at the Press since December 2006 and union staff had in February, accepted one week unpaid furloughs.