The country’s largest U.S. newspaper publisher plans another round of job cuts. About 10% of staff, potentially about 3,000 positions, will be laid off across the company’s more than 80 local daily papers.President of Gannett’s newspaper division Robert Dickey wrote in a memo to employees that the financial crisis is severely impacting the company. The cuts, though bad news for employees, are an indication of “Gannett’s determination to remain healthy and viable as a company during these turbulent economic times,” he said (via Reuters).
The exact number of people to be cut is difficult to determine; Gannett does not release employee headcount numbers. The cuts will not include hundreds of workers at USA Today.
Publishers’ plans to cut payroll by 10% are due by Nov. 14.
This is the second round of cuts in as many months. Gannett said in August that it was eliminating 1,000 newspaper jobs.
Gannett reported lower-than-expected profit in the third quarter, with ad revenue at its publishing division slipping 18%. Chief executive Craig Dubow pointed out that consumer confidence fell, retail spending was hampered and unemployment rose while demand for all categories waned in the quarter. The critical retail, real estate and employment categories were most profoundly affected.
The newspaper industry has lost more than 12,000 jobs so far this year, as both readers and advertisers shift online, writes MarketWatch. Most recently, the Los Angeles Times announced its third round of cuts this year, eliminating 10%, or 75 people, from its staff.
The subprime mortgage crisis has significantly harmed newspapers in recent quarters. Overall circulation at newspapers is slipping, down nearly 5% over the six months ended Sept. 30.
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