Gannett Laying Off 600 Staffers; 1,000 Posts Being Eliminated: Report
This story was written by David Kaplan.
In the latest round of newspaper job cuts, Gannett (NYSE: GCI) is laying off 600 employees and eliminating 1,000 positions, writes former Gannett editor Jim Hopkins on his Gannett Blog (via Romenesko). According to a memo attributed to Daily Times' Publisher Rick Jensen that one of Hopkins' readers sent him, the 1,000 staff positions will be taken from from Gannett's Community Publishing division, amounting to 3 percent of its workforce. The division has 84 papers and does not include Gannett flagship USA Today. It's not clear how many papers will be affected. The cuts were pinned on the need to reach targets for reducing payroll expenses. Calls to Gannett on the job cuts have not been returned.
One paper that will be affected by the Gannett layoffs is Louisville, KY's Courier-Journal, which reported that 15 employees will be let go, while an unspecified number of unfilled posts will be remain vacant. The paper also reported on the 1,000 jobs posts being done away with. Gannett's Honolulu Advertiser terminated 54 staffers last month following the company's Q2 earnings report, which noted that income from continuing operations declined 19.7 percent. Last November, USAT said it would slash 45 newsroom posts through a mix of buyouts and layoffs.
By David Kaplan