Employees within Gannett”™s news operations are being informed that their financially ailing company is planning a new round of layoffs aimed specifically at their division.
According to a Poynter report, the layoff will occur on Dec. 1-2. Henry Faure Walker, the new interim head of the news division, announced the upcoming layoffs in an internal memo but did not specify how many jobs will be lost. However, Gannett”™s communications chief Lark-Marie Anton confirmed the company was aiming for a 6% reduction, which would be approximately 200 people.
Employees represented by the NewsGuild union will not be impacted by the layoffs. Gannett laid off 400 employees and left another 400 open positions unfilled after posting dismal second quarter returns, and last month the company forced workers to take a week of unpaid leave and consider accepting a voluntary termination agreement.
“While we have taken several steps already, we must enter the new year in a stronger economic position, and the reality is that our News cost base is currently too high for the revenues it generates,” said Walker, who is also CEO of Gannett”™s U.K. subsidiary.
Gannett is the nation”™s largest newspaper chain with more than 200 print papers ”“ locally, the company publishes The Journal News, the Poughkeepsie Journal and the Times Herald-Record.
