Gannett to cut 1,000 jobs
By Leah McBride Mensching, Friday 15 August 2008 at 16:55 :: Labor & Employment :: #2112 :: rss
U.S. newspaper publishing giant Gannett will eliminate 1,000 jobs, about 3 percent of its workforce, according to a memo from the publisher of USA Today, The Washington Post reported Friday.
About 600 of the employees will be laid off, and 400 job cuts will come from attrition. The layoffs are expected to be completed by the end of the month.
Like other newspaper publishers across the United States, the McLean, Va.-based Gannett is facing dwindling circulation and advertising revenues amid a poor economy, and is attempting to cut costs. The job cuts will affect the company's 84 daily newspapers and 900 non-dailies, the Associated Press reported in an article posted by the Chicago Tribune. There will be no cuts at USA Today, the highest circulated daily in the United States, which cut 45 jobs last November.
The job cuts were first reported Wednesday on a blog post by a former reporter and editor at Gannett, who obtained the company memo sent to publishers, the AP reported.
According to the memo, each of the company's community newspaper publishers has been given a dollar amount for its payroll, which was calculated based on the financial status of each paper. Each newspaper must then decide what cuts will be made, and employees must be informed by Friday.
Those being laid off will receive a week of pay for each year of service, although a minimum of two weeks and maximum of 52 weeks has been set, the memo states. Laid off employees will also receive medical benefits for the length of their severance period.
In addition to its newspapers, Gannett owns 23 television stations, and is valued at US$4.8 billion. The company's stock closed at $21.31 Thursday, up more than 10 percent, a reward from Wall Street for the expected reductions, The Washington Post reported.
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